International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Punkybrewster]

I m with you guys now . had trouble ,haven t had access to internet since the 1 of december 2021till today . I m using Sydney library computer .
lot thing to my life last 10 months ,start to go well now .but the dram hasn t finished yet .but going on the right direction , hope I ll fix thing well for a good .
I need to regroup my self now and finish my books .
haven t been into the farm or seen the chooks for 15 months now ,don t have a clue what happen .
a year ago I was running 3 places and I thought I had it all figured out ,than every thing went bad shape and sour .
healthy and positive now ,never lost my faith .
chooks man

@Chooks man it is so good to see you here. So sorry you have had troubles the past few months but very glad you are getting healthy again.

You have been dearly missed my friend.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Welp,
My cockerel from Judith that I had high hopes for has become knock kneed.
I tried to get a good picture of him. Legs are way too close together when he walks and bend inward. I dont think it will improve with age.

He is about 12 weeks old now.
Would this make him a cull?
Should I wait a few more weeks or months?
He has the best copper of all the young cockerels so far. His comb and leg feathering are awful but I know they can be fixed but its the leg spacing I know nothing about.
I know he is over colored in the chest but most is gone by 1 year with these guys. I dont worry about it. It helps give full copper on the hens.

I will get some updated pictures of this guy today. He looks nothing like this anymore. Im glad I waited for him to grow.

 

[Punkybrewster]

I have 10 BCM cockerels I am growing out right now. They are around 4 months old. I am TRYING not to cull until they all reach at least 1 year old this time. I see a couple with white underfluff already. Ugh.
They are eating machines but most have nice mass and color already.

I want to replace Seamus. He has so much white in his tail but he did give complete copper to his progeny. His pullets hackles are beautiful and the cockerels I am growing out are also his. Most have his beautiful, proper copper already.

I am thinking of what advice @Chooks man would give.
"Breed from him, then get rid of him" because of so much white but other good qualities I needed in my pen.

Cull hard.
This is why I am trying to wait until they are 1 year old. I wish I had 100 to choose from instead of 10.

I now have 6 cockerels growing out.
The 4 I culled were stunning but began showing so much white at a young age.

The 6 I have left have no white so far.
They look very nice. One has a high tail so he will not stay.

I will try to get pics today.

 

[Chooks man]

I now have 6 cockerels growing out.
The 4 I culled were stunning but began showing so much white at a young age.

The 6 I have left have no white so far.
They look very nice. One has a high tail so he will not stay.

I will try to get pics today.

Get some pick so I can see what you are talking about .during the day I have access to a normal computer I lol comment on them .I m trying to catch up I m on page 57. Dozen pages more to go. I m working from my new phone. Hard to see properly .chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

View attachment 3089069View attachment 3089070
Just had to present this guy John again. He's turned out so well, he will be so hard to replace. I might not be able to for a while.

All class my friend . I ll say it again and again correct Marian’s comb complete body pattern and gorgeous silver . You are the best birches breeder I know .bravo chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

The littles are growing out nicely.

Here is an update on my cockerel from Judith. My egg eating, line #1 hen who lays a big beautiful egg.
Vulture hocks were on the cockerels from this line.

I dont like his over feathered feet. This guy has a lot from his mother. Good and bad. I will have to keep an eye out for vulture hocks on him but I think by now, he would be expressing it.

His chest does not bother me. So far, I have seen this molt out to just a few flecks. The cockerels that I have had with overcolored chests had nice copper as adults.

His eye color is not as dark as I thought, but still should be lighter.

I like his long back and tail so far. I hope the tail doesnt pop up. His sire has a low tail.

He is the biggest of the bunch and a calm, cool boss over the pen.

Am I delusional or just wishful thinking?

View attachment 3105620View attachment 3105621View attachment 3105625

Stunning looking dude. No vulture hocks .I will this type of feet well feathered .lot at the bottom and less at the top .l like him a lot . Plus he is a blend of 2differwnt line. He is the outcome of your work. You have to keep him I know I m too late now hope he still around .chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Aaaand more baby pics.
Feel free to critique.
Or as chooks man says, describe.

View attachment 3105667View attachment 3105669View attachment 3105670View attachment 3105671View attachment 3105672View attachment 3105673

They are lovely. Great body type plus well chunky .love the pullet walking down the ramp sublime.chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Welp,
My cockerel from Judith that I had high hopes for has become knock kneed.
I tried to get a good picture of him. Legs are way too close together when he walks and bend inward. I dont think it will improve with age.

He is about 12 weeks old now.
Would this make him a cull?
Should I wait a few more weeks or months?
He has the best copper of all the young cockerels so far. His comb and leg feathering are awful but I know they can be fixed but its the leg spacing I know nothing about.
I know he is over colored in the chest but most is gone by 1 year with these guys. I dont worry about it. It helps give full copper on the hens.

How he is doing now.need more time to be sure .chooks man

 

[Punkybrewster]

Stunning looking dude. No vulture hocks .I will this type of feet well feathered .lot at the bottom and less at the top .l like him a lot . Plus he is a blend of 2differwnt line. He is the outcome of your work. You have to keep him I know I m too late now hope he still around .chooks man

Yes, i still have him. I was worried about his legs and knees being too close together but he has grown to be a beautiful cockerel so far.

But he is aggressive toward me in the cockerel pen. I am hoping he calms down when I move him to the breeding pen.

I will get pics later today.

 

[Punkybrewster]

How he is doing now.need more time to be sure .chooks man

This is the one I will get pics on later today