International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[JacquelineJ]

100% hatch rate .well impressed

chooks man

thanks Chooks man! I had a very experienced breeder talk me through checking the calibration of the incubator, and the common mistakes. I didn't mess with them except to do "weigh in" and candling on day 10, 15 and 18.

 

[Chooks man]

I'm at day 6 and my Marans hardly have any feathers where my Icelandics that hatched with them all have nearly full compliments of wing feathers already.When will the Marans get full wing feathers?

Also, @chooksman - you seem very knowledgeable all of the eggs i hatched from BCM have feathering on the middle toe as well. I got read the riot act on a facebook group and told to cull them (they are my first and only BMC chicks) how tough is this to correct for? Is there absolutely no chance of a clean toe bird coming from them?

do not listen to those peoples who know only culling ,because they luck the knowledge of fixing things ,
the extra feathers on the middle toes could be bred out with a proper breeding plan .
the gene responsible for the feathers shanks is called Pti 1 ( feathers only on the outer part of the shanks like the marans) and Pti2 ( shanks fully feathered like the Brahman ) both of this 2 genes are unstable ,they need to be controlled by selective breeding .

post some photos of them ,so we can see what you are talking about.

chooks man

 

[chickengr]

OOOH, really chickergr? That's exciting. I don't fancy culling anyone right now TBH. I'm just starting out and i'm in love with all of them. (I do know i need to eventually be practical, but that is in time!)

if we want to breed we need a flock first. culling is an advanced step. if you read this thread from the beginning (I know too much reading) you will see that very few birds are to cull. breeding is an art.

I had a less than average pair of bcm. I got an average+ pair from them. now I have got 6 chicks that look good so far. I feel lucky I have been following this thread and I didn't cull and start over with the unknown birds.

 

[chickengr]

Hi every one.
nice to see the BYC is back working.

chooks man

glad to see you are here! I am recharging the batteries so hopefully I will get some pics tomorrow. it has been raining for 2 days and the chicks are locked in a smaller place so that their mummy can keep them warm.

 

[Chooks man]

View attachment 549133 Compared to my little cockerel I'm pretty sure these two are female

sorry to say it ,they look cockerels to me .the one hiding behind them and is a pullet .
or they could be a pullets from a larger comb strain .

chooks man

 

[kcrandall]

@ChooksMan,

I have a 6 week old cockerel that some swelling in the throat. It feels soft so there is not a mass not anything lodged in his throat. Have you seen anything like this before? Here is a pic.

 

[JacquelineJ]

These are two of my birds at 48hrs. the middle toe on the one in front has 2 or 3 golden fluffy bits. this was the photo that i posted on FB where i was advised to cull.

 

[JacquelineJ]

this is from today (They are now 6 days old and you can just see the fluff

 

[Chooks man]

@ChooksMan,

I have a 6 week old cockerel that some swelling in the throat. It feels soft so there is not a mass not anything lodged in his throat. Have you seen anything like this before? Here is a pic.

View attachment 550942

I have seen it before ,it is just a infection ,antibiotic will help .

chooks man

 

[kcrandall]

this is from today (They are now 6 days old and you can just see the fluff

Cute chicks! Nice hatch down too. I agree with Chooks Man - do not listen to those other breeders. They breed for show so they cull through hundreds of chicks looking for that one perfect bird.

People like us breed to improve which takes hard work, time and patience. A Chooks with a fault has value in a breeding program if done properly. That's not to say we don't or won't cull but we give our birds time to grow and mature so we can see their full potential.

Take Care,
Keith