Blue Copper and Splash Copper Marans Discussion

[snowbird]

Hi Rexy! Thanks for the Welcome back! I have missed chicken chatting with everyone, but college has kept me very busy the last year.


Don- Great to hear from you my friend! I hope life is treating you good! Whatever happened to that blue male that popped up out of all those eggs you hatched out? You didn't think that I would forget about the blue boy did you?

Hi Kim, the blue Male has some cuckoo colored feathers in the Hackle area. Don

 

[snowbird]

Will post something on the white undercolor a bit later.

 

[snowbird]

Sorry for the delay on the undercolor question. Kim, is basically right on how to eliminate the white under color. Since you already have some Marans to work with, do not bring any more Marans to mix in with them as anytime we bring in new fowl we will be getting all their faults .

If you are breeding Blue Copper that are very light Blue you will tend to get more of the white under color Marans. I like the splash female over a darker Blue Copper male. You can also use a BC female over a splash Blue copper male.. Hatch enough to where you can cull out all with white under color. Just remember it is all averages when breeding Parti colored fowl. Do not breed any of the BC colored fowl from these matings back into your pure BC fowl as these are contaminated.

Anyone with questions I would be more than happy to answer them.

 

[desertmarcy]

Sorry for the delay on the undercolor question. Kim, is basically right on how to eliminate the white under color. Since you already have some Marans to work with, do not bring any more Marans to mix in with them as anytime we bring in new fowl we will be getting all their faults .

If you are breeding Blue Copper that are very light Blue you will tend to get more of the white under color Marans. I like the splash female over a darker Blue Copper male. You can also use a BC female over a splash Blue copper male.. Hatch enough to where you can cull out all with white under color. Just remember it is all averages when breeding Parti colored fowl. Do not breed any of the BC colored fowl from these matings back into your pure BC fowl as these are contaminated.

Anyone with questions I would be more than happy to answer them.

Don you remind me of a soap opera...to be continued...keeping us all waiting

just kidding. So I do not have any splash Marans since I have been having trouble getting a Blue Copper male I felt was worthy of breeding. I have just been breeding a BC male to my blue c. females. I will try to get some photos of my young Blue c. cockerels and post to see if you think any are worth trying this year. I only have 4 left. The one that I liked the best as far as color I culled because his comb was twisted in two directions and I just didn't want to deal with that.

 

[snowbird]

Marcy, We see very little written about the Hackle and Saddle feathers pertaining to the under color. If we have a light colored Copper hackle and saddle the under color will most likely be light. The under color has more to do with Body color than most realize.

Sometimes we have to use a bird that we would normally just cull. If you do not single mate try it for at least one hatch from each hen. I know it is more work but it is much easier to find the best producer,

 

[snowbird]

Marcy, I keep remembering little things from the past so will post as I can. The old Poultry Books and the Old Time breeders always said to use a male in the color you would like the young to end up being. I would use a BC male if he were from a Blue Copper breeding but would not use a BC copper from pure BC. It would be ok to use a BC female over a splash or Lighter Blue Copper male.

We can forget most of the Genetic formulas when it comes to Marans as they are two scattered bred to breed true regardless of how they are bred.

 

[pinkchick]

Hi Kim, the blue Male has some cuckoo colored feathers in the Hackle area. Don

Do you still have him? What does the rest of him look like?

The wait for eggs from my girls is killing me!!!!!! I want to get some test mating and hatching under way for Fall and Winter I tell ya! Maybe I should put a light on in their coop to get them moving since the days are now much shorter and lacking 12-15 hours of light.

I am in a situation where I have to start over and create Blue Copper males from Blue Copper females using a Black Copper male. However, the BC male is from a Blue Copper father and Black Copper mother, so he comes from Blue, this might be my only saving grace. A long road ahead, but will be interesting, and at least this time around I have a little prior experience with Marans and know what to look for.

The longer road is waiting for a Blue Copper male so that I can make some SPLASH!!!! I miss my sassy little Splash ladies running around!

 

[pinkchick]

Marcy, We see very little written about the Hackle and Saddle feathers pertaining to the under color. If we have a light colored Copper hackle and saddle the under color will most likely be light. The under color has more to do with Body color than most realize.

Sometimes we have to use a bird that we would normally just cull. If you do not single mate try it for at least one hatch from each hen. I know it is more work but it is much easier to find the best producer,

So very true!

 

[pinkchick]

I had something typed out to reply the other day and the SKY FELL.... the website was down for a bit so it didn't submit.

My experience with copper on pullets..... limited LOL.  The roos I had from Pinkchick put copper on my pullets.  I was so excited to breed those pullets back to their sire and they both died before I could do that.    I tried to use a roo with some copper on his breast, didn't work.  I tried him with some reg BC pullets and it didn't work with them either. 

So I have those pullets in my pen now.  I had them with my Blue copper cockerel and the chicks didn't have the color I expected.  I talked with Vicki and she suggested I swap cockerels and use the Black Copper Roo to set the Copper in the pullets.  I have JUST started to hatch from that pen and eggs are sparse but I like these chicks better. 

I meant to add that adding copper to blues is harder than black..... per Vicki and I agree.  I find far fewer blues with copper than blacks. 

You should just plan on testing and see what you get.  Document what you get in chicks.  It just takes SO LONG to see what you end up with.

Donna-
The Black Copper gals that I have from you have good copper. Two of them more so than the others, but still MUCH more copper than any of the BC's, or Blue Coppers that I have hatched out in the past. The 2 Blue Copper girls from you have copper around the ear coverts and a bit down the side of their necks, but not a full collar like the BC's. I am not in like with one of the Blue Copper gals top line. She is pretty high in the tail, so I am going to hold off on her for a while. She will go to my best friend for a dark egg layer for the time being.
I got some photos of all of them the other day, but the photos are in the shade and do not do the gals justice. It is suppose to be nice and sunny in the 90's again this week so that will help with better pictures.

 

[snowbird]

Quote: Kim, will try and get a picture of the male today if the rain stays away. He is out in the field in a moveable pen.