International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[KF0002]

Okay here’s the update on my two boys, now six months old. Once again I prefer one over the other easily.

Cockerel 1:
View attachment 1972951 View attachment 1972954

He’s easily my favorite. He has nice deep red comb, wattles, and face, good leg and sole color and foot feathering. But I’m not good yet at telling any of the other characteristics.

Cockerel 2:
View attachment 1972955 View attachment 1972956

His copper seems a little light to me in his neck. Plus his comb and wattles aren’t very red comparatively.

Here’s a picture of both to compare copper color:
View attachment 1972957

I do have one question though. Am I counting wrong or do they have 6 points instead of 5? I though Marans were only supposed to have 5, but maybe I remembered wrong, or counted wrong. They’re from two different lines so I’d be confused if they both had this fault.

By the time I’ll be using them to breed they’ll be about 9-10 months old.

Thank you for any and all help and criticism.

Give the second cockerel time to mature more because he may surprise you. His comb and wattles aren't as red because he is still young and immature. If they are from two different lines, he may just be maturing more slowly than the first cockerel. I let my birds grow out until they were 7-8 months old this year before I chose keepers/culls because they change so much as they mature.

Five points in the comb is preferred by the American SOP for Marans, but if a bird has too few or too many it isn't held against the bird too hard in show, points wise as long as the comb looks tidy and is free from sprigs or other disqualifying defects. Comb is just one aspect to look at when you weigh the pros and cons of grow outs. Judges like for a comb to look "aesthetically pleasing" so no twists, sprigs, overly large, lopped over, etc. Your females will carry more weight genetically when it comes to combs, so don't think too much about the number of the points when selecting which cockerel to breed. The first cockerel has a twist to his comb, but that doesn't throw him out of the running necessarily because every bird you use as a breeder will all have flaws that leave you with things to work on every generation.

As of right now, I agree that I like the first one better as well. His copper is deeper and more even. His tail angle looks correct for now but in the first picture he looks awkward, but that could be just the way he is standing. He looks better in the second picture. Try to get pictures of each bird from all angles: side, top, rear, front. Also in the last picture, the second cockerel appears to possibly have a wry tail which is why a top view is good to evaluate for that (looking straight down at the back). I have had 2 birds this year with wry tail, so I know what a pain in the neck they can be.

Also as the birds mature, look under their hackles to see if there is white fluff there. That is a big thing as well to consider when selecting your breeders. It is something I am working to eliminate as we speak.

I am still learning when it comes to Marans, but I wanted to offer my thoughts. @Chooks man will offer a more in depth assessment for you.

 

[KF0002]

Also, @TwoChicksChix your Araucana's in the adjacent pen are lovely! I'm assuming that's what they are, I am not well versed on the breed. Either way, I think they are pretty. I love a bearded breed. If it's bearded, feather legged, crested, or all of the above it catches my eye. Unfortunately I am maxed out on breeds at the present moment. lol

 

[TwoChicksChix]

Also, @TwoChicksChix your Araucana's in the adjacent pen are lovely! I'm assuming that's what they are, I am not well versed on the breed. Either way, I think they are pretty. I love a bearded breed. If it's bearded, feather legged, crested, or all of the above it catches my eye. Unfortunately I am maxed out on breeds at the present moment. lol

Thank you!

They’re my growouts for a couple different Ameraucana colors, lavender, white, blue wheaten, and blue/black/splash.

They’ll be my breeding group in the Spring, I absolutely love bearded breeds!

Eventually a goal of mine is to work towards an olive egger cross between Marans and Ameraucanas where they have the pea comb, cheeks and beard, feathered legs, and golden hackles. Though that’ll be a few years in the future after deciding the best way to work out those genotypes. Darn recessives lol

 

[KF0002]

Thank you!

They’re my growouts for a couple different Ameraucana colors, lavender, white, blue wheaten, and blue/black/splash.

They’ll be my breeding group in the Spring, I absolutely love bearded breeds!

Eventually a goal of mine is to work towards an olive egger cross between Marans and Ameraucanas where they have the pea comb, cheeks and beard, feathered legs, and golden hackles. Though that’ll be a few years in the future after deciding the best way to work out those genotypes. Darn recessives lol

My experience with Olive Eggers involves the use of Legbars, not Ameraucanas as blue egg layers, but I had better results and more "olive" colored eggs by mating a Legbar male over Marans females. When I bred them the other way (Marans male over Legbar female) the hens laid plain green eggs, not olive. Pretty egg layers are fun.

 

[TwoChicksChix]

My experience with Olive Eggers involves the use of Legbars, not Ameraucanas as blue egg layers, but I had better results and more "olive" colored eggs by mating a Legbar male over Marans females. When I bred them the other way (Marans male over Legbar female) the hens laid plain green eggs, not olive. Pretty egg layers are fun.

From my past dealings with olive eggers, before I sold my group, I’ve found that to get really nice olive colors and variety it usually takes at least two generations. My F2s and f3s were beautiful

 

[KF0002]

From my past dealings with olive eggers, before I sold my group, I’ve found that to get really nice olive colors and variety it usually takes at least two generations. My F2s and f3s were beautiful

That's awesome! I haven't really had the time to take my OE's past the F1 generation. I really like the color I get from my F1's and will breed a few more in the spring since my OE hens are getting a little age on them now. I like the look of their eggs in the egg cartons alongside the blue, white, and chocolate. My co-workers love them also.

 

[TwoChicksChix]

That's awesome! I haven't really had the time to take my OE's past the F1 generation. I really like the color I get from my F1's and will breed a few more in the spring since my OE hens are getting a little age on them now. I like the look of their eggs in the egg cartons alongside the blue, white, and chocolate. My co-workers love them also.

Same, I have a variety of breeds for this reason. My BCM for their chocolate eggs, Ameraucanas for their blue eggs, olive eggers for green eggs, and my Langshans that I’ve been working on for their pink eggs.

 

[KF0002]

Same, I have a variety of breeds for this reason. My BCM for their chocolate eggs, Ameraucanas for their blue eggs, olive eggers for green eggs, and my Langshans that I’ve been working on for their pink eggs.

That's so cool! I didn't know Langshans laid pink eggs. My neighbor's orphingtons lay a pink/beige egg that is really pretty. My Games lay a cream colored egg and the one remaining Leghorn hen lays a big white egg. No pink though. However, one Marans hen I have lays a dark egg with a very heavy bloom sometimes that looks purplish. It's really neat looking. lol

 

[TwoChicksChix]

That's so cool! I didn't know Langshans laid pink eggs. My neighbor's orphingtons lay a pink/beige egg that is really pretty. My Games lay a cream colored egg and the one remaining Leghorn hen lays a big white egg. No pink though. However, one Marans hen I have lays a dark egg with a very heavy bloom sometimes that looks purplish. It's really neat looking. lol

Langshans tend to lay a brown egg, but some people have been working on getting a pink one.

 

[Jett_05]

This post is so informative! I just got into BCM and think they are just exceptional birds. I've had a cross for quite sometime but recently rescued a nice bcm rooster from some folks in the city who bought some chicks from a local breeder. Thought they were all hens but he started crowing. They did show me his sister's eggs and they are an exceptionally dark and large for young pullets. He is hands down the sweetest roo but I'm curious to get input on him from folks who know the breed more. I had purchased some other BCM to hatch and now have 3 more who are 2 month old (2 hens and another roo).

Here are some photos of the rescue roo (Papa Roo) at 7 month old. He has filled out a bit more feather wise as he is now 9 month old. He does have a couple stray white feathers on his legs. Is there anything I should be extra mindful about regarding breeding him to my future hens?

Thanks!