Looking to keep Black Copper Marans Rooster...4 wks old...which one is it?

[Bfast4Dinner]

 

[Bfast4Dinner]

 

[Bfast4Dinner]

 

[LilJoe]

View attachment 1441068 View attachment 1441070

Cockerel

Hen?
View attachment 1441075 View attachment 1441072

Pullet

View attachment 1441076 View attachment 1441077

Cockerel

View attachment 1441080 View attachment 1441082

View attachment 1441083 View attachment 1441086

View attachment 1441087 View attachment 1441088

Cockerels

 

[Bfast4Dinner]

I posted more recent pictures. Which one do you think is close to a black copper marans? Which should I get rid of for sure?

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Most of those are cross bred cockerels and I don't see a single one I would be looking to keep as good QUALITY French Black Copper Marans. No ugliness intended here!

Reasons... 1. the striped ones MIGHT be cuckoo, but NOT FBCM. 2. The ones without any copper yet, WON'T get it. 3. The ones sporting nicely feathered legs (a key feature) aren't sporting any copper. 4. The one that is sporting some copper, has poorly feathered legs. 5. One of them looks crested.

The closest one to acceptable (IMHO) is farthest right in the first pic.

I would suggest collecting and hatching ONLY from the black copper Marans ladies and growing out some more. Really it's impossible to pick a good next rooster at 4 weeks old. attitude is barely starting to come into play, feather pattern can change some still, comb sprigs may still come in, injuries or disease could happen. Still gotta check for split wing, Eye color isn't yet in to see how it lines up with the standard... I grow out all my stags in a stag pen until I can decide who is staying. Not less than 16 weeks, by then you can tell a lot of times who MUST go. With no development of saddle feathers and such, it's just WAY too early to make a good informed and solid decision. The one mentioned from the first pic, will end up having too much straw color in the hackles from my experience. It is REALLY hard to get truly good quality chicks. That's why I (we) hatch so many and keep just a few every year. Please understand I meant this all ONLY as constructive and not to put your birds down in ANY way. The chick in pic 3 appears to be female still, and maybe the crested one on pic 8.

If you are truly interested in Marans... one of my favorite resources is... http://www.maransofamericaclub.com/black-copper-marans.html

I am still learning and practicing to get right the Marans standard. Thank you for sharing. And good luck!

 

[Hensndoes]

I dont pick which BCM cockerel to keep until atleast 5 months of age. Preferably 6. They can change a lot in that time.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I posted more recent pictures. Which one do you think is close to a black copper marans? Which should I get rid of for sure?

I also try not to make selections until after 6 months old... Makes me crazy when my boys molt in white into their tail that was solid black since hatch.

But I would easily be able to say the cockerel in post #12 has way too much color on the front of chest for me.

But are the ear lobes in post 13 even red?

Also, when I zoom in on the pics... I can see feather damage that is consistent with lice or mite damage. Permethrin spray is easy to use affordable, effective, labeled for use in chickens, and no withdrawal time for eggs.

 

[Bfast4Dinner]

What kind of roosters are these?

 

[Hensndoes]

What kind of roosters are these? View attachment 1491101 View attachment 1491100

if these are your grow outs then you know they are mixed - which they look. Any barred hen bred to your marans will make barred boys so maybe that narrows it down.

 

[Bfast4Dinner]

if these are your grow outs then you know they are mixed - which they look. Any barred hen bred to your marans will make barred boys so maybe that narrows it down.

I received these eggs from a neighbor. They said all roosters were BCMs. Hens were Welsummer, Marans, Olive Eggs, mixes. Could the golden barred be a Golden Cuckoo Marans?