International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[littlepeeps81]

impressed . getting there .


Chooks man

A long way to go, but learning from you

 

[littlepeeps81]

I am not an expert but those that have more white, especially with the dot on their heads might be cuckoo.

You have a good eye chickengr. I didn't notice the dot on their heads. I did notice the excess white on some. I wasn't sure if it meant parasitic white or if they were another marans variety altogether. When it comes to chicks I know what chooks man has taught about BCM babies, but I do not know the correct hatch down colors of other marans types enough to comment yet.

 

[Red Banks]

Very well said! Redbanks, you should be so very proud of your thread. Look how long it has lasted, and how many comments! Still going strong.

Thank you..... I take no credit for that but I agree. Chooks man and I decided to do this together. I liked his positive attitude, generosity, kindness and true heart. The Marans are his passion. His advice comes from the heart not from his ego. He is truly an ambassador of the breed.

 

[clancys coop]

I thought I'd update:

the hen who hadn't layed forever had fatty liver disease, she was bright orange inside, everywhere and very fat.

I butchered my main flock roo who I had posted before. He was getting aggressive and was being rougher than needed on the hens.

I kept his son, who is quite timid unfortunately but also may be a little rougher than he really needs to be, in hoping it's just inexperience.

I managed to hatch one replacement pullet this year and she lays beautiful eggs, though she has a lot more red on her neck than I'd like.

He's in the foreground the old man is in the back

I was concerned about the seemingly featherless shanks, and perhaps I still should be.

cheers

 

[littlepeeps81]

These are pictures of the brown spotting on Jazz's wings. I feel like my LP pullets are pure BCM, they had pure black wing feathers as chicks. I am sure the spotting is coming from the father's side. All comments are welcome. Wondering what this could mean. Is there another variety mixed with the BCM somewhere on Zorro's side? Thanks in advance.

 

[Amanita]

You have a good eye chickengr. I didn't notice the dot on their heads. I did notice the excess white on some. I wasn't sure if it meant parasitic white or if they were another marans variety altogether. When it comes to chicks I know what chooks man has taught about BCM babies, but I do not know the correct hatch down colors of other marans types enough to comment yet.

You've all got me worried now that I completely miscategorised these chicks! I was expecting three types, and they seemed to have three distinct plumage, so I assumed that they could be grouped cleanly like that. The white ones obviously are straightforward, but there were these two who looked completely different from the rest:

Since they had clear dots on their heads, I assumed they were the cuckoos and everyone else was black copper. I don't really see dots on the others, but I'm far from being an expert. I'd love to know which ones people think might be cuckoos, if anyone wants to chime in?

 

[clancys coop]

and my replacement hen. Her comb is horrid IMO

 

[littlepeeps81]

clancys coop. Sorry about your hen. I will give this a try. I think your young cockerel is an improvement over your rooster.
The pros
better comb, not flopped over
pretty wattles and ear lobes nice and red
nice copper ear tufts
pretty orange eyes
Nice overall color, hackle is a little to gold towards the end, but nice flame minimum and thin
not to tall
legs appear strong, could stand to be spaced out a little more
pretty head
fairly long neck
back appears to be long

I think the gold in the hackle color could be fixed with an overmelanized hen. Feathered shanks are easy to fix, but I think it is best if the rooster has the feathers and the hen is clean shanked. However, mating him back to a feather shanked hen will help. (chooks man can correct me if I am wrong). I had a clean legged pullet, and a nicely feathered cockerel, and I was able to fix it in the f1 progeny.
Biggest faults I see is that his body may be just a tad to triangular, but a nice rectangular hen will fix that. His tail is probably the biggest issue. Needs to be thinner at the top, more open at the bottem and closed in the back. It is important for the rooster to have a correct tail, but mating him to a hen with a correct tail should help. Overall I think you have done well with him.

 

[Red Banks]

I thought I'd update:

the hen who hadn't layed forever had fatty liver disease, she was bright orange inside, everywhere and very fat.

I butchered my main flock roo who I had posted before. He was getting aggressive and was being rougher than needed on the hens.

I kept his son, who is quite timid unfortunately but also may be a little rougher than he really needs to be, in hoping it's just inexperience.

I managed to hatch one replacement pullet this year and she lays beautiful eggs, though she has a lot more red on her neck than I'd like.

View attachment 1161877 View attachment 1161878

He's in the foreground the old man is in the back

View attachment 1161879

View attachment 1161880

I was concerned about the seemingly featherless shanks, and perhaps I still should be.

cheers

I think our birds are overfeathered so I don't mind them being on the light side. Antonio has very light almost non existent feathering but his son is heavily feathered. Nothing is easier to fix than feathers. I put feathers on an entire hatch of Easter Eggers in one generation.

I like the cockerel. He is much improved over his sire. I see a rectangle when I look at him with an improved chest. Everyone has there own likes and dislikes and that rectangular body is what I really like to see.

 

[chickengr]

and my replacement hen. Her comb is horrid IMOView attachment 1161916 View attachment 1161917

both your cockerel and hen are great! not so bad comb. remember that show quality chickens usually are not good breeders.