International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Chooks man]

Love spotted eggs

great trait but no many marans breeders focused in breeding it true .
chooks man

 

[kcrandall]

What age do BCM Roos start growing hackle, sickle and saddle feathers?

2-3 months for hackle, 3-4 month for saddle. Marans mature at different rates. Cocks may not show their true and full colors until they are 18-24 months old.

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

Ok, thanks

2-3 months for hackle, 3-4 month for saddle. Marans mature at different rates. Cocks may not show their true and full colors until they are 18-24 months old.

 

[Minky]

I've been doing some test hatching (of my whole flock- not just marans) now that I own 3 incubators LMFAO. (I know not unusual but my family thinks I'm nuts).
I just candled my eggs- taking notes on who's eggs are always clear, who's are getting blood rings, who's look good, porous etc...
And I have some questions.

1. If I collect 9 eggs from one hen, and 4 are clear but the other 5 are looking great- how is that explained? I have one hen who lays (almost)everyday, so I have eggs labelled 5,6,7,8,9,10, 11, 13, 14,- how can she have infertile eggs in the middle?? (her eggs are almost white- a tint colour, so easily candled.) Also, she is my only hen with this colour egg in that pen.

2. my Silver laced Wyandotte's just finished their moult mid jan. Their eggs are suddenly pointy and very porous- doesn't look like they are developing, although I know they have been mated because I have seen it several times.
What can explain the pointyness and porousness? Is this why they are not developing? No, they weren't pointy or porus before they moulted.

3. if a particular hen often develops a blood ring in her eggs- is this just coincidence or could this be a trait of hers?

4. I have 3 lavender Orpingtons in a pen with their rooster. It seems like two of them are not being mated. I watch him chase them around, but they do not let him. He is lovely and polite with them, does his dance etc... a nice rooster. How shall I encourage their compliance?

Sorry this post is not Marans specific, but I trust the opinions of this group.

 

[Minky]

I've had some interesting hatching mishaps. Chicks that were a bit too strong for their own good... One started unzipping with too much forceView attachment 2537080

Did this little one survive or hatch too early?

 

[kcrandall]

I've been doing some test hatching (of my whole flock- not just marans) now that I own 3 incubators LMFAO. (I know not unusual but my family thinks I'm nuts).
I just candled my eggs- taking notes on who's eggs are always clear, who's are getting blood rings, who's look good, porous etc...
And I have some questions.

1. If I collect 9 eggs from one hen, and 4 are clear but the other 5 are looking great- how is that explained? I have one hen who lays (almost)everyday, so I have eggs labelled 5,6,7,8,9,10, 11, 13, 14,- how can she have infertile eggs in the middle?? (her eggs are almost white- a tint colour, so easily candled.) Also, she is my only hen with this colour egg in that pen.

2. my Silver laced Wyandotte's just finished their moult mid jan. Their eggs are suddenly pointy and very porous- doesn't look like they are developing, although I know they have been mated because I have seen it several times.
What can explain the pointyness and porousness? Is this why they are not developing? No, they weren't pointy or porus before they moulted.

3. if a particular hen often develops a blood ring in her eggs- is this just coincidence or could this be a trait of hers?

4. I have 3 lavender Orpingtons in a pen with their rooster. It seems like two of them are not being mated. I watch him chase them around, but they do not let him. He is lovely and polite with them, does his dance etc... a nice rooster. How shall I encourage their compliance?

Sorry this post is not Marans specific, but I trust the opinions of this group.

I am no expert on these issues but hereare my thoughts in order of your questions:

1. There are a lot of factors that can affect fertility. When a rooster mates a hen it can takes 7-10 days for the semen to reach the oviduct which is why most breeders say do not incubate eggs for at least a week after housing your rooster and hens together. After the inital mating the hen can lay fertile eggs for 2 or 3 weeks but fertility decreases during this time. I assume your rooster stays with the hens so this shouldn’t be the issue as he will mate with her periodically. It could a fertility issue with the rooster. Do you have other hens in the pen with him and are their eggs fertile? Roosters do have favorites so he may not be mating this particular hen as often as the others. You may try putting her with a different rooster to see if fertility changes.
2. After molt it can take a hen a couple of weeks to get her reproductive system back in good working order. Many things can affect the eggs such as diet, housing sanitation, weather, age of hen, etc. I know that during this recent artic blast my pullet eggs were oddly shaped, textured and color lightened. My two older hens stopped laying altogether. Give her some time to see if she works things out.
3. Blood rings happen - it could be something genetic or an issue with the incubation process. Do you sanitize your incubator before setting eggs to hatch? Do you incubate and hatch in your incubator or do you use a separate hatcher. I use Nolvasen mixed with water to sanitize my incubators. It’s possible your rooster and this hen are genetically incompatible so you may try putting her with another rooster to test for this issue.
4. Some hens never warm up to a particular rooster so they will avoid being mated by him. You can try single mating them or try putting them with a different rooster.

