International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[kcrandall]

Happy belated thanksgiving. !!! And good luck with Black Friday !

can someone remind me what colour beaks day olds marans have if they are male/ female?
I hatched some olive Eggers using my CLB roo and marans and some have pale beaks and others have pale upper with dark beak tips.
will this be gender related possibly?

I believe BCM pullets express an all black beak and BCM cockerels will express a horn colored beak although this method is not 100% and depends on the line. Vent sexing is the most accurate way to sex day old chicks but you need to be experienced to perform this method so as to not harm the chicks.

 

[Minky]

I believe BCM pullets express an all black beak and BCM cockerels will express a horn colored beak although this method is not 100% and depends on the line. Vent sexing is the most accurate way to sex day old chicks but you need to be experienced to perform this method so as to not harm the chicks.

Hi. ok thanks. I tried to vent sex them yesterday. I was very gentle. I think I might try again. I had a light up magnifying glass..but my eyes are not what they were at 30 LOL
All looked female. the 3 that looked suspicious I labelled male. But it was my first attempt. figured I may as well start now, not in 10 years...

 

[Chooks man]

3 days of very hot weather 59/40. DC with strong hot wind .chooks are doing well lucky I m not breeding them ,all my hens are in the shed for most of the day .they come out when it is cooler in afternoon . lucky a days are longer ,they can eat .
all healthy and strong .happy about them .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

I believe BCM pullets express an all black beak and BCM cockerels will express a horn colored beak although this method is not 100% and depends on the line. Vent sexing is the most accurate way to sex day old chicks but you need to be experienced to perform this method so as to not harm the chicks.

agree with you my friend .
no point in sexing BCM chicks if we are not going to use vent sexing .
me personally I like my hatch to be 50% each balance hatch .equal chances on both sexes , for me both sex are important .

chooks man

 

[kcrandall]

agree with you my friend .
no point in sexing BCM chicks if we are not going to use vent sexing .
me personally I like my hatch to be 50% each balance hatch .equal chances on both sexes , for me both sex are important .

chooks man

I’m with you on a balanced hatched. I think it’s easier to breed good pullets than cockerels so the more cockerels the more we have to choose from. We only need a few breeders so the rest can become layers or meat birds.

 

[aliciaplus3]

I’m with you on a balanced hatched. I think it’s easier to breed good pullets than cockerels so the more cockerels the more we have to choose from. We only need a few breeders so the rest can become layers or meat birds.

Not everyone wants to sex them to select breeding stock at an early age.... most of what I see would be to be able to sell as female at an early age.... I may be wrong?

 

[kcrandall]

Not everyone wants to sex them to select breeding stock at an early age.... most of what I see would be to be able to sell as female at an early age.... I may be wrong?

i think there is some truth to that. Most BCM Breeders I know only sell unsexed day old BCM chicks. If their clients only want pullets then they have to wait until they are 4 to 6 weeks old to be sure of sex.

 

[aliciaplus3]

i think there is some truth to that. Most BCM Breeders I know only sell unsexed day old BCM chicks. If their clients only want pullets then they have to wait until they are 4 to 6 weeks old to be sure of sex.

I can reliably tell gender at 8... or 10 months. Been fooled a couple times even at 7 months.... lol

 

[Chooks man]

i think there is some truth to that. Most BCM Breeders I know only sell unsexed day old BCM chicks. If their clients only want pullets then they have to wait until they are 4 to 6 weeks old to be sure of sex.

BCM breeders could breed for feathers sexing . it is very reliable method . for this to be true cockerels lines and pullets line should be bred deferent .
cockerels line should be bred with Early feathering trait { Early Feathering Type }
pullets lines should be bred with Slow Feathering trait { Slow Feathering Type }

when we mate a Early Feathering type cockerel/rooster to a Slow Feathering Type hen/hens all the pullets chicks will be Early feathering type .they will hatch with 2 line of flight feathers .one line of long feathers and one line of shorter feathers.
cockerels will hatch with just one line of flight feathers
for this method to be true both lines cockerels and pullets have to be bred true ,other wise does not work .

Guess BCM have too many traits to select for .dark egg .good body type etc.............. so no body has a time to breed for feathers sexing .

chooks man

 

[Punkybrewster]

I marked pullets who were fast feathering in my line #2 birds. The 2 cockerels were slow feathering.

Line #1, Negan, is fast feathering.

When the time comes to breed, my plan is to eventually produce this trait for sexing.