International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[marchick]

Really nice first egg! Congratulations!!

Thank you!

 

[KF0002]

View attachment 1214128 View attachment 1214130 Some of the girls...... the baby chicks will be 4 weeks in a couple of days. The cockerels already have hackles.

I love those thin pointed tails!

 

[KF0002]

She is a pretty hen. I like the darker blue also! I wish I had a few Splash Copper. Then I could do a Splash/Black breeding pen. I may get some chicks. I have in a order in for a few Blue Copper and Splash Copper.

Thank you! You could breed your own splash chicks. Pair your best blue copper male to your best blue copper female for a bit and hatch a few chicks from them. You will get 50% splash copper chicks and 50% blue copper chicks.

 

[marchick]

Thank you! You could breed your own splash chicks. Pair your best blue copper male to your best blue copper female for a bit and hatch a few chicks from them. You will get 50% splash copper chicks and 50% blue copper chicks.

I breed blue Copper/Blue Copper last year and got 0 splash Copper. I even sent my friend about 3 dozen eggs and no splash.

 

[KF0002]

I am not sure but I think there are differences in the tail. I think the U.S. calls for more open tail. I think the french is more upright pointy. To be honest I don't know. I hope chooks man will come on and clear this up.

We have had this discussion before. It is true that a lot of US breeders prefer an open tail in more of a wide fan shape, but the standard doesn't really come right out and specifically say the tail should be wide or fanned. The standard is subject to an individual's own interpretation, but I agree with Redbanks and Chooks man that people read more into it than what it actually says. Chooks man has explained to us that the french Marans tail should be open from the rear view to form a pyramid shape. From the side profile view of the tail it should be full at the base but should be pointed (not pinched) toward the end. The tail should be carried at an angle of no higher than 45 degrees from horizontal. After we discussed this we came to the conclusion that the French and American differs some in their wording, but they are really describing the same thing.

APA standard - TAIL: "Full, rather short, carried at an angle of 45 degrees above horizontal." The standard reads the same for both male and female in regards to tail.

The French standard - Characters of the rooster: "Tail: broad at the base, full, rather short, slightly raised, raised to a maximum of 45 °."

For the characteristics of the hen, the french standard reads "Same characteristics as the rooster, taking into account sexual differences. Back line more horizontal. Tail small and tight. Fine ridge, straight or slightly inclined."

 

[KF0002]

I breed blue Copper/Blue Copper last year and got 0 splash Copper. I even sent my friend about 3 dozen eggs and no splash.

Wow, statistically you'd think you would at least get a few. lol

 

[marchick]

Wow, statistically you'd think you would at least get a few. lol

One would think! I ended up with mostly Blue Copper. I love the BLCM so all is good.

 

[KF0002]

Here is Maximus and Lucille's chick. She is a line C F2 to the blue/black copper side. Another hatched but couldn't stand or walk so hubby culled it today. This chick looks black and then other times when I look at it I think it could be a dark blue. She is a cutie though and is a big plump chick. I used a Christmas gift bag as a backdrop.

 

[marchick]

Here is Maximus and Lucille's chick. She is a line C F2 to the blue/black copper side. Another hatched but couldn't stand or walk so hubby culled it today. This chick looks black and then other times when I look at it I think it could be a dark blue. She is a cutie though and is a big plump chick. I used a Christmas gift bag as a backdrop.

View attachment 1214447

View attachment 1214454 View attachment 1214455

She is so cute! I am getting that baby chick itch. Maybe its the cold winter and wish it where spring. I don't have my pens set up yet. I am thinking of setting them up in January. I will wait a month or so after I set my pens up before I try a test hatch.

 

[KF0002]

I ended up with a surprise black copper chick I was assuming would hatch an OE. Its a definite black copper, no question and has to be from the last BCM pullet I penned up with the bad comb. The black copper roosters she was exposed to during that time was Apollo for a few days before I put her in with the Legbars, and before that Griffin when she was free ranging. So she still had some residual sperm saved up from one of them. The pullet is from Line A and so is both Apollo and Griffin so I am going to band the chick and record the two possible sires. The chick was a pleasant surprise.