International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[KF0002]

So got a sad update from the woman I gave Boy Named Sue to today (my blue copper that we chose not to keep for breeding after your input). Mr fox came around and thanks to Sue she only lost 1 hen (he didn't make it) Oddly it makes me kinda proud of him. She set his eggs despite some were old and some had even frozen.

So Here is my question. She set 16 of his eggs. 14 hatched. 4 were over an EE and 10 over a Sussex. 11 of the babies are blue, 2 black with white belly and 1 EE yellow. To get so many blue was it a light Sussex or luck? I thought I read here to get blue you put a black over a splash.

A blue copper mated to any non-blue or splash bird can still produce 50% blue offspring. The blue and splash genes simply dilute black and wash it out. It doesnt have to be present in both parents to show up.

For example, I mated a cream legbar male to a blue copper marans hen. She produced several blue barred chicks (blue barred olive eggers is what I call them.) Cream Legbars are barred so all the chicks inherited the barring gene from the CL rooster and half the chicks inherited the blue (black diluting) gene from the blue copper hen. The blue gene dilutes black, so instead of black barring, the blue barred chicks have blue barring. Very cool looking.

 

[Red Banks]

Two cockerels from the last batch. Won't be long before I have to decide if I want to keep one. I only posted pics of two, there are five more. They all look pretty much exactly the same. More pics later. Three months. Just noticed a bump on one of their heads.

 

[chickengr]

Two cockerels from the last batch. Won't be long before I have to decide if I want to keep one. I only posted pics of two, there are five more. They all look pretty much exactly the same. More pics later. Three months. Just noticed a bump on one of their heads. View attachment 1277478 View attachment 1277479 View attachment 1277483 View attachment 1277484 View attachment 1277485

dinner for me you talked about?!

I like their long backs. they are too young and will change for sure. I am glad I didn't cull early. I rehomed the cockerel I was convinced was a keeper.

I am not going to eat marans cockerel as I said before. a neighbor of mine asked me to sell to his friend 1 cockerel and I don't have any to give away. therefore I arranged for this lucky guy to live.

 

[Red Banks]

Two different cockerels. A couple of the pullets in these pics and of course Gus, he loves when I fill the feeders. He likes to eat chicken feed.

 

[Chooks man]

Two different cockerels. A couple of the pullets in these pics and of course Gus, he loves when I fill the feeders. He likes to eat chicken feed.View attachment 1277642 View attachment 1277644 View attachment 1277645

wow my friend .those are class . Gus is gorgeous too.
the young one have good body type long and Elegant . nice hackle marking too .
the 2 cockerel have great body marking ,they look like they are holding they tail high ( alert or what ) love they faces .true Antonio . happy face .

I m not sure if the Possum will eat the chooks .they don t do in my place .I have a red Possum in my farm they are cool whit a chooks .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@RedBanks

my favorite pullet .she have every thing I ll look for when selecting a BCM future breeders . love the way she walk .nice body carriage .well put together .show quality type .has Elegance

you done supper great .. keep doing what you are doing is working . stay simple one breed one variety but all Class

chooks man

 

[Red Banks]

wow my friend .those are class . Gus is gorgeous too.
the young one have good body type long and Elegant . nice hackle marking too .
the 2 cockerel have great body marking ,they look like they are holding they tail high ( alert or what ) love they faces .true Antonio . happy face .

I m not sure if the Possum will eat the chooks .they don t do in my place .I have a red Possum in my farm they are cool whit a chooks .

chooks man

Thank you Chooks man. Possums here eat chickens. I lost 4 in about 10 minutes. A possum was outside the coop taking their heads off.

All these cockerels are so much alike..... as you can see in the 4 I have pictured. We are going to have to set them up for a photo shoot. You like the ones in the second pics, how about the first two? I have seven all together.

 

[Red Banks]

@Chooks man
Here are two cockerels

Two different Cockerels

All hold their tails high and alert. When they relax they are better..... much like Tony2. I think you will like Tony2 a lot. At this age they don't relax often. Ha ha ha

 

[Chooks man]

Two cockerels from the last batch. Won't be long before I have to decide if I want to keep one. I only posted pics of two, there are five more. They all look pretty much exactly the same. More pics later. Three months. Just noticed a bump on one of their heads. View attachment 1277478 View attachment 1277479 View attachment 1277483 View attachment 1277484 View attachment 1277485

those cockerels are nice .but they seem to me are not as class as Tony too .
all those cockerels have a long tail at high angle ..need photos of them one by one so I can see the difference .
I still like Tony2 he was wider with a better tail at they age .I could be wrong .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@RedBanks

I really like Antonio s daughters .he is for sure a pullets sire by excellence .
cockerels they take too much from they dams .so I can t tell which one is cockerels Dam s

pullets in front is right on the money .any rooster who can sire those type of pullets is for sure a great sire and 1 class breeder in my book .

So theoretically if you mate back the best pullets from this group to they sire Antonio s,you ll end up with pullets line .Stunning looking pullets progeny .cockerels I m not sure .but I can be wrong .we really don t know the true genetic make up of those chooks .
Single mating is the best way to know .
@kfelton0002 is doing great job .single mating her flock .

chooks man