International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[kcrandall]

cockerel 1= stunning body type . fit perfectly the description of the standard . long and rectangulair body . nice long flat back tilted a little toward the back nice solid neck well colored pretty head ( a little smaller ) nicely colored eyes . great comb nice tail angle . a tail is a little longer . should be short and wide at the base . strait leg SHANK NOT FEATHERED shoulder color is coming along nicely chest well colored too . I love this guy has a lot going for him chooks man

I agree 100%! Cockerel 1 has superior color to Cockerel 2; however, both cockerels have good type, size and light gray shanks with pinkish undertones. They still have a lot of growing to do so please be patient until they show you their full potential. Cockerel 1 will add color to his female progeny when bred to pullets / hen lacking copper hackles and the pullets / hen will add the feathered legs. I believe you will be quite happy with them when they grow up. Keith

 

[winterhorses]

The lady at Chicken Ridge said she got her breeding pair from Union Hill.( https://www.facebook.com/unionhill.ranch/ ) They told her they used a "secret mix" to create their lavenders. Not very helpful, huh?

Just did a little searching and found that the Union Hill owner has been on this forum as chickenlady3. From a Lavender Marans thread:
"We have been working on this breed for 2 years and are producing some really nice birds. The egg color has been coming along quite nicely but we started with some of Bruce Hambrick's birds and have been crossing them to my best Wade Jeane Black Copper roos/hens. With each successive generation we are getting at least 2 shades darker....not bad! "

And some research on this Bruce Hambrick person took me to a 2014 auction listing by his son:
" have a rare breed of chickens called Lavender Marans. My dad Bruce Hambrick from Griffin, GA, worked on creating this breed for years and finally perfected it. Well a few months back, he passed away due to some serious medical issues that he had. I have since inherited these beautiful chickens, but really need to sell them now to help pay for some medical bills that he owed. They were at one time going for $1500 a trio, which obviously drops some as more people start to breed them. I have the last set of 4, a rooster and 3 hens. They are laying very dark chocolate eggs with a deep yellow yolk."

No idea on what Hambrick used, but I've read of others using Lav Orpingtons and Black Marans.

 

[KF0002]

this are gorgeous looking eggs well uniform . Bravo to the breeder. they look like they come out of the fridge . well clean .

can you please ask the breeder what sort of nest materiel is using ( hope is not Egyptian cotton ) no a single crutch .

impressed .

chooks man

He uses straw in his nest boxes. I was impressed with how clean they were for unwashed eggs, and they were very fresh. I was really happy with the color of the eggs and the excellent packaging job he used. He used a ton of bubble wrap when he boxed them up.

 

[KF0002]

good luck with your first hatch .

a broody hen hatch me a few chicks today . she did better than Man technology . she only had 6 eggs . I ll see tomorrow how many she managed to hatch .

chooks man

Thank you! Congrats on your Marans chicks! I love letting broodies do all the work. I'm looking forward to having chicks around again. I've missed being mama hen these past few months. Our first clutch went into lockdown today, but a few eggs candled poorly.. looks like there were a few late quitters from one of my husband's game pens. The cock in that pen is over his nieces. That is the pen my husband wants chicks from the most.. isn't that just the way it goes? I set every week so from now until summer I will be hatching chicks weekly.

Also in that clutch that went into lockdown today are some Speckled Sussex X White Leghorn crosses from my layer pen I set at the request of a friend of mine. He wants the hybrid pullets this spring to replace his old layers. He plans to eat the cockerels, however if they take after the Leghorn hens there won't be much meat on them. Incidentally, all of the Sussex X Leghorn eggs candled good. Hybrid vigor.. lol

 

[Chooks man]

The lady at Chicken Ridge said she got her breeding pair from Union Hill.( https://www.facebook.com/unionhill.ranch/ ) They told her they used a "secret mix" to create their lavenders. Not very helpful, huh?

Just did a little searching and found that the Union Hill owner has been on this forum as chickenlady3. From a Lavender Marans thread:
"We have been working on this breed for 2 years and are producing some really nice birds. The egg color has been coming along quite nicely but we started with some of Bruce Hambrick's birds and have been crossing them to my best Wade Jeane Black Copper roos/hens. With each successive generation we are getting at least 2 shades darker....not bad! "

And some research on this Bruce Hambrick person took me to a 2014 auction listing by his son:
" have a rare breed of chickens called Lavender Marans. My dad Bruce Hambrick from Griffin, GA, worked on creating this breed for years and finally perfected it. Well a few months back, he passed away due to some serious medical issues that he had. I have since inherited these beautiful chickens, but really need to sell them now to help pay for some medical bills that he owed. They were at one time going for $1500 a trio, which obviously drops some as more people start to breed them. I have the last set of 4, a rooster and 3 hens. They are laying very dark chocolate eggs with a deep yellow yolk."

No idea on what Hambrick used, but I've read of others using Lav Orpingtons and Black Marans.

I told you the marans breed doesn t have a Lav gene on them .

what they are saying ,they are not 100% pure marans . that why they are crossing them back to all sort of BCM line to darken they eggs. they forgot Welsummer chooks breed lay dark egg too .doesn t make them marans ..

