International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[KF0002]

if they are not for showing than it is not a big problem .as long as you know what type of comb was befere they lost to the frost .

chooks man

Breeder males I dont tend to worry about frost bite damage. And in the Games their combs get dubbed anyway. For show birds, they are hatched in late winter to early spring and are not turned out of the brooders until the weather is warm enough for them to thrive. No worry of frostbite damage in them until the winter. By then if I raise a male worthy of showing, I can pen him indoors during cold weather to salvage his comb. I havent raised a male I have felt compelled to show yet so I've not worried about that much. Pullets are easier to show as they are easier to get "right" so I've started out with them but next year I hope to take a Marans cockerel or two. Gotta get that color right first. Baby steps.

 

[marchick]

Our winter was very mild last year but the year before that was brutal on the combs. I fear this year will be a very cold winter as well, however there are way too many of them to put heat lamps on. Their combs will just be doomed.

I just put 2 heat lamps in my houses. One in the big house and it helps out actually 3 houses. They are in one building but separate pens. The big house is where the heat lamp is and where blaze is kept. Nimbus and his girls have a heat lamp. I closed up the small trapdoors last night. It got down to 19 degrees last night. They are calling for 12 degrees in about a week. We almost always get colder than what they say. So 12 degrees Fahrenheit will most likely be single digit. Too cold this early. Not good! We had frost end of September this year. It was earlier than I ever remember.

 

[BenTN]

Love the wide breast on these two

pure white like snow .Snow White .Dominant white/Splash /cuckoo .every thing in there making white and he will stay white tell old age . stunning specimen . Sired by Samir Splask cockerel over Kako Dominant White hen .7 weeks old this Sunday .big boy .have few off them ,true brothers few sisters too .happy chooks man
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his younger brother 6 weeks old .
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chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Well I hope you get a good hatch rate! It sucks that DW didnt like your two best hens, isnt that usually how it goes though? The birds you want to raise from the most you cant get one chick from. Its very frustrating. We have an old line of Gamefowl we have struggled to raise chicks from for the past few years. The hatchibility and vigor of the line is poor. This year we are infusing the line with new blood again in an attempt to salvage the line.

I m going to try to breed a colour blind rooster .all the hens will look same to him .

DW did very good with Unicorn , only got 2 chicks from her with 2 rooster BM and BB now with DW hatched all her eggs 12 or some thing like that .
he Liked Shiva too .I was happy about that .my biggest and heaviest hen . most DW chicks are from her .

infusing a line is always good .it is a best way to save them .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

I just put 2 heat lamps in my houses. One in the big house and it helps out actually 3 houses. They are in one building but separate pens. The big house is where the heat lamp is and where blaze is kept. Nimbus and his girls have a heat lamp. I closed up the small trapdoors last night. It got down to 19 degrees last night. They are calling for 12 degrees in about a week. We almost always get colder than what they say. So 12 degrees Fahrenheit will most likely be single digit. Too cold this early. Not good! We had frost end of September this year. It was earlier than I ever remember.

very good .they will apreciate some wormth .
very cold ealy for sure .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Breeder males I dont tend to worry about frost bite damage. And in the Games their combs get dubbed anyway. For show birds, they are hatched in late winter to early spring and are not turned out of the brooders until the weather is warm enough for them to thrive. No worry of frostbite damage in them until the winter. By then if I raise a male worthy of showing, I can pen him indoors during cold weather to salvage his comb. I havent raised a male I have felt compelled to show yet so I've not worried about that much. Pullets are easier to show as they are easier to get "right" so I've started out with them but next year I hope to take a Marans cockerel or two. Gotta get that color right first. Baby steps.

you are not far of producing faultless cockerels .
cockerels are more complex than pullets .so that take time .
you have all the traits you need ,just need to group them in one cockerel .

I think {I notted that in my note book } MAlika X Dark Angel and Perfect X Prince will produce correct cockerels for you ./need to hach as many as you can from those 2 pairs . focus on them .

chooks man

 

[marchick]

He is very chill and easy going. Most of them are. The Marans are the most docile breed I have. Very easy to handle.

I hope my line doesn't add too much spunk to yours. So far they are behaving themselves but sometimes act like they are sizing you up ready to pounce. My Birchen are the most aggressive but he is behaving himself. He was attacking me. Now I just go in far enough to feed,water and get eggs. All right by the door.

 

[Chooks man]

Love the wide breast on these two

they best trait .long back , wide shoulder and wide breast .meaty birds .
chooks man.

 

[KF0002]

I hope my line doesn't add too much spunk to yours. So far they are behaving themselves but sometimes act like they are sizing you up ready to pounce. My Birchen are the most aggressive but he is behaving himself. He was attacking me. Now I just go in far enough to feed,water and get eggs. All right by the door.

If so I will deal with that as it comes. I encounter aggressive birds in my line from time to time. Its no problem.

 

[KF0002]

you are not far of producing faultless cockerels .
cockerels are more complex than pullets .so that take time .
you have all the traits you need ,just need to group them in one cockerel .

I think {I notted that in my note book } MAlika X Dark Angel and Perfect X Prince will produce correct cockerels for you ./need to hach as many as you can from those 2 pairs . focus on them .

chooks man

I am already working on arranging single mated pens for them and I plan on putting Malika and Perfect in conditioning stalls to let them rest a few weeks at least before breeding season starts.