International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[kcrandall]

I have seen it before ,it is just a infection ,antibiotic will help .

chooks man

Thanks, I plan to treat the whole group with an antibiotic.

 

[Chooks man]

if we want to breed we need a flock first. culling is an advanced step. if you read this thread from the beginning (I know too much reading) you will see that very few birds are to cull. breeding is an art.

I had a less than average pair of bcm. I got an average+ pair from them. now I have got 6 chicks that look good so far. I feel lucky I have been following this thread and I didn't cull and start over with the unknown birds.

Agree with Chickengr .if we cull all our chooks we end up left with nothing .

I m so pleased you are happy with your progress .
it is nicer to breed the chooks one step at the time rather than culling them because they have a fault .

here the formula I work with .
1) multiply the chooks through hatching as many as I can .
2) select from those chicks the best ones .
3) breed from those selected one and select for more traits as I go by creating many line possible of each strain .
4) start a line from any superior Sire or Dam .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

this is from today (They are now 6 days old and you can just see the fluff

his feet look good to me .i ll no worry about a little or few feathers in the middle toes.
the fault is when the middle toe is completely feathered .

well colored feet and feathered .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

A few pics of my 6 week old BLCM and BCM chicks.

I'm really liking this BLCM Pullet - nice dark blue color and good size. I have 2 more just like her.
View attachment 549215

This BCM Pullet is starting to show her copper hackles.
View attachment 549216

This pic really shows the difference between Cockerels and Pullets at 6 weeks.
View attachment 549217

I'll take better pics later this week.

Take Care,
Keith

they are gorgeous .love they body type and vigor .plus they are early feathering type ,that is a bonus .

you should be well pleased with them .I ll be .

chooks man

 

[Bantambird]

Once the weather changes and I'm home, I'll need to get some pictures of my babies. Out of the 17, 5 are cockerels, three blue and two black. All 5 splash are pullet, which is fine. Now I am seeing a lot of copper mixed in with the Birchen. One blue hen is actually getting a gorgeous copper hackle, although I am breeding Birchen... But color is always fixable later. There is one cockerel that has really caught my eye, a blue. He is big, very masculine, but isn't showing very good color on his hackles or saddles yet( the males are just starting to get their first saddle feathers). He might end up being solid blue. The smallest blue Birchen has superb color, but is definitely not as square and masculine as the other. I'll get pics soon. I've also noticed several with a LOT of mossiness on their body feathers, a few of those are mossy with copper. Still, with this batch, I've essentially tripled my population of Marans.

 

[pioneerchick816]

sorry to say it ,they look cockerels to me .the one hiding behind them and is a pullet .
or they could be a pullets from a larger comb strain .

chooks man

I'm sure hoping that they're girls. The are from a good breed line (not hatchery)so maybe they're just a good line & they're combs are large. All my other babies are just hatchery quality

 

[marchick]

Post a pic, maybe we can help you determine the gender.

Sorry I took so long to reply. I have been so buisy. The one on the left I am sure it is a little cockerel. The one on the right has a injury to her comb. oh and a picture of my first eggs from my 3 Blue Coppers and 1 Black Copper. Not sure which ones layed them but I know 3 of the 4 layed. My camera always makes them look so light. I need a new camera!!!

 

[kcrandall]

they are gorgeous .love they body type and vigor .plus they are early feathering type ,that is a bonus .

you should be well pleased with them .I ll be .

chooks man

Thanks Chooks Man, I'm very pleased with this group! It's very rewarding to put in practice what I have learned on this thread about breeding Marans and see the result in these chicks. I'm really happy with their type and mass. That's what I was going for with this group (oh, and putting copper hackles on the pullets ). The big question that will not be answered for a few months is how dark an egg the pullets will lay.

Thanks for all your guidance and willingness to share your knowledge.

Take Care,
Keith

 

[eggbert420]

3 months old. Is this a keeper?

 

[kcrandall]

Sorry I took so long to reply. I have been so buisy. The one on the left I am sure it is a little cockerel. The one on the right has a injury to her comb.View attachment 551706 oh and a picture of my first eggs from my 3 Blue Coppers and 1 Black Copper. Not sure which ones layed them but I know 3 of the 4 layed. My camera always makes them look so light. I need a new camera!!!

View attachment 551706View attachment 551715

Marchick,

You've done well - very nice chicks, good type and vibrant! I like the color and sheen of your pullet eggs too, especially the middle one.

Take Care,
Keith