International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Old Man Tom]

Another approach, you can try breeding a male hatched from an #8 or 9 egg to his sisters that lay at least as dark as they Dam to recombine the genes differently. From this brother-sister mating (F1) you can then breed the best F2 male to his Grand Dam (F0) and the F2 pullets that lay as dark as their Dams to their Grand Sire (F0) to create two separate possible F3 dark egg lines.

In my experience, genetic inheritance is a funny thing - it is consistently inconsistent - whether we’re working with mammals or poultry. Just because we breed a male hatched from a #8 or 9 egg to a hen that lays a #8 or 9 egg does not mean that all pullets from this mating will lay #8 or 9 because of the variation in genetic inheritance by each individual. We will most likely get a few pullets that lay as dark as their Dams but my guess is that the majority will not because if it were that easy (and I wish it were) we all would have Marans that lay #9. How nice would it be to not worry about dark egg color so that we could focus on tails, combs, eyes and whatnot? I’ll be happy if I can keep my Marans at a consistent #6-7.

My understanding is that a consistent #8-9 layer is considered a poor layer because she only lays one maybe two eggs per week. I’ve heard Chooks Man say it many times, if we only breed for #9 layers our Marans Pens will be empty.

Marans breeders around the world have been chasing the dark egg genes for decades and to my knowledge the code has not been cracked so the grail is still out there for the taking. I’m just happy to be on this quest with you all!

 

[Old Man Tom]

This is exactly my point. We are seeking " Perfection " or the " Holy Grail " No one has it! It is the quest that keeps us interested and entertained! Knowing no one has attained it makes the quest all the more fun. If anyone breeds the line that is perfect, good luck getting any blood. The problem being, if you have the Perfect cock or hen they will not recreate themselves. Ha Ha!! TOM

 

[KF0002]

I just sent for wing bands. I hope I am brave enough to do them.

Get someone to help you hold the chick still until you get the hang of it. I can easily wing band a chick by myself but I was nervous my first few times too. After you get past the first few you'll feel more confident about it. With older chickens closer to mature age, definitely have someone help you hold the bird as they put up more of a fight than chicks do.

A tip with wing banding chicks I can offer is to lightly wet the down of the area around the wing web you are going to band. It helps to be able to see the skin better. Find a good youtube video and watch it a few times. Know the anatomy of the wing and be conscious of the tendon in the wing web. Also dont go too far back because you can sever a nerve or a blood vessel. You will be able to see and feel the thin skin of the wing web where you push the band through. Good luck! You'll do great!

 

[marchick]

Get someone to help you hold the chick still until you get the hang of it. I can easily wing band a chick by myself but I was nervous my first few times too. After you get past the first few you'll feel more confident about it. With older chickens closer to mature age, definitely have someone help you hold the bird as they put up more of a fight than chicks do.

A tip with wing banding chicks I can offer is to lightly wet the down of the area around the wing web you are going to band. It helps to be able to see the skin better. Find a good youtube video and watch it a few times. Know the anatomy of the wing and be conscious of the tendon in the wing web. Also dont go too far back because you can sever a nerve or a blood vessel. You will be able to see and feel the thin skin of the wing web where you push the band through. Good luck! You'll do great!

 

[KF0002]

Here are some pics that may help you get the idea of where to push the band through the wing web. The wing cord is the tendon. @marchick

 

[KF0002]

Here is a pic I made on my phone. The red dot is where the band should go. Hope it helps. @marchick

 

[marchick]

Here are some pics that may help you get the idea of where to push the band through the wing web. The wing cord is the tendon. @marchick

View attachment 1220999 View attachment 1221000

So if you get a little too far back on that wing web you can hit viens? If you are too far forward you can hit tendon?

 

[KF0002]

So if you get a little too far back on that wing web you can hit viens? If you are too far forward you can hit tendon?

Yes you have to be pretty precise. Once you feel and see the wing web you will find that the area you need to punch through is anatomically easy to locate. The skin of the wing web is a thin triangle. The area is not very vascular so there is no bleeding. If you go back too far you will go through muscle which is very vascular and contain nerves. Dont go back far enough and the band could sever the wing cord (tendon). Either way you could cause damage to the function of the wing. I will try to take pics of an older bird with a wing band later today.

 

[KF0002]

Here is one of my cockerel grow outs I wing banded as a day old chick. @marchick

 

[marchick]

Here is one of my cockerel grow outs I wing banded as a day old chick. @marchick

View attachment 1221422

Have you ever injured one? Now I am worried! What if I hurt them?