International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[kcrandall]

Went out and got Mud off the roost and brought him in for a photo shoot. He is the most well behaved rooster I have ever handled. Such a good boy. My son was feeding him bread and Mud walked around like it was the most natural thing in the world. I am very proud to call him mine. He was born mid June making him about 7 months old now. He has a little nick to the front of his comb that looks like he bumped it on something and took a tiny chunk off. Or maybe my grumpy oldest splash hen gave him a run for his money. I call her Big Broody Judy. lol

Yep, that's redneck all right!! . I like Mud very much - he's got a lot going for him. Keith

 

[KF0002]

Yep, that's redneck all right!!

. I like Mud very much - he's got a lot going for him.

Keith

Would you expect less than redneck from me? That's how I roll.

Thank you. I am very pleased with him!

 

[kcrandall]

Would you expect less than redneck from me?  That's how I roll.  

Thank you.  I am very pleased with him!

I come from a long line of rednecks so taking pics of chickens on the kitchen counter doesn't seem strange to me at all!

Keith

 

[Chooks man]

Well, what a difference a couple of weeks make! In order I like Shy Guy, Cooper and Blade. Blade has too much bad melanin. Shy Guy has really come on - very nice color, classic Marans body type, good comb, and nice eyes. Same for Cooper except his body type is slightly triangular and lacks feathered legs. Adding featherbed legs is easy so no big deal. Shy Guy and Copper are more like bookends.

Good Luck,
Keith

you are forgetting the most important thing .
the purity of the under fluff . should be black .remember the body color come from the rooster .not a body type .
Shy guy has a lighter under fluff not exactly black .so I ll be worrying about the luck of the purity of the black under fluff on his progeny

comb and other stuff is easy to fix . how many time we have to say this .

we pick a rooster based on how colorful he is . the purity of each body type feathers. Black should be black . Copper should be copper . and under fluff should be black or dark grey .

if you want to work with rooster they don t need to have a same quality .
they need to compliment each other OR they progeny should .

I don t see any bad Melanin on Blade .I see a pure black like Copper with a longer body .

chooks man

 

[bullets]

you are forgetting the most important thing .
the purity of the under fluff . should be black .remember the body color come from the rooster .not a body type .
Shy guy has a lighter under fluff not exactly black .so I ll be worrying about the luck of the purity of the black under fluff on his progeny

comb and other stuff is easy to fix . how many time we have to say this .

we pick a rooster based on how colorful he is . the purity of each body type feathers. Black should be black . Copper should be copper . and under fluff should be black or dark grey .

if you want to work with  rooster they don t need to have a same quality .
they need to compliment each other OR they progeny should .

I don t see any bad Melanin on Blade .I see a pure black like Copper with a longer body .

chooks man

So if one does have to breed with lighter underfluff, how do you go about eliminating it? You say it's very difficult so I am curious.

Also, what is a 'wing mirror' that you mentioned in your critique of Mud?

And, what is a lancet?

Thank you!

 

[bullets]

I am asking about underfluff because my Blue Copper cockerel does have very light colored underfluff. The fluffy part of the bottom half of his body is dark blue/gray but when you part his feathers [like the undercoat of dogs fur] it is much lighter almost silvery.

 

[KF0002]

I come from a long line of rednecks so taking pics of chickens on the kitchen counter doesn't seem strange to me at all!

Keith

That's why you all are my kind of people! lol

 

[KF0002]

So if one does have to breed with lighter underfluff, how do you go about eliminating it? You say it's very difficult so I am curious.

Also, what is a 'wing mirror' that you mentioned in your critique of Mud?

And, what is a lancet?

Thank you!

The wing mirror he spoke of is the wing triangle, or the triangle the wing feathers make when they are folded. On brown red type birds (Black Coppers are brown reds) the wing triangle is black. In wheaten birds or wild type (black breasted red) the wing triangle is a light brown color. If a black copper is seen to have light brown in the wing triangle, the bird has wheaten in it's bloodline. A black wing triangle indicates purity in a black copper line.

Wing triangle (black)


Lancets are the feathers of the saddle area, also called saddle feathers.

Lancets

Regarding the light underfluff, Chooks man says to pair a bird that has light or white underfluff with a mate that has dark black underfluff to correct it. If I understood correctly.

 

[KF0002]

@bullets I don't own any Wheaten Marans, but I will show you an example with one of our Wheaten American Games. Note the triangle the end of the wing makes. The wing triangle on a wheaten bird is light brown/bronze colored. Black Coppers (brown reds) have black wing triangles.

Note the white fluff at the base of the tail of this wheaten gamecock. Wheaten birds have white underfluff, and brown reds (black coppers) should be dark.

 

[bullets]

@bullets I don't own any Wheaten Marans, but I will show you an example with one of our Wheaten American Games. Note the triangle the end of the wing makes. The wing triangle on a wheaten bird is light brown/bronze colored. Black Coppers (brown reds) have black wing triangles. Note the white fluff at the base of the tail of this wheaten gamecock. Wheaten birds have white underfluff, and brown reds (black coppers) should be dark.

Thank you for the detailed explanation! I think I am just not accustomed to the words chooks man uses. I've always known lancet as saddle feathers and wind mirror as primary and secondary flight feathers. When I can't tell if I'm looking at a wheaton or a brown red I just look for the red triangle on the flight feathers I've seen lancet used before an never really grasped what was meant by the term. I've even looked up definition of lancet in Google previously and still gave no clues! Lol But the term wing mirror I have never heard. Always learning to do! Thanks again! Glad to know how to correct wrong underfluff color. I wonder if that's possible with blues? Maybe the underfluff can only be that lighter color because it is not black.