International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Old Man Tom]

When someone tells me these birds are off so and so's flock or they come from this farm or that farm i usually just ignore it. the marans will speak for them selfs, most of the time you can tell quality right off. And to me, to be honest looking at all the reputable farms and breeders i haven't been all that empressed for the money they ask. And just speaking for myself here but I've found better marans from people breeding in the woods( so to speak) just because they love the breed. They all have potential, it's What you do with them that counts.

100% agree! They all use the Three Big Names for advertisement. You never know what you are going to get until you breed and grow out your own Line. This is why these threads are so important. I never new what a Black Copper Marans was three years ago. Bought garbage first time on CL Got coached up on Black Copper Marans Thread for 3 years. Been on this thread since the beginning. Hope to live to 100 then I"ll have some good birds!! TOM

 

[Magnolia Hill]

100% agree! They all use the Three Big Names for advertisement. You never know what you are going to get until you breed and grow out your own Line. This is why these threads are so important. I never new what a Black Copper Marans was three years ago. Bought garbage first time on CL Got coached up on Black Copper Marans Thread for 3 years. Been on this thread since the beginning. Hope to live to 100 then I"ll have some good birds!! TOM

I hear that, you got nice birds. I could only hope to have some that nice one day. Thats what I'm working towards.

 

[KF0002]

When someone tells me these birds are off so and so's flock or they come from this farm or that farm i usually just ignore it. the marans will speak for them selfs, most of the time you can tell quality right off. And to me, to be honest looking at all the reputable farms and breeders i haven't been all that empressed for the money they ask. And just speaking for myself here but I've found better marans from people breeding in the woods( so to speak) just because they love the breed. They all have potential, it's What you do with them that counts.

I can't agree with this more. People that truly love the breed and are working with the birds not only just for monetary gain to turn a profit, but actually to improve the birds and move them closer to the standard produce the nicest birds because they're not as concerned about cranking out eggs and chicks to sell. Every bird those breeders produce they want it to count when it grows out. They don't mass produce, they strategically breed to produce the best birds they can.

A lot of times when people throw out the names their lines come from they do so as a sales tactic to draw interest to their birds, chicks, or eggs so they can sell. Same as the type of advertising we see when a movie or sports star is hired to shoot a commercial or promote a product, or like a Mountain Dew ad on a NASCAR vehicle. The company uses the big well known name of the star, athlete, NASCAR driver, etc to sell their product.

I agree 100% that the birds should absolutely speak for themselves. I can show you a cock bird that is GFF/LP (could be a mix of the two, could be pure to either side) that is probably the worst bird I have. The name of the line doesn't mean jack because those big name lines produce a high volume of "culls" the same as any other line. The moment you start breeding your birds together, the original breeder has been taken out of the equation.

 

[KF0002]

I got my 7 in 1, 8 quart instant pot today. I ended up getting 30% off plus another 20% off of $149.00. I am ready to cook!

View attachment 1356977

WOOHOOO!! Congratulations! You will not be disappointed, I assure you. We will have to share recipes!

 

[KF0002]

bantam roos are dangerous. they kill LF roos easily. maybe because they are lighter and escape faster.

They are more light and agile than heavier breed roosters. The reason bantam roosters can kill much larger and heavier roosters is because the heavy birds are too big to get off the ground and shuffle their legs in a fight. The heavy bird pecks mostly and tries to hop but doesn't make it far enough off the ground so their legs/spurs make much contact with the other bird. When two roosters fight, their main weapons are their legs and spurs. They hop, using their wings to propel them up and rapidly beat the backs of their legs against the other rooster so their spurs hit the other bird in rapid succession.

If you have ever been actually "flogged" by a rooster and have their spurs sunk deep in your own flesh, you know what I mean and have felt first hand how powerful those little legs really are.

Lighter bantam breeds grow much keener and sharper spurs more quickly than heavy breeds. The same goes for our standard Games. I can take pictures to show you the difference in a year old game rooster and a year old Marans. My Marans cock birds still have relatively dull spurs at a year old, while the year old game roosters have very keen, sharp, and pointy spurs. Heavier breed roosters also tire faster than a lighter bird and can succumb to exhaustion in a fight.

 

[Old Man Tom]

I hear that, you got nice birds. I could only hope to have some that nice one day. Thats what I'm working towards.

Thank you for the nice comment. The truth is the birds I have posted are, the grown out birds that I have purchased!! I bought a dozen chics two years in a row from same breeder. I grew out all these birds and processed 14 cockerels last year and I can not remember how many the year before. Out of 20 hens I kept 6 hens that laid the darkest eggs. I have three cocks that I kept out of this years hatch. Still not my birds, just the roosters I liked the best! The 12 pullets that I kept this year are maybe laying a #4 at best. I have not decided if I will breed these birds.
I bred my best cock bird from last year over the six hens from the first purchase. These are now MY BIRDS. TOM

 

[KF0002]

Clean legged? Aren't your birds all feather legged? Can feather legged throw clean legged?

He isn't clean legged, he has sparsely feathered legs. The pic just doesn't show it well. They aren't well feathered but they are feathered some. Sparsely feathered shanks crop up in my lines also.

 

[KF0002]

Oh shit.

Well then who is Keith? Aliases!!!

Edit to add - ordered 5. I have chester- a blue copper - from the same breeder. I'd like to not breed all their line so will add some from another either this fall or in spring. Will be hard to beat them though. They have nice birds.

Edit again: ya know. I'm not terribly embarrassed. I know red banks chickens when I see them!

This post cracked me up!!

Keith is kcrandall.

 

[Old Man Tom]

This post cracked me up!!

Keith is kcrandall.

SO RED BANKS IS A GIRL RIGHT!! TOM

 

[KF0002]

Someone tell me how Blue Birchens work! I am thinking about buying some GFF. Thanks for any info.

Blue birchens from GFF are just BBS silver birchens. Very pretty, but pricey.