International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Minky]

Guys.
My girls are 3 months into laying and their egg color has lightened so much.

Out of 9, only 3 are laying maybe #5.
The rest are barely #4.
Most started out very dark.
Is this normal?

Pullet chicks have black beaks and cannot have horn colored.

Cockerel chicks can have either.

Correct me if im wrong somebody.

That does seem like a big change. Mine started laying late sept ( 6 months ago!) They were a 5-maybe a few were 6, ... Now they are a 4. They are now the same colour as my welsummer eggs, maybe a hint darker.
Can you post a comparison photo? Before/After?

All of my chicks (even the ones with the darkest beaks) have a horn coloured tip on their beak. (?)

 

[Chooks man]

@Minky
I don t like this 2 brown headed chicks . they have different hatch down pattern plus brown beak and head .I suspect they have some sort of restrictor genes . not pure BCM .
they will be colored .gorgeous copper for sure especially if they dark brown gene carrier .middle toe should be free from any feathers ,
both will have vulture hocks when fully mature.
chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@Minky
this 2 black one are stunning ,proper BCM hatch down color ,black face and beak . they middle toes is free free any feathers .
love they type ,thick and chunky
chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

View attachment 258440512 beautiful babies out running around this morning.. from shipped eggs I received from Bantambird!

nice to see @Bantambird eggs hatched by some body else from the thread . big chubby chicks ,
chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

I personally like the smoky type. I believe chooks man said the less white, the more correct they are?

Way back in this thread somewhere, he posted a photo of a dark smoky chick and praised it.

My most recent hatch, most were smoky and some have some mossiness.
I saw the breeders line and they are nice. In her line, the mossiness molts out and they all had beautiful coloring as adults. I cant speak for anyone else though.

I have never heard the correlation between mossiness and dark eggs. I would be curious to know too..

greyish/ black or smoky like you said will give black plumage without green sheen when fully mature . good trait .
chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Guys.
My girls are 3 months into laying and their egg color has lightened so much.

Out of 9, only 3 are laying maybe #5.
The rest are barely #4.
Most started out very dark.
Is this normal?

nothing wrong with that .some line are better bred than others .
the SOP call for pullets to lay dark egg min 5 in they first 2 month of laying .that is enough to be classify as dark eggs layer .
but we breeders can select for longer period of dark egg laying by selective breeding .to that ,we need to breed from pullets in the end of they laying cycle before they molt .if they still lay dark egg min 5 than they progeny will lay dark eggs for longer period .

I m hatching from my pullets ,they are 15/16 month old ,they start molting or mid way .only breeding the one that are laying min 5 egg color . for sure most of the pullets I will hatch will lay dark eggs for a longer period .

breed from the one are still laying dark eggs regardless what fault they have .
chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Pullet chicks have black beaks and cannot have horn colored.

Cockerel chicks can have either.

Correct me if im wrong somebody.

you are correct if the line is bred properly in a absence of any modifying gene.

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

BCM chicks from CTB over older BCM hens . 10 BC rest are BLC and few SP . liking a BC many cockerels 6 all medium feathering type . 4 pullets are fast feathering type .
more chicks hatched and are hatching this weekend most of them from CTB over his sibling/half sibling . line breeding . larger chicks are hatching .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

this hen have 3 splash copper from Khabib .2 BC from CTB ,3 NN from franks and one red from Day walker .
chooks man

 

[Bluebonnet Poultry TX]

Here is my first chicks of the season! There is only 2 but I have more in the incubator. They both came from a #7 colored egg.