NO nice to add different chooks blood to the marans .it is not fare .
they are free to do what they want with they chooks but they should not call them marans . because they are not .

the marans breed is very rich breed varieties colors wise . we can cross marans to marans to recreate different variety but not outcrossing .NONONONONO......................

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Haha, oops on using overcolored wrong. I thought that meant there was too much copper on the body, and I thought this guy had too much copper on his chest...like there should be some but not a big patch like he has? Well, I'm glad to be wrong in this case!

I did see the unfortunately unfeathered shanks, but I'm hoping that might help balance out two of my heavily feathered pullets who have a feather or two on the middle toe? (Does it work that way, lol?) I was also wondering about the long tail. It'll be fun to see how he matures.

Thanks for the feedback!!

that is correct to used him over the pullets with extra feathers on they shanks .50% of the progeny will be feathered properly the rest will be over feathered like they mam and without feathers like they father..

don t to worry too much about the tail just cut it into half ( trim it . ha ha ha )

the lenght of the tail isn t a big problem to fix . the Angle if set too high is a nightmare to fix .

chooks man

 

[winterhorses]

I told you the marans breed doesn t have a Lav gene on them .

what they are saying ,they are not 100% pure marans . that why they are crossing them back to all sort of BCM line to darken they eggs. they forgot Welsummer chooks breed lay dark egg too .doesn t make them marans ..

NO nice to add different chooks blood to the marans .it is not fare .
they are free to do what they want with they chooks but they should not call them marans . because they are not .

the marans breed is very rich breed varieties colors wise . we can cross marans to marans to recreate different variety but not outcrossing .NONONONONO......................

chooks man

I hear what you're saying, and I totally respect that. I certainly haven't been around long enough to merit a worthwhile opinion on it!

I do have a lot of experience with horses, though, and it doesn't bother me, personally, to bring outside blood into most breeds. I know some people and some registries have a very purist viewpoint, and I can see that, too. My current riding horse is an Oldenburg with a somewhat unusual pinto color. I believe the pinto gene was brought in by a Thoroughbred several generations ago. I guess I feel that as long as it meets the standards and breeds true...if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then...? After all, weren't Marans heavily influenced by Croad Langshans?

Like I said, I'll defer to your expertise! Maybe my chickens need a new name!

Since it might be the lavender gene of an Orp over the copper of a BCM, maybe Lavender Marington? Or use the the German term for the straw dilute and call them Isabel Orpans, lol? I should start a movement!

 

[Chooks man]

I hear what you're saying, and I totally respect that. I certainly haven't been around long enough to merit a worthwhile opinion on it!

I do have a lot of experience with horses, though, and it doesn't bother me, personally, to bring outside blood into most breeds. I know some people and some registries have a very purist viewpoint, and I can see that, too. My current riding horse is an Oldenburg with a somewhat unusual pinto color. I believe the pinto gene was brought in by a Thoroughbred several generations ago. I guess I feel that as long as it meets the standards and breeds true...if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then...? After all, weren't Marans heavily influenced by Croad Langshans?

Like I said, I'll defer to your expertise! Maybe my chickens need a new name!

Since it might be the lavender gene of an Orp over the copper of a BCM, maybe Lavender Marington? Or use the the German term for the straw dilute and call them Isabel Orpans, lol? I should start a movement!

I m not slugging of your chooks ,only what I m saying why they have to add different breed to them .

you can keep breeding them . work with a Birchen and breed the Lav out to purify your marans .
I don t want you to put so much effort into some thing is not worth it .
a same as the English they took a Cuckoo marans and bred it without feathered shanks . what they where trying to prove . all this work and almost 80 years and still not accepted by the European union as marans .

any pure strain should be kept pure and people who want a create other variety or strain they should name them differently .I think is fare .

chooks man

 

[chickengr]

I hear what you're saying, and I totally respect that. I certainly haven't been around long enough to merit a worthwhile opinion on it!

I do have a lot of experience with horses, though, and it doesn't bother me, personally, to bring outside blood into most breeds. I know some people and some registries have a very purist viewpoint, and I can see that, too. My current riding horse is an Oldenburg with a somewhat unusual pinto color. I believe the pinto gene was brought in by a Thoroughbred several generations ago. I guess I feel that as long as it meets the standards and breeds true...if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then...? After all, weren't Marans heavily influenced by Croad Langshans?

Like I said, I'll defer to your expertise! Maybe my chickens need a new name!

Since it might be the lavender gene of an Orp over the copper of a BCM, maybe Lavender Marington? Or use the the German term for the straw dilute and call them Isabel Orpans, lol? I should start a movement!

marington is ok, orpans sounds a bit like orphans, doesn't it?

 

[chickengr]

I m not slugging of your chooks ,only what I m saying why they have to add different breed to them .

you can keep breeding them . work with a Birchen and breed the Lav out to purify your marans .
I don t want you to put so much effort into some thing is not worth it .
a same as the English they took a Cuckoo marans and bred it without feathered shanks . what they where trying to prove . all this work and almost 80 years and still not accepted by the European union as marans .

any pure strain should be kept pure and people who want a create other variety or strain they should name them differently .I think is fare .

chooks man

if we cross silver cuckoo roo with bcm hen what do we get?