International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Chooks man]

@Hensndoes
he is all class. Elegant .
well colored .10/10 body color
body type good
back good ,could be a little longer
head gorgeous
eyes .gorgeous
comb need some work not balanced .
Ears tuft .great coppery color
wattles .great not all over the place
Ears lobe .good shape and size well colored .
neck strong and well arched at the top .lush and well colored
back flat and tilted need more length .
tail .gorgeous .small at the right angle .nice shape and form .
wings great .nice color and held close to the body .
chest .deep and held high not tilted toward the front
leg and shanks good well feathered .good length too not too tall .

his weaknesses are his comb .need to be tidy and his back need more length .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@Hensndoes
they look to me they are a big hens. well colored .
a problem I see is they comb .is far too large

need a better shot please.

don t too worry about the leafs .

chooks man

 

[kfelton0002]

@kfelton0002 she is gorgeous . I love every thing about her .
body type great
body color great
head great
neck great
back great
tail great
wings great well tucked in
chest .great well deep
feet and shank .great .short ,well colored and feathered .
body plumage .pure black . free from any fluff ,sheen only on the upper part of the body { back and wings}and free from any mossiness.
body carriage great .alert ,sharp not goofy .

what she is lucking is a good eyes ,coomb and mass
her eyes nothing you can do about them .
her comb is not great neither bad ,she ll lose few points for sure .no many
the real problem is her mass . need at least a pound .

to fix that .put her in a confine place .like a show cage and feed her properly for a couples of weeks and see if she gain any weight . if it is her genetic make up she ll stay a same . if just because she was free ranging ,than she ll put some weight .

chooks man

I agree 100% on everything you said. She isn't the best bird I have but she is the best feathered so that's why I chose her. Feather condition is important for show and most of my Marans are terrible this year because of all the rain we had this summer and fall. She has been in a conditioning pen since I put her up and I'm feeding her heavy so hopefully she'll plump on up. I just weighed her and she weighs 5.12 lbs so she is up quite a bit from her starting weight when I first put her in a conditioning pen. They definitely are leaner when they free range so she is putting on weight well and feels in good body condition. I still have 13 days to put a little more weight on her, but she is getting closer to the standard weight.

 

[kfelton0002]

Can't blame you! Mine aren't laying right now :/

I have a couple pullets that just started laying, but none of my breeders are laying. I am enjoying my break from hatching though. lol

 

[kfelton0002]

Yea buddy!!

I'm glad you like her. I only hope the judges in Morehead like her as well! She may not place at all, but I have to start somewhere. I get so nervous thinking about the upcoming show. Hopefully once I get this one under my belt I can relax a little as I get familiar with the show world. I learned that a fellow member of The Marans Club from the facebook group will be there. So at least I will kinda know one person. lol

I just gave my little pullet a pep talk. I told her how pretty she was, and that she was a good girl, and how happy I was that she gained weight! I think I may be losing my dang mind.

Oh and I may have a surprise entry in the show... stay tuned!

 

[kfelton0002]

New pullet eggs. It's nice to have some brown eggs in my basket again.

 

[chickengr]

View attachment 1581326 View attachment 1581323 So if you spend your day raking leaves in a pile you may want to pick them up before you walk away. Or you rake twice. View attachment 1581321

lucky you that you have leaves! there are plenty of bugs under there for chickens. I try to collect any leaves I can find and put them in the run.

 

[kfelton0002]

lucky you that you have leaves! there are plenty of bugs under there for chickens. I try to collect any leaves I can find and put them in the run.

I do to.. I like to rake up dry leaves and use them as a deep litter in pens for the chickens to scratch in.

 

[Chooks man]

I agree 100% on everything you said. She isn't the best bird I have but she is the best feathered so that's why I chose her. Feather condition is important for show and most of my Marans are terrible this year because of all the rain we had this summer and fall. She has been in a conditioning pen since I put her up and I'm feeding her heavy so hopefully she'll plump on up. I just weighed her and she weighs 5.12 lbs so she is up quite a bit from her starting weight when I first put her in a conditioning pen. They definitely are leaner when they free range so she is putting on weight well and feels in good body condition. I still have 13 days to put a little more weight on her, but she is getting closer to the standard weight.

great news she is putting some weight on .so it is not genetic just too much of free time and free ranging .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

lucky you that you have leaves! there are plenty of bugs under there for chickens. I try to collect any leaves I can find and put them in the run.

very funny .one of you is trying to clean the chooks run from the leaves and the other is trying to bring any leaves she can find to the chooks run. Hahaaaaaaaaa
it is nicer if you where close to each other .

chooks man