International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Chooks man]

Hello everyone! I have been studying this long thread for a while now. Has taken quite a while to read through most of it. WOW, have I learned alot! Still need to go back and take some notes. lol Great info here!

I had one black copper marans hen a few years ago. She laid a beautiful egg and was a really sweet girl. Fit it well with my mixed flock. She just wasn't the most healthy bird and didn't lay all that well. She passed away suddenly at only 1.5 years old. Don't know why. I still miss her.

Anyway, last Feb 2017, I bought 5 BCM chicks, straight run, all turned out female. They have been so far very healthy, started laying nice dark brown eggs at 20-22 weeks. They have laid well so far. Except one, she started laying, laid well for about a month or so and then promptly went broody. We were coming up on winter so I persuaded her to change her mind after some effort. Wasn't easy!

I have truly fell in love with this breed. I think they are beautiful birds. I love seeing all the pics you folks post here and would like to share some pics of mine. I have never bred any breed toward SOP and only have a hobby mixed flock now. I'm thinking I may like to do this at some point with the Marans and maybe mix in a few Legbars for olive eggers as well. At the present I do not have a Black Copper rooster but may search for one in the future and add more hens as well. I don't think I'd ever want to get into "showing" but would like to stay true to the breed as much as possible.

Following are pics of 4 of them and their eggs. Their names are on the pics. I have one more who will not be still long enough for me to get good pics of. I know they are not SOP but would love opinions as my eyes are just learning what things to look for.

Also any suggestions on what to look for in a rooster/cockerel?

Thanks so much for looking. Sorry this post turned into a novel.
Kathy

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Welcome to this thread ,
they are nice big hens .great mass and body type .
they have few faults .each hen has it own qualities .
I ll comment on them later today when I m free .

Mocha is the best so far .
gorgeous egg colour .you should be happy about that .

chooks man

 

[Bantambird]

Great hatching news! Another recessive white showed up! I know for sure because I have no blue or splash cocks with my girls so no splash chicks are possible! It's not out of the Hatcher yet but I'll be moving chicks to the newhatched brooder today when hatching slows down. The chicks started yesterday afternoon and are stringing out hatching, probably because it's -10 °F outside. I try to keep the hatchery 60-70°F inside but there's a small draft under the door so I wonder if it affects things. It's a pretty great little hatchery but it's no more than a 10'x15' old brick building insulated with sprayfoam and it holds heat well and stays cool in summer too....
I have to move them tonight. At least I want to. Also my phone gets really fussy in the cold weather and turns off. It's wimpy I guess.

 

[Bantambird]

I just had to post these little guys. There's a cream legbar pullet in there, but the rest are blue and black silver Marans.

The white one is a sibling to the others. It's a pure Marans chick.

 

[Chooks man]

View attachment 1663839 View attachment 1663840 View attachment 1663841 I just had to post these little guys. There's a cream legbar pullet in there, but the rest are blue and black silver Marans.

The white one is a sibling to the others. It's a pure Marans chick.

good looking chicks .love they type .
the white recessive chick you got there is going to be really white ,no red leakage , because he is out of the silver based strain .
love to see him in the future .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@NanaK
Railey . great body type and hackle marking .lovely and correct copper . correct comb ,lovely point on it , nice tail angle .
her faults are .white ears lobes and darker eyes

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@NanaK
Reesie = good type and a lovely back . nice comb and lovely copper hackle ,could have some more copper . gorgeous eyes .
her faults are = white ears lobe and high tail angle .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@NanaK
Mocha /. great body type and head . gorgeous copper need more on her hackle , like her tail angle but not her big tail .
her faults are .white ears lobe and comb .twisted at the front .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@NanaK
Puddin ; great body type .nice copper but need more to cover her hackle .
love her long flat back and tail angle . great feet .well feathered and coloured ,right length too .
her faults are 'white ears lobe and her eyes are darker .

you have to breed the white ears lobe out of your flock ,and you need to work on the length of the tails .they are too long .

you should be happy with they body type .all have the correct marans type .ad they eggs colour . the rest you can work on it as you go .
you have the important stuff .

chooks man

 

[bikergirl]

Crooks man could you give me some feedback on Jean-Luc my BCM rooster, Color shape etc. Please ignore his hackles (I’ve been forced to put a crow collar on him if I want to keep him) I am disappointed in the white on his earlobes

 

[NanaK]

Chooks man, thank you for taking the time to do that. I really appreciate it. Trying to learn to notice these things.
They were very happy today. Weather was perfect and they had a few strawberries as a treat! I love watching them always makes me smile.

Cute chicks!
And a handsome fellow too!