Hope this helps!

 

[Chooks man]

I've been doing some test hatching (of my whole flock- not just marans) now that I own 3 incubators LMFAO. (I know not unusual but my family thinks I'm nuts).
I just candled my eggs- taking notes on who's eggs are always clear, who's are getting blood rings, who's look good, porous etc...
And I have some questions.

1. If I collect 9 eggs from one hen, and 4 are clear but the other 5 are looking great- how is that explained? I have one hen who lays (almost)everyday, so I have eggs labelled 5,6,7,8,9,10, 11, 13, 14,- how can she have infertile eggs in the middle?? (her eggs are almost white- a tint colour, so easily candled.) Also, she is my only hen with this colour egg in that pen.

2. my Silver laced Wyandotte's just finished their moult mid jan. Their eggs are suddenly pointy and very porous- doesn't look like they are developing, although I know they have been mated because I have seen it several times.
What can explain the pointyness and porousness? Is this why they are not developing? No, they weren't pointy or porus before they moulted.

3. if a particular hen often develops a blood ring in her eggs- is this just coincidence or could this be a trait of hers?

4. I have 3 lavender Orpingtons in a pen with their rooster. It seems like two of them are not being mated. I watch him chase them around, but they do not let him. He is lovely and polite with them, does his dance etc... a nice rooster. How shall I encourage their compliance?

Sorry this post is not Marans specific, but I trust the opinions of this group.

chooks that are not selectively line bred for those traits will not be predictable when bred . they will express all sort of mixed traits .
for a pair of chooks to have all they eggs fertile many many years of selective breeding has to be done .
select the compatible pair and work with .
if a hen does not like the rooster than you should not keep them together . nothing will happen .
if the eggs have a funny shape or deformed ,do not incubate them . add vitamin B12 complex to the breeders water to solve this issue .
chooks man

 

[Bantambird]

Did this little one survive or hatch too early?

He survived and is in with the group as though he hatched normally

 

[kfelton0002]

Sorry all, for my absence. I've had a lot of things going on. My son's virtual learning keeps me busy. I also work on a busy and packed covid unit in critical care and we have had a lot of short staffing lately. We are losing many nurses to travel. Travel agencies are recruiting them and the money for some I guess is too good to pass up. I however am a loyal servant to my profession and stay where I am very much needed. It makes it hard on those that stay but we are making it day by day. The senior nurses that have left to travel are being replaced by new graduate RNs and they have to have a few old hands to teach them the ropes.

Nothing much new to update on my Marans. I just set a few eggs from Dark Angel's single mated pen. I can't remember for the life of me what his hen's name is at the moment.

Broken Wing died a few weeks ago from an unknown issue he had, I simply deduced as failure to thrive. He wouldn't put on weight or develop. We treated for internal parasites and he never got better. Upon examination all I found to be wrong with him was simply poor body condition. No respiratory issues. No neurological symptoms. Good appetite. It was a mystery and very perplexing.

I hope everyone has stayed safe this winter and the winter storms haven't taken too much of a toll on any of you. We were without electricity one night but have been fortunate otherwise. I will be happy for spring to arrive.

May God bless all of you and keep you safe. I have certainly missed my BYC friends.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Sorry all, for my absence. I've had a lot of things going on. My son's virtual learning keeps me busy. I also work on a busy and packed covid unit in critical care and we have had a lot of short staffing lately. We are losing many nurses to travel. Travel agencies are recruiting them and the money for some I guess is too good to pass up. I however am a loyal servant to my profession and stay where I am very much needed. It makes it hard on those that stay but we are making it day by day. The senior nurses that have left to travel are being replaced by new graduate RNs and they have to have a few old hands to teach them the ropes.

Nothing much new to update on my Marans. I just set a few eggs from Dark Angel's single mated pen. I can't remember for the life of me what his hen's name is at the moment.

Broken Wing died a few weeks ago from an unknown issue he had, I simply deduced as failure to thrive. He wouldn't put on weight or develop. We treated for internal parasites and he never got better. Upon examination all I found to be wrong with him was simply poor body condition. No respiratory issues. No neurological symptoms. Good appetite. It was a mystery and very perplexing.

I hope everyone has stayed safe this winter and the winter storms haven't taken too much of a toll on any of you. We were without electricity one night but have been fortunate otherwise. I will be happy for spring to arrive.

May God bless all of you and keep you safe. I have certainly missed my BYC friends.

Good to hear from you.
Ive been working on covid lodges at the hospital with the sick too.
Were short handed there also.
Not fun but this too shall pass.

Stay safe and we are thinking of you!