Blue Copper and Splash Copper Marans Discussion

[bobbieschicks]

Thankfully Bunny isn't broody. She's just a lingering pullet. My Silky is another story. She goes broody at the mention of the word, four times last year and she's only a little over 18 months old. I'm still debating about keeping my cockerel. He's so large, he scares me with his mating the littler girls. He's very sweet and protective of Bunny. I'm still deciding if I want to pursue the blue copper maran breed or another breed for the long term plan.

 

[pinkchick]

I noticed that this thread started with a discussion of using black copper and splash to make blue's.    I saw the pics  of Gilavina's Luella and I decided that she has the best coloring i have ever seen...  really awesome...

SO:   I have 3 blue pullets right now, varying levels of blueness,  They are all blue coppers but not expressing the copper color.  I have several eggs due to hatch this week so maybe there will be a boy in there or maybe some that will express the copper (fingers crossed).

I also have some nice black coppers boys and girls..

What steps should I take to darken the blues that I have?  i saw that Don said to use a blue male over a black copper female but that this was a last ditch effort (or at least that's what I understood from the posts).   

I can post pics of the ones i have but maybe this is a more theoretical question than just looking at the birds?

Don always suggests using a male of the color that you are trying to achieve, such as trying to make Blue Coppers and getting nice blue coloring a person would use a Splash Copper male over a Black Copper hen.
I get my dark dark blues by using an extremely dark Blue Copper rooster who appears to be black, I have crossed this dark rooster and another one that I had over Blue Copper and Splash Copper hens and the results have given me very dark blue birds. However, I have a whole nuther battle one my hands because when I use these dark males I am perpetuating melanised birds to the extent that they do not show copper even though they are coppers. I am trying to find a happy medium but first and foremost in my program, I go for type and egg color.....the rest of it I will work on correcting later after I have established type and if I get good color in the copper while I am at it, I consider it a bonus.

Hope others will come by and give you their opinions and advise.

 

[9IrishRoosters]

Thank you PinkChick!!

Here's a baby picture!

 

[Runawaylobster]

Don always suggests using a male of the color that you are trying to achieve, such as trying to make Blue Coppers and getting nice blue coloring a person would use a Splash Copper male over a Black Copper hen.
I get my dark dark blues by using an extremely dark Blue Copper rooster who appears to be black, I have crossed this dark rooster and another one that I had over Blue Copper and Splash Copper hens and the results have given me very dark blue birds. However, I have a whole nuther battle one my hands because when I use these dark males I am perpetuating melanised birds to the extent that they do not show copper even though they are coppers. I am trying to find a happy medium but first and foremost in my program, I go for type and egg color.....the rest of it I will work on correcting later after I have established type and if I get good color in the copper while I am at it, I consider it a bonus.

Hope others will come by and give you their opinions and advise.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. No really dark blues, I was considering maybe crossing with my BCM's but i hatched just one blue this week so maybe he will be a dark blue boy.... fingers crossed... I'm just so impatient having to wait for him to grow up

 

[bobbieschicks]

I may have spoken too soon about my pullet Bunny not being broody. She was on the nest most of the day, got off briefly to eat & drink and puffed herself up to the other girls like the silky used to do, then returned to the nest. She was still on it this evening, last night she was on the roost. She did lay an egg today, so until she stays there and stops laying she's only still toying with the notion. Time will tell.

If she is broody and I slip some of her eggs under her, what might she hatch? I have two roosters right now and she's been mated by both at different times. One is a Partridge silky, the other is her brother a splash copper maran.

Update. She is off the nest and on the roost. So definitely not broody yet.

 

[TinTennessee]

I had a young less than a year old blue go broody. I only had 3 eggs to let her sit but she sat tight. Hatched 1 who disappeared mysteriously. But mine was definitely broody at maybe 9 months. She had only been laying for maybe 1 1/2 or 2 months.

 

[bobbieschicks]

She has some of the classic broody signs, but she's still laying and not staying on the nest, so still considering it I guess. She's huge when she puffs up. I love watching her fluff herself so big she's like a turkey and walk around bok boking.

 

[DMRippy]

The first 2 signs of a broody, sticking in the nest box and not laying eggs. Puffing can just be defensive to make them look bigger.

 

[HBruemmer]

Hello everyone! My daughter (age 11) is our big chicken breeder around here. We have been raising Black Copper Marans for a little bit and obtained some blue copper chicks from a friend at Christmas, hoping to eventually raise blue, black, and splash. We got wind of a poultry show nearby and since neither of us have ever attended one my daughter was anxious to go. I can't find a "Standard of Perfection" for Blues, only Black Copper Marans. She has a dark Blue Copper cockerel she would like to show. She likes him because of his size, color and feathered shanks. But to me it looks ike he has too many points on his comb (the Blacks are only supposed to have 5, I am assuming blues are the same) although it is nice and straight no side sprigs or anything crazy like that. She is competing in the kids competition and I hate to discourage her, but I think it would make her feel dumb to get there and be disqualified. How does that work, will they just take points off? I am thankful for whatever advice you can provide.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Hello everyone! My daughter (age 11) is our big chicken breeder around here. We have been raising Black Copper Marans for a little bit and obtained some blue copper chicks from a friend at Christmas, hoping to eventually raise blue, black, and splash. We got wind of a poultry show nearby and since neither of us have ever attended one my daughter was anxious to go. I can't find a "Standard of Perfection" for Blues, only Black Copper Marans. She has a dark Blue Copper cockerel she would like to show. She likes him because of his size, color and feathered shanks. But to me it looks ike he has too many points on his comb (the Blacks are only supposed to have 5, I am assuming blues are the same) although it is nice and straight no side sprigs or anything crazy like that. She is competing in the kids competition and I hate to discourage her, but I think it would make her feel dumb to get there and be disqualified. How does that work, will they just take points off? I am thankful for whatever advice you can provide.

There is only an aprroved Standard for the Black Copper Marans at this point. From what I have seen when my kids are judged at fair for 4-H, the judges will also follow what is written in the 1st section of the SOP- Interpretation of Standard. extra comb points would be a deduction in points but not DQ'd. Hope this helps.