International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Chooks man]

He is one of the oldest cockerels. I think he has had more time to color up than the others. His tail is 90 degrees right now. It may get higher as he matures more.

Ah he is not a same age he is older it is a reason his shoulder has more colour . not because genetically he is better .
90% angle tail is out .I work with 60/70 degrees no more .

#3 is out .
Keep Prince than to be matted to Parfect . Queen blood running throgh him .I know he has some parasitic white ,but he has more to offer to if mated to Perfect .

chooks man

 

[KF0002]

When do you start hatching? Do you keep the roosters separate? I worry what the 2- 3 hens will look like in with the roosters but I don't have room to separate them. I may make saddles for them to protect their backs from being bald. I may put more hens with them till I am ready to hatch then kick them into the big pen. My two BC pullets are probably about 4 months now. I won't be able to hatch from them till march.

I have kept Duke in with Queen all year and she looks fine. He is a gentle bird. I also try to put some other hens/pullets in the pen like Legbars so Queen isnt the center of attention. I have had Duchess and Malika in with Prince all year long and they look fine. I just try to keep the cock birds' spurs sawed off dull so they dont cause damage. We get our spur saws from Wood enterprise online. There is a spur holder you can mount that comes in very handy also. We have it mounted to our back porch. It allows for more stability when sawing the spurs off. Dremel tools work very well also.

 

[Chooks man]

Yeah there is one or two out there I couldnt get a good picture of. I will try to get pictures on my days off from work.

she is hidding few cockerels tell the end to surprise us . looking forward to see they photos .

chooks man

 

[KF0002]

Ah he is not a same age he is older it is a reason his shoulder has more colour . not because genetically he is better .
90% angle tail is out .I work with 60/70 degrees no more .

#3 is out .
Keep Prince than to be matted to Parfect . Queen blood running throgh him .I know he has some parasitic white ,but he has more to offer to if mated to Perfect .

chooks man

Sounds like a great plan! I am going to write all of this down so I have a game plan. I will have hubby cull some cockerels this weekend to thin some out.

 

[KF0002]

she is hidding few cockerels tell the end to surprise us . looking forward to see they photos .

chooks man

Lol I hope they surprise me too. One has never had a tail. I have nearly culled him at least 10 times. I caught him to cull him the other day and it is coming in finally.. he has blood feathers in his tail area. He is just a slow featherer.

The one that is shy and skittish is lean and sort of gangly. I dont think he'll be surprising anyone. Lol

 

[Chooks man]

I have kept Duke in with Queen all year and she looks fine. He is a gentle bird. I also try to put some other hens/pullets in the pen like Legbars so Queen isnt the center of attention. I have had Duchess and Malika in with Prince all year long and they look fine. I just try to keep the cock birds' spurs sawed off dull so they dont cause damage. We get our spur saws from Wood enterprise online. There is a spur holder you can mount that comes in very handy also. We have it mounted to our back porch. It allows for more stability when sawing the spurs off. Dremel tools work very well also.

great way of doing it . I need to get one for the future to manage the spurs .

I prefer keep my hens and rooster separate after breeding .they are separated now except Day Walker pen .3 more weeks and is the end . no rooster is allowed to be around the hens or the pullets tell the next year breeding season September .

hens /rooster need to rest .so they last longer for breeding .they odn t get hmmered .
chooks man

 

[KF0002]

When do you start hatching? Do you keep the roosters separate? I worry what the 2- 3 hens will look like in with the roosters but I don't have room to separate them. I may make saddles for them to protect their backs from being bald. I may put more hens with them till I am ready to hatch then kick them into the big pen. My two BC pullets are probably about 4 months now. I won't be able to hatch from them till march.

I will start hatching in March. Possibly sooner if the birds cooperate and start laying sooner. Winter puts a damper on eggs but as spring comes and the days start getting longer again, they pick back up.

 

[KF0002]

great way of doing it . I need to get one for the future to manage the spurs .

I prefer keep my hens and rooster separate after breeding .they are separated now except Day Walker pen .3 more weeks and is the end . no rooster is allowed to be around the hens or the pullets tell the next year breeding season September .

hens /rooster need to rest .so they last longer for breeding .they odn t get hmmered .
chooks man

I may keep the males and females separate in the future. I just havent had the luxury this year. Hubby has to build more pens.

 

[marchick]

I have kept Duke in with Queen all year and she looks fine. He is a gentle bird. I also try to put some other hens/pullets in the pen like Legbars so Queen isnt the center of attention. I have had Duchess and Malika in with Prince all year long and they look fine. I just try to keep the cock birds' spurs sawed off dull so they dont cause damage. We get our spur saws from Wood enterprise online. There is a spur holder you can mount that comes in very handy also. We have it mounted to our back porch. It allows for more stability when sawing the spurs off. Dremel tools work very well also.

How short do you cut the spurs and do they bleed a lot? Would a dremel work? Do you put anything on the spurs to disinfect?

 

[marchick]

I may keep the males and females separate in the future. I just havent had the luxury this year. Hubby has to build more pens.

My hubby said absolutely no more pens. We don't have the room. We technically do but he wants them all in one section. He is right in the fact that It would be much harder to go up and down the hill in winter. So I guess no more pens for this girl.