International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[kfelton0002]

Chooks man said, don't just hatch the darkest eggs. My new batch of pullets are laying much darker eggs than the hens they came from. Work with what you have, give them a chance. The eggs in this picture are all my little pullet eggs. I am going to boil them and put them in with my pickled beets. You can see they are dark.... they didn't come from super dark eggs. Little Peddler Brenda said, dark eggs are from inbreeding. I can see that from this very first batch of eggs I hatched. I know that the RB pullet that Kfelton0002 has will also lay a dark egg. Chooks man would also tell you to work with what you have.View attachment 1398635

Yes that is very true. Ive got hens that lay much darker than their dams so if I only ever hatched the darkest eggs I would have missed out on some good birds. All of Sheraz's daughters lay darker than her. Breeding within a related line reinforces those dark egg genes and that is the key to dark egg color. It is best to use a male that hatched from a darker egg because the male is responsible for egg color in a mating also.

 

[Song girl 11]

Im needing help! I'm still a "beginner" at chicken keeping. I incubated and hatched my first batch of eggs(shipped) in march(so they're 2 1/2 mo. Old) and ended up with these 2 BCM Roos. I know zip about breeding. I'm wanting to keep only one roo and rehome the other. So my question is, if I wanted to keep one of these guys for breeding purposes, which one should I keep?

 

[Red Banks]

Welcome to the thread, BYC and Black Copper Marans. Are you sure the second bird is a cockerel? I think it is a pullet. What are your plans? Do you want to raise Marans for eggs, show, sale?

 

[kfelton0002]

Kayla, Can you send me a link to that club you talked about. I looked but didn't have much luck. Is it a facebook type club? Thank you.

The club has a facebook group but its an actual club. The website is still under construction I think but here is the membership form.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1k-...Q87_yArtDVNC92SE/viewform?edit_requested=true

And here is a link to the facebook group if you would like to join. It's not as snobby as some Marans groups Ive been on and they actually offer helpful constructive criticism and advice.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1955861518009816/

 

[Song girl 11]

Thanks for your quick reply. They are 11 weeks old. Both had very red/large combs and wattles at only 2-3 weeks! So I guess I assumed they were both boys. They're both pretty aggressive, especially with each other. I'm not planning on "showing" them or anything like that. I'm just wanting to breed him for more copper Marian hens later on(I love the dark eggs) I just hatched another bcm chick, 3 1/2 weeks old now, so far it's looking like a girl. Hoping so!

 

[kfelton0002]

Welcome to the thread, BYC and Black Copper Marans. Are you sure the second bird is a cockerel? I think it is a pullet. What are your plans? Do you want to raise Marans for eggs, show, sale?

At 2.5 months old he's definitely a cockerel with a comb that big. He just hasnt started getting his body coloring in yet.

 

[Red Banks]

Thanks for your quick reply. They are 11 weeks old. Both had very red/large combs and wattles at only 2-3 weeks! So I guess I assumed they were both boys. They're both pretty aggressive, especially with each other. I'm not planning on "showing" them or anything like that. I'm just wanting to breed him for more copper Marian hens later on(I love the dark eggs) I just hatched another bcm chick, 3 1/2 weeks old now, so far it's looking like a girl. Hoping so!

The pullets get a copper hackle around the neck and head. The cockerels get copper in several places. The second bird looks more feminine to me.

 

[Song girl 11]

Well, that would be fantastic if he is really a she!

 

[Red Banks]

Thanks for your quick reply. They are 11 weeks old. Both had very red/large combs and wattles at only 2-3 weeks! So I guess I assumed they were both boys. They're both pretty aggressive, especially with each other. I'm not planning on "showing" them or anything like that. I'm just wanting to breed him for more copper Marian hens later on(I love the dark eggs) I just hatched another bcm chick, 3 1/2 weeks old now, so far it's looking like a girl. Hoping so!

Sorry I missed the age in the first post.

 

[Red Banks]

Well, that would be fantastic if he is really a she!

Kfelton0002 says "Not a pullet"