International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Chooks man]

What a difference a day makes. Daisy just laid her second egg and its already bigger then my girl Henrietta's. The new one is not speckeled, but i know for a fact both are hers as i witnessed her in the nest box and collected both immediately after she came off.
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same shape ,different size and colour .
chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

gorgeous winter sun . my older hens are loving it , only 3 hens out of 44 haven t finished they molt .couples of weeks away . 41 hens are looking stunning .big ,heavy not restart laying yet .no far off I think .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

from left to right = Ravendale . Shiva } both solid black half sisters} .White Orchid and Unicorn { Red Pyle } . looking great with they new feathers .
I think Ravendale is not far off to restart laying .her comb is big and red .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

gorgeous and correct looking BLC cockerel .but with a bad comb .the front of his comb is great ,the back is round ball. the comb is short .
I have seen this type of comb before never kept them to see how does turn up when fully mature . curious
shame because he is stunning ,gorgeous copper and full body pattern .
photo from the back . wide with a solid legs .

I will breed him to my best hens .very restricted breeding program . I like to breed his body type and body pattern true and breed out his comb .not a big deal . one problem to fix ,not the end of the world
I designed a specific method to breed him . will take few generation .but I said many time .body type , body pattern and copper quality are first for me when selecting cockerels .
pullets need to lay dark eggs and have a big body type .

chooks man

 

[marchick]

So ignore it?
Thats what i thought but wanted to make sure. Thank you.

I believe its called a rudimentary toe I heard it happens in birds with feathered feet. I don't think they even mark against it in shows. I wouldn't worry about it!

 

[Punkybrewster]

I believe its called a rudimentary toe I heard it happens in birds with feathered feet. I don't think they even mark against it in shows. I wouldn't worry about it!

Thank you.
Wasnt sure about that being a major flaw. It would be awful to work toward SOP just to have someone say "Nope. Bad toes"

 

[Chooks man]

eggs from my pullets , arrived from the farm this early morning . happy with a shape and the color too .
happy chooks man.

chooks man

 

[Punkybrewster]

View attachment 2223826
eggs from my pullets , arrived from the farm this early morning . happy with a shape and the color too .
happy chooks man.

chooks man

Stunning eggs.
I have sooo long to wait.
Hoping by january.

 

[Chooks man]

Stunning eggs.
I have sooo long to wait.
Hoping by january.

I had to wait for 9 months to get those eggs .first chicks group #1 hatched September 14/2019 now we are in July . worth a long wait .I can tell you that .
it is a reason I like to hatch my breeders not buying as adult . when hatching them we get to know all they growth pattern ,they habit, ,they traits .plus we have to wait for them to grow and start laying . when dark eggs are the result ,it is very very satisfying .
I m really happy with my flock this time .great marans traits all over them .

the fun part will start in 4 months ,when I start breeding them .
chooks man

 

[Punkybrewster]

I had to cull a little cockerel today.
They are only 3 weeks old.
I heard screaming in the coop and peeked in. I thought they were just play fighting. The next time i checked on them an hour later, there were bloody combs, all the chicks piled up in the corner burying their heads and one cockerel chick attacking them.

Took him out and put him in the run by himself for about 3 hours. Put him back in the coop and he attacked them again.

Tried one more time. Same thing.
Cant have a savage beast like that...

Now i have 6 bcm.
Looks like 3 cockerels and 3 pullets.

Interesting thing. The cockerels have heavy foot feathering that seems like too much and the pullets have lighter feathering on their feet.