International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Punkybrewster]

View attachment 3738596I like this one for some reason. She looks darker to me, especially in the face. Maybe just the lighting.

Its her marbled eyes. They are not bright and clear.
She seems square and her tail is different. Shes a big pullet too. Im watching how she grows out.

 

[Punkybrewster]

My OE blue laid her first egg today. I’m pleased to say she did inherit the blue egg gene and the egg color is very nice. If I breed her to a Marans I think 1/2 of her daughters will lay darker olive and half will lay darkish brown. This egg broke when it hit the coop floor but I’m sure once she gets the hang of it and learns to use the nesting boxes they should hold together

Neither of my marans have laid yet but I think they are really close. Betty has been visiting the nesting boxes yesterday and today but no eggs yet.

Thats a pretty egg! Only 50% chance to lay dark olive with the f2 but if youre lucky, its a beautiful color!

Ive never tried f3.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Thanks, I thought as much, his other features are tempting but this is a recessive fault controlled by a single gene, it needs to be bred out ASAP. I think I might try to sell the yellow legged boy to someone who cares more about egg colour than SOP.

Good idea.
If you bred from him, you would be forever nervous each hatch from now on and selling hatching eggs, customers may hatch yellow legs.

 

[NanaK]

I have no insight whatever, but Chooks Man would not like you culling all 10.

Exactly.

You know what?
I felt the @Chooks man disapproval as I read this!

Way back somewhere in this thread he said, "Cull all your chooks you'll have no chook's in your yard!"

If you can I would save a couple.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Yes. High tails and parasitic white are faults found in Marans.

Yellow legs are not a natural fault found in Marans which leads me to believe he is not pure.

Unless someone can tell to me any different.

In theory pure marans would never carry the yellow legs gene. But mine have no other signs of being mixed in recent generation, so I suspect it’s very far up the family tree. My BCM hen has yellow legs, (the BlCM hen or BCM cock does not) but I only have two marans hens so I had to breed with her, plus chooks man said her sons will help fix squirrel tails. Since it’s a recessive gene, I’m worried the cock also has a single copy, or else he couldn’t produce a son with yellow legs.

The BlCM does not carry yellow legs as I had a cross breed from her with white legs even though Freddy (my mixed rooster that is in the same pen) has yellow legs.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Good idea.
If you bred from him, you would be forever nervous each hatch from now on and selling hatching eggs, customers may hatch yellow legs.

I might test some crosses this year with Loki (my adult BCM cock) bred to some leghorns, legbars and warrens to check if he carries yellow legs. If his son has yellow legs, I have to assume that he carries them but I’d like to check anyway. Do you think it would be worth breeding with the yellow Legged cockerel if his dad carries yellow legs anyway, only if the cockerel is better in every other quality?

 

[wrathsfarm]

Yes. High tails and parasitic white are faults found in Marans.

Yellow legs are not a natural fault found in Marans which leads me to believe he is not pure.

Unless someone can tell to me any different.

Yes I realize I shouldn't have said 'worse fault than'. Like saying my Marans laying white eggs is a fault.

I do try to stay away from the 'Marans chicks thread' when someone points out their day olds have yellow feet. I could swear I've read Chooks Man say it's not uncommon for day olds to present yellow but then change to pink.

I could be totally way off here and wrong.. so I don't try to post bad info.
I'll try searching for it later.
@BlueTheBrahma your rereading the thread, mental note if you happen across it?

 

[wrathsfarm]

My OE blue laid her first egg today. I’m pleased to say she did inherit the blue egg gene and the egg color is very nice. If I breed her to a Marans I think 1/2 of her daughters will lay darker olive and half will lay darkish brown. This egg broke when it hit the coop floor but I’m sure once she gets the hang of it and learns to use the nesting boxes they should hold together

Neither of my marans have laid yet but I think they are really close. Betty has been visiting the nesting boxes yesterday and today but no eggs yet.

That's awesome. If we do an egg swap I for sure want some of them. Curious what her mix would look like cuz she's purty .. looking forward to seeing what Betty lays for you. You might not need any of my eggs, I might need yours. Congrats bud.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Yes I realize I shouldn't have said 'worse fault than'. Like saying my Marans laying white eggs is a fault.

I do try to stay away from the 'Marans chicks thread' when someone points out their day olds have yellow feet. I could swear I've read Chooks Man say it's not uncommon for day olds to present yellow but then change to pink.

I could be totally way off here and wrong.. so I don't try to post bad info.
I'll try searching for it later.
@BlueTheBrahma your rereading the thread, mental note if you happen across it?

Yes, I agree that most chicks have a similar leg colour. Pink/white, slate and yellow all look pretty much orange as chicks as all you see is blood beneath the new soft scales. Like often seen in human hair and eyes, most pigments are deposited during growth, this is because they come from the food. Yellow legs are the carotenoids that make yolks orange deposited in the scales, more corn during growing has proven to give my Wellies yellower legs. White legs do not deposit carotenoids in the scales, (the grey in marans come from excess melanin from the birchen pattern).
I’ve looked through all my old photos of my original marans growing up and I can’t even identify which one is Natasha (yellow legged hen) as a chick, because all their legs look the same colour.

 

[Tstraub]

That's awesome. If we do an egg swap I for sure want some of them. Curious what her mix would look like cuz she's purty .. looking forward to seeing what Betty lays for you. You might not need any of my eggs, I might need yours. Congrats bud.

I’m certainly no expert but I have been trying to read up on genetics. The best I can tell if I breed a black sire and blue dam 50% will be black and 50% will be blue feathers. Egg color works the same 50% will get the blue egg gene and lay green eggs. Beard feathers and comb type are not that simple it’s not a one or the other type of split. Things like partial beards and modified pea combs exist. Also since her mother was an EE there might be all kinds of things hiding in her genetics.

I do plan on putting her with Axl when the weather warms up. My breeding pin is not exactly draft free so I don’t feel comfortable moving them until we’re past the cold weather. I’m sure I can get some eggs for you while they are together