International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Chooks man]

it will be hard to find pure marans here. look what they brought:

https://www.dominant-cz.cz/en/programs/dark-brown/detail/145/dominant-darkshell-ds109

I think that will be the end of thd pure Marans in Greece .
If I was you I ll go to France to see Monique and Phillippe to pick pure Marans and start breeding / selling them in Greece . You will have a lot client for sure.
The money you are spending on the chooks feed to gave to those impure Marans is 10 time or more expensive than a ticket. Personal opinion
Chooks man

 

[Sussex19]

Here are my cockerels.
They are a very varied bunch. The photos aren't the best quality, making the colours look a bit more washed out then in real life; also it was a very hot day so they were holding their wings out a bit more then they normally do.

1 he is the dominant cockerel, with the biggest comb, and also the palest colour. I feel like his tail is a bit more upright then it should be.

2

3 this one has got yellow legs, I have no idea where that came from! Also, he is a bit runty, so definitely a cull, I think.

4 this one has got quite nice shape, but going by what you told me the other day, I think he is a dark cuckoo, with only one barring gene?

Sorry some of the pics aren't very good, they are pretty skittish, and the camera isn't the best.
What colour is correct for a golden cuckoo Marans?
And are any of these keepers do you think? I'm thinking not, particularly as they are full brothers to my pullets.

 

[Chooks man]

Here are my cockerels.
They are a very varied bunch. The photos aren't the best quality, making the colours look a bit more washed out then in real life; also it was a very hot day so they were holding their wings out a bit more then they normally do.

1 he is the dominant cockerel, with the biggest comb, and also the palest colour. I feel like his tail is a bit more upright then it should be.
View attachment 3435191
2 View attachment 34351933 this one has got yellow legs, I have no idea where that came from! Also, he is a bit runty, so definitely a cull, I think.View attachment 34351974 this one has got quite nice shape, but going by what you told me the other day, I think he is a dark cuckoo, with only one barring gene?
View attachment 3435198
Sorry some of the pics aren't very good, they are pretty skittish, and the camera isn't the best.
What colour is correct for a golden cuckoo Marans?
And are any of these keepers do you think? I'm thinking not, particularly as they are full brothers to my pullets.

I see what are you talking about .
colour wise number 1 and 3 are both double barred .but they have major faults ,one has a high tail the other has yellow legs .
number 2 and 4 both are dark cuckoos love they long body . number 4 is the best one he has a lot good traits ..I know he is dark cuckoo but a good one for sure .
you can mate them to they sisters but we can do some thing with them for sure let me think about it .I like number 4 a lot for sure .we need to do some thing with him .
chooks man

 

[Punkybrewster]

it will be hard to find pure marans here. look what they brought:

https://www.dominant-cz.cz/en/programs/dark-brown/detail/145/dominant-darkshell-ds109

Oh no.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Sometimes he appears to have a longer body, other times not, I think it’s his pose. Squirrel tail not just his pose, it is always this angle, which is a shame because it would look quite nice if it was held a bit lower.

I had this same problem with high tails. I ended up finding a line with low tails and it is helping. I saw a difference the very next breeding season. Still a lot of culls but there is progress.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Here we go: (roof torn so a lot of water got in the run, so excuse the mud)

Loki: from what you have said, this is my understanding. Comb/head fantastic. No side sprig (bit of frostbite last night.) colour good, legs good. Tail squirrel, eyes not orange enough. Back a bit short.

The blue pullet: nice body, long and deep. Tail a little high, legs good, nice full hackle markings. Probably the one laying a really nice, dark egg. Good, small comb and face. Eyes pale.

Black pullet: nice flat and long back, great small tail at the right angle. Lovely hackle marking and copper colour. A bit smaller than the blue, eyes pale. YELLOW LEGS!

Have I missed anything?
Thanks

 

[Sussex19]

I see what are you talking about .
colour wise number 1 and 3 are both double barred .but they have major faults ,one has a high tail the other has yellow legs .
number 2 and 4 both are dark cuckoos love they long body . number 4 is the best one he has a lot good traits ..I know he is dark cuckoo but a good one for sure .
you can mate them to they sisters but we can do some thing with them for sure let me think about it .I like number 4 a lot for sure .we need to do some thing with him .
chooks man

Thank you for helping!
I guess what I could do, is keep 4, and maybe 2, and see how they look as they get older.
Then, if I get some hatching eggs from you, I would have some more pullets as well to play around with.
I am not terribly keen to mate brother to sister, because I feel like they may already have a fair bit of inbreeding, or at least line breeding in them.

 

[Chooks man]

Thank you for helping!
I guess what I could do, is keep 4, and maybe 2, and see how they look as they get older.
Then, if I get some hatching eggs from you, I would have some more pullets as well to play around with.
I am not terribly keen to mate brother to sister, because I feel like they may already have a fair bit of inbreeding, or at least line breeding in them.

That is a good idea. 2 and 4look good to me .
Maybe we can do some swapping I take one of 2 cockerels and I ll send you a couples of Dz fertile eggs . Golden cuckoo and black copper/ blue copper dark eggs layers.
I ll pm you later to see what you think .
Chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Here we go: (roof torn so a lot of water got in the run, so excuse the mud)
View attachment 3435311View attachment 3435312View attachment 3435313View attachment 3435314Loki: from what you have said, this is my understanding. Comb/head fantastic. No side sprig (bit of frostbite last night.) colour good, legs good. Tail squirrel, eyes not orange enough. Back a bit short.
View attachment 3435320View attachment 3435321View attachment 3435322
The blue pullet: nice body, long and deep. Tail a little high, legs good, nice full hackle markings. Probably the one laying a really nice, dark egg. Good, small comb and face. Eyes pale.
View attachment 3435324View attachment 3435325View attachment 3435326
Black pullet: nice flat and long back, great small tail at the right angle. Lovely hackle marking and copper colour. A bit smaller than the blue, eyes pale. YELLOW LEGS!

Have I missed anything?
Thanks

You got alright.
From those new photos I can see your cockerel has bright orange eyes.
So black copper pullet has a yellow feet’s? Shame
The blue pullets look good to me long flat back her tail seem alright or maybe she is too relaxed .
Chooks man

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

You got alright.
From those new photos I can see your cockerel has bright orange eyes.
So black copper pullet has a yellow feet’s? Shame
The blue pullets look good to me long flat back her tail seem alright or maybe she is too relaxed .
Chooks man

Yeah she was relaxed, usually the tail is a bit higher. Don’t know how the black pullet inherited yellow legs because everything else about her seems like she’s from a fantastic line of birds. It is recessive I suppose, but still a big shame. What do you think I should do in terms of breeding her, because the recessive yellow leg gene may be a pain in the future?

Also any ideas for the best breeding solutions for these three birds, preferably using only one pen this year until I can make some space for more pens?