International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[marchick]

I should take more pictures, but I hatched 35 birchen/blue birchen about 10 days ago and another 23 on good Friday. 2 more whites showed up in the first group, none in the second, but the next hatch is turkeys, so I set a dozen darkest eggs of week to be guide chicks for the poults. The Marans certainly make great guide chicks!

Sounds like you are having good hatching season. We would love to see pictures. I was disappointed on my hatch but the power was out for about 6 1/2 hours. My Incubator was in a area that is about 65 degrees. At least it wasn't a total loss.

 

[chickengr]

@chickengr
because your computer doesn t let post photos . here what we need to do .so I can help you breeding those new chooks .

fill up this form for me please .

Cockerel#1 Elegant = Cockerel#2 silver hackle =
Body type = good good
Mass= good good
head= strong strong
eyes = orange orange
Comb = big, 1 dent smaller, almost touching head good size, 1 dent bigger, almost touching head
Tail = high, almost 90 degrees 45 degrees
Back = long, looks short when tail up long
Shanks and feet = pink, spaced, a bit taller pink, spaced, good
Chest = could be deeper could be deeper
shoulder width = good good

 

[chickengr]

very good my friend .
love to hear heavy hen ,the comb will come later .type and mass are more important .#4 egg colour is OK .can be improved with selective breeding in the future generation .
work first with a pure silver cuckoo cockerel . if they have red leakage ,than they are not a pure cuckoo ,they are a cross between BC and a Silver cuckoo. do know what generation .

chooks man

I spoke to the guy who sold the eggs from which my cuckoo birds hatched. he keeps all marans together: black/blue copper and cuckoo gold/silver. so the hens might be pure blue.

can I ger pure black and blue marans from these birds? or they all are birchen?

my friend in athens has got a cockerel with just a few red spots on his shoulder. he also has totally black hens. I told him to try to hatch black marans.

 

[chickengr]

I think you should separate the 2 new hens from each other for a few weeks tell you get used to they eggs .
you need to know which hen lay what . very important other wise you can not practice selective breeding and back crossing .
I m interested in the big hen for a type and mass . need cockerels from her to start her line .

chooks man

they lay exactly the same eggs. I will separate them for breeding.

 

[chickengr]

if the pullet lay dark eggs ,is ok to get them other wise you don t need them .
they will not help you to breed the birchen . you have a silver based bird ,that what you need .

to clear the Autossoml red ,you need many generation of selective breeding . always select a cockerels with a pure silver to work with .
keep them separate and breed them together to see if they carry any hidden recessive genes .

chooks man

I can breed cuckoo marans as well. I hope you will not disappear this summer so you can advise me how to breed all these varieties.

my friend put the blue guy with her black gold cuckoo girl. she wants to hatch cuckoo marans. her hen lays #4-5 eggs.

 

[chickengr]

moreView attachment 1748888
@chickengr
this one is for you .golden salmon marans
notice how small is her tail .pointed too .that what I breed for .
chooks man

she is gorgeous!

at least my new girls have tails like that.

 

[chickengr]

I only had 22 hatch total. Not a good hatch. I got 2 splash Copper 2 Black Copper and 5 Blue Copper. There are 4 white. I have 6 Birchen pen 2 and 3 Birchen pen one.
View attachment 1749016 View attachment 1749017
4 white
View attachment 1749018
3 Black 2 Blue Birchen pen 2
View attachment 1749019
8 BBS Copper Marans.
I have one blue Copper and one blue Birchen still drying in hatcher.

congrats, they are cute.

even here in greece this year is bad for hatching. the first eggs people set did not hatch. I wonder if it is due to a prolonged winter.

 

[chickengr]

yes there is more than one gene controlling the red /silver colour .
2 type of genes .one type is controlled by sex linked genes .Silver S or Golden s+ is responsible for the hackle and saddle/ lancet colour for the rooster and hackle marking for the hen.
the other type of genes colour are Autossome . both rooster and hen have a equal amount . those genes are responsible for the shoulder .and chest marking of the rooster , and chest marking { Salmon marans } or hole body { Wheaten }

so those 2 different genes Sex linked S or s+ and Autossome Red or Silver are not related .could be separately .

Some breed have a Silver as Sex linked gene and Autossomal Red .
Birchem marans Silver Black has a Silver Sex linked and Autossomal Silver { White}.

selective breeding will get you the bird with a correct genetype .

chooks man

so if the cockerel has black shoulders, copper hackles and little copper lancet how difficult is to get pure black marans when bred to black hens?

 

[Chooks man]

so if the cockerel has black shoulders, copper hackles and little copper lancet how difficult is to get pure black marans when bred to black hens?

depend on how pure black is a hen .
there is a difference between a pure black hen and over melenised BC hen .

will be easier to breed a pure black from a Blue cuckoo cockerel or a blue cuckoo hen ,because both of then showing a dark hackle .in the photos any way .I suspect the Extended black marans and some body is trying to ad colour to them .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

I spoke to the guy who sold the eggs from which my cuckoo birds hatched. he keeps all marans together: black/blue copper and cuckoo gold/silver. so the hens might be pure blue.

can I ger pure black and blue marans from these birds? or they all are birchen?

my friend in athens has got a cockerel with just a few red spots on his shoulder. he also has totally black hens. I told him to try to hatch black marans.

Ah that make sense . mixed marans varieties .
yes I think you can get a solid black or solid blue from your chooks .silver black too .

your friend in Athens can get a solid black if the hen is solid black .
Dark cuckoo cockerel over a black hen will throw a good number of solid black progeny .will take some time to remove all the golden leakage from them .

chooks man