Cross breeding question Black copper Maran over Golden buff?

[btpeters]

Hello! We just bought our first incubator (brinsea eco 10--we got a coupon for signing up for their newsletter on facebook) and my little girls and I are thrilled to have won an auction for French Black Copper Marans (I'm afraid the girls think they are really made of chocolate...

but anyway, we plan to breed these marans to each other, but we also presently have quite a few golden buff hens (red sex links) and a few EEs hens (the black, brown and copper ones) without a roo to meet their maternal needs...so...

So my question is... what do you think would come of the

1) Golden buff hen x black copper maran roo cross? just dark egg laying mutts?

2) EE hen x black copper maran roo cross? could we get olive eggers?

I know its not that thrilling of a question, but still I am very curious what you all think. Please let me know your opinion because most of you know much more than I do on these subjects. Thanks!

 

[Illia]

1) - They won't really be that dark of layers, more like a pumpkin paste orange.

2) yes, you'll get olive eggers.

 

[btpeters]

olives?...yippeee! I was hoping you would say that because I'm crazy for colors too
the "pumpkin paste orange" should also add another interesting color to the spectrum

i also have one barred rock hen, and one buff orp---any experience or conjectures of what may result from them crossing with the copper black maran?

 

[Illia]

In terms of egg color - The same. It will vary from a pumpkin orange to simply a speckled color. It often depends on how dark the egg genes are from your Black Copper.

Some are darker than others, so you may get normal brown eggs, you may get orange, and you may get a good welsummer color.

As for plumage - Barred Rock hens x BC Marans roo will make sex linked offspring, the buff x BCM will make black and brown smudged coloration.

 

[btpeters]

The barred rock x BCM combo is a happy surprise for me as well. It would be handy for us to have an easy way to sex them, as neither my hubby nor I have ever tried to do it otherwise. My hubby has offered to try learning how to though, do you think its hard for a novice to do, or is this just something for real experts?

Thanks for all your help. Now we just need to successfully hatch some of them!