Incubating French Black Copper Marans

[mattsinger]

Hey Kristie.... you never posted any pics of the fuzzys

 

[AVHalls]

Not much success with my Marans either. 5 out of 7 hatched but 2 died right after hatching, they never perked up.

 

[chickensnbees]

I have 16 black copper marans in the incubator now on day 10. This is my first time ever so this post has been so informative! I tried to candle them this weekend and couldn't see very well in the 5 darkest ones. Does an extremely bright LED help more and does it hurt the chicks developing eyes to use too bright of a light? I just used a regular bulb on my table lamp with the shade off.

 

[jbher]

That's what I think too!!

One more thing, our bedroom fluctuates in temperature too, your heater may be affecting the humidity level in that room. Ours definitely does...when are you setting your eggs?

Kristie

Finally got a digital temperature thing from my dad that shows temp and humidity... have no clue how accurate it is but I'm going to put it in our bedroom and see what it reads out. I'm going to set eggs March 29th for the Easter Hatch-a-long. Ended up ordering that new IncuView Incubator on Friday so once that comes I'll keep it on for a few days and see what it does in different rooms too.

Jen

 

[aart]

@jbher It's pretty easy to test your hygrometer...search for my name in this thread, I think I posted the process here.


EAT: here it is https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/852601/incubating-french-black-copper-marans/100#post_12965345

 

[jbher]

@jbher It's pretty easy to test your hygrometer...search for my name in this thread, I think I posted the process here.


EAT: here it is https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/852601/incubating-french-black-copper-marans/100#post_12965345

Oh thank you!!! I will do that today! The thermometer my dad brought over is like this - I wonder if I can still test it since it's that big part that typically attaches to the outside of your house or something. I will definitely try.

This is the one my dad brought over for me: http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/7213/

 

[aart]

Oh thank you!!! I will do that today! The thermometer my dad brought over is like this - I wonder if I can still test it since it's that big part that typically attaches to the outside of your house or something. I will definitely try.

This is the one my dad brought over for me: http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/7213/

Probably, just use a big enough bag to allow some air space all around.....and give it plenty of time.

 

[MrsEllis11]

I will take some pictures today. Things have been crazy around here!

We had to clean out our nursery in the coop yesterday and get it all sterilized for the new ones!!

Kristie

 

[Forgetfulfreda]

I have what may seem like a dumb question. I have 15 Black Copper Marans eggs in my incubator , out of the 10 that have hatched, one of the chicks is a yellow color. My question is if the breeding hens and roo are full blood Blacks, can they throw a light chick or are the parents not full blood Blacks?

 

[3riverschick]

I have what may seem like a dumb question. I have 15 Black Copper Marans eggs in my incubator , out of the 10 that have hatched, one of the chicks is a yellow color. My question is if the breeding hens and roo are full blood Blacks, can they throw a light chick or are the parents not full blood Blacks?

Yes, they can. It's most likely a Wheaten chick. Years ago there was a cross done with Black Copper and Wheaten Marans. The Wheaten gene got passed around to a lot of the BCM gene pool. Despite over a decade of working to breed it out of the Black Copper strains, the occasional Wheaten does still crop up in BCM hatches. I would go back to the breeder from when you got the parents. Ask then how often Wheatens crop up in their BCM's. No need to get accusatory, the gene can be a tough one to breed out of the BCM gene pool. The breeders answer will tell you what ratio to expect and from there you can figure out how to winnow your stock further. Do not use the Wheaten baby for breeding. Just sell it for an egg layer, or cull if it is a male. It will only pollute either color if you use it in either Wheaten or BCM gene pools.
Best,
Karen
Really, I don't think one of 10 is a bad ratio. If you want,
1.Go to a BCM breeder who never gets Wheaten and buy a hen from a dark egg laying mother.
Ideally, it should be a strain winning at the egg shows. Since you will lose a bit of darkness
when you cross strains ( that's normal and you will regain it in a couple of generations
with judicial selection) , you want the bought hen to come from as dark an egg laying strain
as you can find.
2.Then cross it with the best male you are hatching now.
a. Hatch a bunch of eggs from them
3.Breed the best male from that hatch back to the bought hen.
4.Then breed the best male from that hatch ( step 3) back to your hens you are now hatching.
5.Then breed the best male ( from step 4) back to the bought hen.
It won't matter if the bought hen is a 2 or 3 yr. old when the best cockerel you are
hatching now is ready to sire chicks. A cockerel to an older hen mating is a preferred mating.

It's a weaving process, always coming in thru the female side,
never breeding full siblings and always using only your best males.
You can do this without worrying about inbreeding because poultry have
a very wide genetic base. And because poultry have a plethora of sex-linked genes.