International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Chooks man]

Thank you! I agree that the quality of egg color and shape is paramount when breeding Marans. My husband and I have an inside joke when collecting my Marans eggs out of the hen house from the layers. We'll pick one up and say "that is what a Marans egg is supposed to look like!" We say this because there was a Marans pullet at the show I attended who laid a cream colored egg right in the show cage prior to judging! I won't disclose the breeder, but I was disappointed. Such a bird would be a cull to me, as a show bird and breeder. I won't purposefully perpetuate "Marans" that lay light eggs like that, not even for use as show birds. I would feel like a fraud. Pardon my rant. lol

Jolie is the best pullet I raised last year and she has decent size, good hackle color, and beautiful type. Now that I know her egg color and shape is good only solidifies her place as a breeder. I haven't weighed her but I think her size is adequate based on how she looks. I will try to get a weight on her tonight.

sound as a good package ,good body .nice hackle marking and correct marans eggs .

chooks man

 

[kfelton0002]

sorry to hear about your trouble ,hope your son in doing better . it is always hard to watch them going through the pain .

chooks man

Thank you! He is no longer running a fever but his legs still ache pretty bad. Spring can't get here soon enough. Viral illness like RSV and flu have been really bad this winter.

 

[Chooks man]

He shares the same sire to the two black copper cockerels I kept, and the pullets I have selected to breed this year. But they have different dams. Duke is his sire.

I will keep him around and see how he grows out. He and Malika may pair well later on in the year, since they are only distantly related.

some sire but different dams .give rise to too many lines . genetically are not a same .they share 50% of they sire genes ,but not in a same combination .
with Malika I think he will do well .

I will pair him with a hen that have a complete hackle . plus she did show hackle marking @ the young age 8/10 weeks to correct the shoulder marking .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@kfelton0002
have you start pairing your chooks for breeding ? if yes who are you starting with ?

chooks man

 

[kfelton0002]

some sire but different dams .give rise to too many lines . genetically are not a same .they share 50% of they sire genes ,but not in a same combination .
with Malika I think he will do well .

I will pair him with a hen that have a complete hackle . plus she did show hackle marking @ the young age 8/10 weeks to correct the shoulder marking .

chooks man

Yes Malika showed hackle color early on, plus she has good type, egg color, and size. I will look through my females to see if there are other options for him also. I am letting the free ranging pullets fully mature before I sort through them any further. They are doing well free ranging, and we seem to have gotten a handle on the varmints.

Malika and Blue Bird shared the same sire, I believe. I would have to dig out my record book to be certain, but I am fairly confident in my memory on that. So that would make Malika the BLC cockerel's aunt. That would be a good pairing in terms of genetic diversity if the BLC ends up being breeder worthy as he matures.

 

[kfelton0002]

@kfelton0002
have you start pairing your chooks for breeding ? if yes who are you starting with ?

chooks man

I haven't paired anyone up as of yet. The hens arean't laying and are all by themselves. The pullets aren't ready to be with males yet. I may sort them out this weekend and pair the hens with the cockerels if the weather allows for it.

As far as my hens go:
Queen and Duchess will go with Dark Halo
Malika will go with Dark Angel

I have only selected one pullet for sure to use as a breeder and that is Jolie. The others I am still watching as they mature more.

Jolie will go with Dark Angel (siblings).

I will single mate all birds and mark each breeding accordingly.

 

[Chooks man]

Yes Malika showed hackle color early on, plus she has good type, egg color, and size. I will look through my females to see if there are other options for him also. I am letting the free ranging pullets fully mature before I sort through them any further. They are doing well free ranging, and we seem to have gotten a handle on the varmints.

Malika and Blue Bird shared the same sire, I believe. I would have to dig out my record book to be certain, but I am fairly confident in my memory on that. So that would make Malika the BLC cockerel's aunt. That would be a good pairing in terms of genetic diversity if the BLC ends up being breeder worthy as he matures.

100% correct .Malika and BLC cockerelshare a same Z chromosome . BLC cockerels has one more Z from Duke . so mating him to Malika is good method to produce cockerels with a same Z chromosomes .
I prefer Aunt breeding better than Dam breeding . more genetic diversity .

chooks man

 

[kfelton0002]

100% correct .Malika and BLC cockerelshare a same Z chromosome . BLC cockerels has one more Z from Duke . so mating him to Malika is good method to produce cockerels with a same Z chromosomes .
I prefer Aunt breeding better than Dam breeding . more genetic diversity .

chooks man

We like to breed aunts/nephews and uncles/nieces as well. I look forward to seeing how the BLC cockerel finishes out.

 

[Chooks man]

dominant white cockerel I like a lot .he is sired by Stallone over his daughter Kako so he is Black cross #1. he is big ,long and heavy .fast growing and maturing .

chooks man

 

[kfelton0002]

dominant white cockerel I like a lot .he is sired by Stallone over his daughter Kako so he is Black cross #1. he is big ,long and heavy .fast growing and maturing .
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chooks man

Oooh he is lovely! I love a white bird. He is quite the looker.