International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[happychick24]

Hello! I have just purchased a flock of marans and I am hoping I have some of quality. There is 11 hens and one cock. They are 7 months old. I fear the cock isn’t breeding material as he has some white in his tail. I will attach some photos and would really like some feedback on the quality of this stock, good and bad. Thank you

 

[KF0002]

View attachment 1353704 View attachment 1353707 View attachment 1353709 View attachment 1353710 View attachment 1353702 View attachment 1353703 View attachment 1353697 Hello! I have just purchased a flock of marans and I am hoping I have some of quality. There is 11 hens and one cock. They are 7 months old. I fear the cock isn’t breeding material as he has some white in his tail. I will attach some photos and would really like some feedback on the quality of this stock, good and bad. Thank you

Welcome to the group! Best I can tell, the pullets look pretty good. The cockerel however is not good. The white in the tail is only the tip of the iceberg. He has a short back and a really bad squirrel tail (tail angle greater than 90 degrees above horizontal), and I can tell you from experience that he will pass it on to a lot of his offspring. His comb is beautiful, and his color and leg feathering is good, but if you could find a better male you may be better off. Check Craigslist or Facebook Marans groups like Marans Mania for Black Copper Marans cockerels.

If he is all you can get your hands on, breed him to your lowest tailed pullets if you can, and as soon as he produces a better rooster (son) I would part ways with him and use the better ones as you produce them. I have had to use a squirrel tailed rooster and that is exactly what I did. As soon as my squirrel tailed rooster produced a better son for me to use, I culled the squirrel tailed one. Best of luck to you! And congratulations on your new flock! We are here for you to offer advice anytime.

 

[KF0002]

I don't recall any discussion about halos here yet. I can't help but wonder how it is any different than any other fault to be worked on. What happened to chooks?! I think he has become a legend at this point...

I am not an expert, but I will share what I know. Every Marans breeder I've talked to advises against breeding a bird with a halo if you can help it. I have produced birds with halos, and I have bred from cock birds that had halos. You do what you have to do. If you use a cock bird with a halo, you will have to do your best to select a hen for him with darker and even copper, or little to no color in her hackle to balance out the lighter color in the halo. Cull through their sons and select birds without halos or the least amount of halo. Hens can have a halo too but it can be harder to notice. Those hens can pass their halo on to their sons so it is as equally important to watch the color of the hens hackle as it is the cock bird.

Like Redbanks said, its just another fault like any of the others that you have to work with. If you have the luxury of selecting breeders without halos then that would be best, but color should not come before type and mass when you are selecting your breeders. Is it @RedBanks that says you can't paint a house before you build the foundation? Wise words.

 

[Red Banks]

I have been spelling Monique's name wrong. It is Berte.

 

[Magnolia Hill]

LOL.. you should give it a try! We had a blast processing them (is that wierd?) My neighbor is a hoot anyway and is a chicken nut like me so it was fun. We learn each time we do it and are getting better at it. I watched a lot of youtube videos and bought my knives and stuff online (amazon). You need a good boning knife, the blade of mine is about 5-6 inches long. You need a killing cone and a good sharp knife to cut the birds' throat so they bleed out. We hung the killing cone on the side of my hen house and put a bucket under it for the birds to bleed out into. We brought the chickens into my kitchen to scald, pluck, and process them. I have a huge pot and a thermometer to measure the temp of the water. You want the water to be between 145 and 160. Take the chicken by the feet and dip it in the water, taking a pair of tongs to help saturate all the feathers. Gently swish the chicken in the water for approximately 3 seconds. Raise the bird out of the water and try to pull out the primary wing feathers. If they dont pull out easily, redip for another 3 seconds and repeat until the primary wing feathers come out easily.

Then bring the chicken over to the area where you are going to do the plucking. I put a big garbage bag in my kitchen sink to put the feathers in and make clean up easier. Once plucked go ahead and put the chicken on the cutting board. Cut the head and feet off and proceed to gut the bird and part it out or keep it whole, whichever you prefer. I cut the birds up to make freezing easier.

A few words of warning: do not nick the intestines or large bowel just inside the cloaca that is sac-like and contains a big poop. You will contaminate your meat with bacteria. And be careful with the gallbladder (green sac attached to the liver. If you rupture the gallbladder it can cause the meat to taste bitter if contaminated with the bile.

Also, you have to rest the meat before freezing or cooking for at least 2-3 days to allow rigor mortis to pass, otherwise the meat will be tough. For older birds (roosters or old hens) brine the bird for at least 2-4 hours prior to cooking or freezing in a salt water solution to tenderize the meat. You can freeze without brining and then brine once thawed before cooking instead, either way is fine. For a simple brine, dissolve 1/4 to 1/2 cup salt per gallon of water in hot water, then allow the brine to cook to room temp prior to adding the meat.

Watch youtube videos and you'll be processing birds like a pro. I love youtube.

Definitely seems like as a chicken person I should be able to clean and process them, i dont even want to think how many chickens and how much money I've "culled" and when i say cull i dont mean kill. There is a elderly man in my town that has what i like call a "chicken rescue", it don't matter what breed or sex he will take them. He gets good use out of them so i really don't mind giving them away. But it's time i start processing my own birds. And might I say bravo to you!

 

[Magnolia Hill]

I was just curious, does anyone else spend the majority of your work day reading about Marans ?

 

[Red Banks]

Just found another pullet egg..... different pullet. Very happy with the color of these eggs. First egg is same one from yesterday.

 

[happychick24]

Welcome to the group! Best I can tell, the pullets look pretty good. The cockerel however is not good. The white in the tail is only the tip of the iceberg. He has a short back and a really bad squirrel tail (tail angle greater than 90 degrees above horizontal), and I can tell you from experience that he will pass it on to a lot of his offspring. His comb is beautiful, and his color and leg feathering is good, but if you could find a better male you may be better off. Check Craigslist or Facebook Marans groups like Marans Mania for Black Copper Marans cockerels.

If he is all you can get your hands on, breed him to your lowest tailed pullets if you can, and as soon as he produces a better rooster (son) I would part ways with him and use the better ones as you produce them. I have had to use a squirrel tailed rooster and that is exactly what I did. As soon as my squirrel tailed rooster produced a better son for me to use, I culled the squirrel tailed one. Best of luck to you! And congratulations on your new flock! We are here for you to offer advice anytime.

Thank you so much for your warm welcome and input, I really appreciate it. Seems hard to find this breed where I am located. I am though on the hunt!

 

[KF0002]

Definitely seems like as a chicken person I should be able to clean and process them, i dont even want to think how many chickens and how much money I've "culled" and when i say cull i dont mean kill. There is a elderly man in my town that has what i like call a "chicken rescue", it don't matter what breed or sex he will take them. He gets good use out of them so i really don't mind giving them away. But it's time i start processing my own birds. And might I say bravo to you!

Thank you! I hope you do start processing your birds and getting some use out of your culls. They are well worth the work. The meat of home grown poultry is very different than store bought. The flavor is richer. My next dish I plan to make with my Marans is coq au vin.

 

[Red Banks]

Thank you so much for your warm welcome and input, I really appreciate it. Seems hard to find this breed where I am located. I am though on the hunt!

Welcome to this thread. We have a great group, helpful and supportive. Sometimes we have a resident expert.

If you don't have an agenda (raise a show champion in 10 months, etc.) work with what you have. Follow Kfelton0002s advice and breed your rooster to a long backed/correct tail hen. I am beginning to realize in Marans it is not the destination but the journey..... the never ending journey.