International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Bluebonnet Poultry TX]

The plan is this thread . 1,812 pages Start at page #1 TOM

Okay, that may take awhile but I can try!

 

[Bluebonnet Poultry TX]

Welcome to the group! I know it’s a lot of reading but start from the beggining of this thread. There is a lot of great information that will help you. The “Plan” is different for each of us and is largely dependent on the quality of our Marans with which we have to work. Some members Marans flocks are more advanced than others so our respective breeding practices will be different. The basic overall plan is to breed for type, dark eggs, body pattern and plumage color.

There is a lot more that goes into than that but that’s the basics. I suggest you obtain a copy of the Standard of Perfection (SOP) so you know what a Marans is supposed to look like. I’m in the US but I breed to the French SOP (breed origin). There are a couple of slight variations between the US and French standards.

Chooks Man, because of his passion for and knowledge of Marans, helps us to evaluate our birds and choose breeders so we can move our reapective flocks forward and thus the breed. He is a wealth of information and we’re fortunate to have him as a mentor.

Yes I have read the SOP many times and I am breeding towards the US one. I don't actually think I’ve read the french one.. Thanks!

 

[chickengr]

Here are my two cuckoo marans. (I dont have hens, just these two). They are big boys. Fairly calm, brothers for sure. One has more feathers on his feet (Aku) and one white tail feather. He is shorter and heavier. The other has less feathers on his feet, no white tail feather and a bit taller and not quite as thick(Miika), but still a big big bird. (named them after my identical twin nephews)

They are 9 months old. I have started to notice red markings on Aku's shanks. What is this from ? Looks just like marker. You should be able to see it on one of the photos.
Sorry for boring pictures on roost. a foot of snow outside. Surprised their combs survived our coldest night of the winter so far (-18 last night).

Chooks man- is the white tail feather a problem? Doe this mean Aku is Coq au vin?
FWIW, Aku is nicer, (Miika sometimes looks at me like he will attack me- but hasn't) and I personally like the white tail feather. No, neither have any fluff.
Neither have much gold anywhere - little bits on their hackles. Will more come in, or is this their adult plumage??

build your flock first with what you have. use barnyard mixes for coq au vin!

 

[Chooks man]

Here are my two cuckoo marans. (I dont have hens, just these two). They are big boys. Fairly calm, brothers for sure. One has more feathers on his feet (Aku) and one white tail feather. He is shorter and heavier. The other has less feathers on his feet, no white tail feather and a bit taller and not quite as thick(Miika), but still a big big bird. (named them after my identical twin nephews)

They are 9 months old. I have started to notice red markings on Aku's shanks. What is this from ? Looks just like marker. You should be able to see it on one of the photos.
Sorry for boring pictures on roost. a foot of snow outside. Surprised their combs survived our coldest night of the winter so far (-18 last night).

Chooks man- is the white tail feather a problem? Doe this mean Aku is Coq au vin?
FWIW, Aku is nicer, (Miika sometimes looks at me like he will attack me- but hasn't) and I personally like the white tail feather. No, neither have any fluff.
Neither have much gold anywhere - little bits on their hackles. Will more come in, or is this their adult plumage??

those are solid looking marans .roosters .each of them has it own qualities and faults .but still good to breed from ,because they have a good body type .good tail angle { little longer }
the red you see in they hackle is a copper ,they are not pure silver cuckoo ,they still carries a BC genes .
you can cross them to your BCM hens to make your own golden Cuckoo marans ,
the red you see in they shank is just hormones stuff .don t worry about it .
both of they comb need work ,
chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Okay, that may take awhile but I can try!

I like the photo of the cock bird in your avatar .
chooks man

 

[Bluebonnet Poultry TX]

I like the photo of the cock bird in your avatar .
chooks man

Thank you so much!! That means a lot! I can post his full picture on here if you want to see him a bit better! I am quite happy with him. I know he has his faults but no bird is perfect and he is a pretty good specimen for my breeding pen! He also came from really nice dark eggs. Here is a photo of him. His name is Sriracha and he is 1.5 years old.

 

[Minky]

ok, thanks everyone! I will figure out a method to know which hens lays each egg. or maybe I will only set the eggs I am sure about.

that is a good looking rooster above!

Can I try my hand at a critique? Here goes...

Great body mass. Good type and shape. Nice low stance, close to ground. Beautiful deep copper colour. Full pattern. Looks like maybe he is missing the copper speckles from his chest? Good head. Are the wattles a little big? Maybe needs a few more spikes on his comb? Nice bright eyes, orange ear tufts so thats great. Can't really see leg colour or if there are too many leg feathers?- can't tell. Tail angle a bit high (but he looks alerted so maybe not).
How'd I do?

 

[Chooks man]

ok, thanks everyone! I will figure out a method to know which hens lays each egg. or maybe I will only set the eggs I am sure about.

that is a good looking rooster above!

Can I try my hand at a critique? Here goes...

Great body mass. Good type and shape. Nice low stance, close to ground. Beautiful deep copper colour. Full pattern. Looks like maybe he is missing the copper speckles from his chest? Good head. Are the wattles a little big? Maybe needs a few more spikes on his comb? Nice bright eyes, orange ear tufts so thats great. Can't really see leg colour or if there are too many leg feathers?- can't tell. Tail angle a bit high (but he looks alerted so maybe not).
How'd I do?

you did very well .
his tail is at high angle for sure and you alright about his comb too need to be more tidy and need one or 2 more point .
what stunning about him is his sublime body type .triangular ,thick ,long ,deep chest .and his uniform rich red copper .
chooks man

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

I started on page 1 last year and am only around page 200. Gonna take a while!

I have a question about breeding my quad of BCM. Is it important for me to know which hen laid which egg? I sometimes catch them on the nest and then I wait a little and go back for the egg and mark it right away with their name.. but sometimes, there is just an egg and I have no idea which hen it is from. How do I solve this problem? I worry if I separate them, this will causes stress and maybe they wont lay? Also..running out of pens.

if you want to breed proper marans ,you need to know what pullet is laying what . if you can not do it with 3 pullets ,than breeding marans to SOP will be very for you .
if you don t know ,you will never be able to know witch of your pullet is a good breeder .
it is not how they look what important to us as breeders ,what important to us is what they breed { what progeny they throw}

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Okay, that may take awhile but I can try!

photos of the hens .the roosters are half of the breeding equation . the hens are the other half .
your rooster will breed well if he is paired to the right hen \hens .
chooks man