Incubator Humidity for French Black Copper Marans Eggs

[valleyhoneybee]

10 out of 14 Black Copper Marans incubator hatched 2 days ago!

 

[tcblues]

cute chicks

 

[valleyhoneybee]

NO white or mossy ones this time! Yeah! (different source than the last ones!)

 

[tcblues]

Are they crossed with a different breed

 

[One Chick Two]

NO white or mossy ones this time! Yeah! (different source than the last ones!)

Yes!!!

Quote:
Congratulations! Excellent hatch! Sounds like some strong, vigorous chicks!

At this time I do not believe this is a crossed chick. Is this chick Bev's line? No reason other the head is shaped like some we have. Can you post a side view?

You should however, watch this particular chick for possible off coloring in the feathers- nothing to be concerned about at this time. See the white above the eyebrows, with lots of white on the wing? This particular chick may eventually show some recessives, or, may be overcolored, etc. Just something to band, note and watch to see if there will show any oddities with this down pattern.

Ideally, coloring in chicks we should aim for look fairly close to one another, like this brother and sister below- fresh out of the incubator.

Chicks should have at least some white on cheeks, and a bit around eyes, with a white neck and chest/ abdomen, and small amounts of white on the wingtips. Overall coloring should be black- dark gray. Ignore the length of the baby fuzz seen here- the roosters here have somewhat ample feathering, so the babies all have manes. lol

A short downed chick like your chick only shows that the parents have denser, tighter feathering clinging to the body (shows body type better)- this is a desirable trait.

Show a photo that shows the rest of the chicks. If I see anything to watch for I'll let you know. Congratulations!

 

[valleyhoneybee]

One Chick Two, once again, THANK YOU for your time! This 3rd hatch is from another individual and they say they have been raising and showing Marans for 30 something years and their line is Bev David and Jeane (which is what most of the lines seem to be?). The last hatch with the white and moss chicks did state there was a "mutant white gene" they were selecting for, but that they had introduced new Marans stock from France. They have turned out to be quite educational for me (everything NOT to do in 1 single hatch! Lol!)

I must confess I need to work on my chicken photography skills as they clearly are not fantastic (lol! Add that to the "to do list") But here are photos of 2 chicks (chick "A" is the one previously posted and chick "B" is the chick that happened to be right next to it!!) My brooder is currently in the room with my tomato seedlings so unless I hold them the camera picks up too much red from the lamps. I will try better lighting tonight (and maybe enlist an assistant!). At 3 days old they seem to be pretty stubborn about not posing for a group shot! Lol! Thank you again! Melissa

 

[valleyhoneybee]

The second hatch (this post is about my 3rd and final for this year) consisted of eggs that were actually being selected for the white "mutant" gene (according to the individual that sent them to me) and had parents that had just been imported from France. So, the individual was completely honest with me AND (thanks to the generosity of other Marans breeders has turned out to be an excellent learning course for me (that cross-hatch will strictly be an egg producing flock... I have 45 acres so I have the luxury of being able to learn that way). Tis 3rd hatch is from the Bev and Jeane lines.

Thank you for taking the time to comment and to help me! It is appreciated.
Melissa

 

[One Chick Two]

The second hatch (this post is about my 3rd and final for this year) consisted of eggs that were actually being selected for the white "mutant" gene (according to the individual that sent them to me) and had parents that had just been imported from France. So, the individual was completely honest with me AND (thanks to the generosity of other Marans breeders has turned out to be an excellent learning course for me (that cross-hatch will strictly be an egg producing flock... I have 45 acres so I have the luxury of being able to learn that way). Tis 3rd hatch is from the Bev and Jeane lines.

Thank you for taking the time to comment and to help me! It is appreciated.
Melissa

Your welcome! I am glad this has been helpful. You may have had many generations (years) of issues cut out just by finding out what to choose for in your breeders.

In a few weeks we can revisit combs and see if there is any coronation comb or sprigs, and look at the color of shanks.

 

[valleyhoneybee]

I will look up the "history of Marans in the Us as suggested. I do have Cuckoo Marans hens (11) that are about a year old now. I got them as day olds from Cackle Hatchery last year. Wanted to make sure I had the brooder issues down before I tried hatching, but the Black Coppers are the chickens I originally (and eventually) want to have. I also have 1 Black Copper hen (the only 1 that hatched from my first 6 hatching eggs procured from a third source. She was hatched out by a broody hen I had and I have not photographed her yet! I'll work on that! She is also supposed to be a bev/Jeanne cross.

Thank you again! I am going to look up that article now!
Melissa

 

[valleyhoneybee]

Does beak color matter in Black Copper Marans?