International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[KF0002]

I looked outside and Black and Purple were right outside so I grabbed some pictures. I got a lot of Purple but Black ran across the yard. I only got a couple of him.

Black in the back, Purple in the front

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Black

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Purple

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I like purple for second place. Sorry to be short but Im at work. Purple has good back width and length, and has a nice looking bottom line. His tail angle is a bit high but you can balance that out with your nice low tailed pullets.

 

[Hensndoes]

Type is the body shape specific to different breeds of poultry. Marans type is different than what is correct for Orphingtons for example, and even more different than the type that is correct for Leghorns. Marans being a general purpose bird (dual purpose, both eggs and meat) should be a thick and meaty bird, not lean and light like a breed that is bred for laying only like a Leghorn, Ancona, etc. Marans should be rectangular (brick shape) with a long back and have ample breast mass. The tail is held 45 degrees from horizontal.

Hatchet breast is a term used to describe a bird lacking in the breast. It looks like the breast has been sliced off with a hatchet is where the term came from.

Topline is the visual line the top of the bird makes from the slope of the neck down the back to the angle of the tail. A bird with good topline has a nice long back that slopes downward to the tail in the males, and flat in the females that runs to the tail, which lifts from the back at 45 degrees.

Bottom line is the visual line the underside of the bird makes from the slope of the breast in the front to the slope of the rear in the back. The breast and rear should be well balanced with one another to create a good bottom line. The legs should be in the center.

I hope all that makes sense. Im typing on my phone at work. Lol.

Eggcelent ty!

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Hahahahaha! What a problem you have. Too many fine looking cockerels!!!

That's probably not helpful for you. I don't recall how many birds you have or how many you can keep, but I'd get rid of yellow and think about who will produce best with the hens you are working with. When are you going to show them off?!

Lol, thank you, but your right, that doesn't help at all lol. I already posted pictures of the ladies but here you go!

I like purple for second place. Sorry to be short but Im at work. Purple has good back width and length, and has a nice looking bottom line. His tail angle is a bit high but you can balance that out with your nice low tailed pullets.

Thank you! When you get a chance, who do you think should be third? Third will go to my friend.

 

[Hensndoes]

Lol, thank you, but your right, that doesn't help at all lol. I already posted pictures of the ladies but here you go!

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Thank you! When you get a chance, who do you think should be third? Third will go to my friend.

Well I missed it. This page rolls fast and I am in finals past couple weeks. I play on my phone and the pic quality on these photos doesn't hold up. Am I missing it - you said you had over colored hens which I took as mossiness but it's not showing up. Is it the green hue you are referring to? I do see a toothy comb. The last 2 pics are my fave gals. And the second pic. And the 2 on the left in the 3rd. You've got a good lot!

Ps: is @RedBanks on some sweet vaca? I'm kinda jealous if so.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

you said you had over colored hens which I took as mossiness but it's not showing up

No, not over colored, just well colored. I was concerned about using an over colored bit over the girls.

 

[Red Banks]

One of my marans pullets is quite large - as big as the cockerel- and constantly feather picking. Like non stop. It's not a space issue. They are on starter grower feed. Is it okay to switch to game bird starter if I can't find a chick feed with higher protein?

I feed my chicks flock raiser after they are 4 weeks old. All of my chickens are on Flock Raiser.

 

[Red Banks]

I have broken up all my breeding pens and let the hens out for a little summer break to free range as I always do. Today I noticed I was missing Lucille at feeding time. As I looked around I found a big pile of her pretty blue feathers. She was taken by a varmint. The feathers weren't in the coop so it happened in the daytime. Probably a hawk. Her light blue feathers probably made her stand out more than the others.

Our GP's are fenced on one end of our property and the birds were free ranging on the unfenced part. Loss is part of it, but it never fails to be one of your favorites when you lose a bird.

Sorry you lost Lucille!

 

[Red Banks]

Well I missed it. This page rolls fast and I am in finals past couple weeks. I play on my phone and the pic quality on these photos doesn't hold up. Am I missing it - you said you had over colored hens which I took as mossiness but it's not showing up. Is it the green hue you are referring to? I do see a toothy comb. The last 2 pics are my fave gals. And the second pic. And the 2 on the left in the 3rd. You've got a good lot!

Ps: is @RedBanks on some sweet vaca? I'm kinda jealous if so.

I wish I was on vacation..... just busy! Chicks will soon be 4 weeks. Very cute. I hope there is a rooster in this bunch as good as the one Antonio killed.

 

[Red Banks]

I would appreciate that, but right now I'm not even sure if I'm even going tto breed them. Ill probably just leave them with the layers, I'm leaning towards only breeding marans. Ive bread blue and wheaten OEGB, golden seabrights, cream legbars, speckeld Sussex, lemon cuckoo orpingtons and marans in my chicken "career", and now ive cut back to just lemon cuckoos, CLB and marans. The marans are the only ones i plan on breeding, the others are my layers. I think i will be able to produce better birds just focusing on one breed.

I dropped all my other breeds and kept only my Marans. They are addicting.... sweet and challenging.

 

[Red Banks]

Here is one of my potential keepers. He is the cockerel I photographed on the picnic table some time back. No white underfluff, no white in wings, good width, comb is okay but not great, wing carriage good, wide open tail that isnt too long, good copper color that isnt too light and his bottom line is nice with good chest depth I think. His eye color isnt great and his tail is too high but his back length is good and he is a well balanced bird.

This one may be spared a trip to freezer camp. Lol

Thoughts?

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Beautiful copper, nice rectangular shape. I like him!