Breeding my hens for the first time with a Black copper Maran rooster... thoughts?!?

[Owenp_2]

I have had chickens for almost a year now and I started off with nine. Since then all but one Rhode Island Red have gone missing. Two days ago I bought five hens and a rooster from a friend. All of them are purebred year old hens. My rooster will reach sexual maturity in about a month and in the meantime I want to think about what kind of chicks I should hatch. I really don’t want to buy another rooster or hen so please if you have any of the following please reply with pictures (please be honest)!!
- wheaten Maran hen x Black copper Maran rooster
- buff orpington hen x Black Copper Maran rooster
- Rhode Island Red hen x Black copper Maran rooster
- Silver Americana hen x Black copper Maran rooster
- Light blue Americauna x Black Copper Maran

Please respond if you have any idea of what they will look like and pictures if you have any!!!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'll give you the link to the genetics calculator, but at a quick glance, from my memory, and my personal experience with Black Copper Marans, and a quick run through with the calculator just confirmed....most of the offspring will default to black ground color with some secondary bleed through based on the ground color of the hen. Black is pretty dominant.

With the silver hen, you should get sex linking with the secondary color....fawn to girls, silver-yellow to boys.

Blue to black will give solid black.

https://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm#kipcalculator

 

[Amer]

As I have never owned a Marans I do not have pictures, but I can tell you what to expect.
wheaten Maran hen x Black copper Maran rooster
Black Copper Marans (with extra red)
- buff orpington hen x Black Copper Maran rooster
Black tailed buff cockerels and apparently pullets that look somewhat like buff quail
- Rhode Island Red hen x Black copper Maran rooster
Black tailed red cockerels (same as the RI Red) and pullets that look somewhat like red quail
- Silver Americana hen x Black copper Maran rooster
Assuming that the "silver" is a silver duckwing
Sexlinks Golden red copper males and red copper females
- Light blue Americauna x Black Copper Maran
Blue and black chickens with red leakage. The cockerels may have golden leakage.

The most useful cross may be the silver, as you will produce sexlinks. The male offspring will be lighter at hatch.

 

[Owenp_2]

As I have never owned a Marans I do not have pictures, but I can tell you what to expect.
wheaten Maran hen x Black copper Maran rooster
Black Copper Marans (with extra red)
- buff orpington hen x Black Copper Maran rooster
Black tailed buff cockerels and apparently pullets that look somewhat like buff quail
- Rhode Island Red hen x Black copper Maran rooster
Black tailed red cockerels (same as the RI Red) and pullets that look somewhat like red quail
- Silver Americana hen x Black copper Maran rooster
Assuming that the "silver" is a silver duckwing
Sexlinks Golden red copper males and red copper females
- Light blue Americauna x Black Copper Maran
Blue and black chickens with red leakage. The cockerels may have golden leakage.

The most useful cross may be the silver, as you will produce sexlinks. The male offspring will be lighter at hatch.

Ok thank you so much!! Why would the silver be the most useful?

 

[Owenp_2]

I'll give you the link to the genetics calculator, but at a quick glance, from my memory, and my personal experience with Black Copper Marans, and a quick run through with the calculator just confirmed....most of the offspring will default to black ground color with some secondary bleed through based on the ground color of the hen. Black is pretty dominant.

With the silver hen, you should get sex linking with the secondary color....fawn to girls, silver-yellow to boys.

Blue to black will give solid black.

https://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm#kipcalculator

Thank you so much!!

 

[Amer]

Ok thank you so much!! Why would the silver be the most useful?

She will produce sexlinks. If you single out and hatch her eggs you will be able to tell the girls and boys apart from hatch.

 

[Owenp_2]

She will produce sexlinks. If you single out and hatch her eggs you will be able to tell the girls and boys apart from hatch.

Okay I think I understand but what about the others would that make them harder to tell apart?

 

[Amer]

Okay I think I understand but what about the others would that make them harder to tell apart?

Yeah, if you hatched the others you wouldn’t be able to tell. I just thought if you only hatched her eggs it would be pretty obvious.

 

[Owenp_2]

Yeah, if you hatched the others you wouldn’t be able to tell. I just thought if you only hatched her eggs it would be pretty obvious.

Oh okay thanks and it’s a red or black sex link?

 

[Amer]

Oh okay thanks and it’s a red or black sex link?

It would be considered a “red” sexlink, thought instead of red the pullets will be black copper.