Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[bargain]

Quote:
Pbirdhaven, I'd like to suggest you pull that Sneezer and/or sneezers, guarantine/treat/etc.

Also be sure you are practicing biosecurity and seeing your sick pen last and changing clothes, washing shoes, body etc.

Also suggest you might want to bring up the sneezing

To the emergencies and disease section

Also here is a great resource from ranchhand.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=9241

Hope this is helpful. Nancy

 

[snowbird]

Selling Black Copper Marans ; I have found it troubling how many on the forum are selling BC marans eggs. Just about everyone of the BC marans that I have seen on here have real serious faults. Do the egg sellers tell the prospective egg buyer that they have very little chance of getting a chick that does not have major faults. Please do not say I have no idea of what I am talking about. In the past two year I have hatched and grew out over 1000 BC Marans.

I say to the people that say they have the only good Marans that produce good Marans, Prove it with photos so everyone can see.

I can see it if you are selling eggs and saying that they are producing Dark eggs and nothing else.

Now the Wheaten are a different story as they breed more true to type and color. I have no idea of how long we can keep the type since there is no new bloodlines to put into our Wheatens. I suppose that most of us have the Pressley line of wheaten. I for one do not want any of the Teasdale wheatens in my flock.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
My Wheatens are Bev Davis.

And yes, it is SOO true that, really, about 90% of all Black Coppers I see have faults. All of mine do, I will admit. But, that really comes down to the fact that most people just want "pretty eggs."

Take a look at Bayhorsebonne's - Those were the talk of the town in terms of egg color, but seriously, did anyone ever notice how ugly her birds were?

 

[Braclin]

 

[Lotsapaints]

Well Snowbird they don't tell you much you just get eggs sometimes dark to hatch and the stuff you get well I know what many faults are now....I've given up hatching Black Coppers I have Cuckoos Golden and Silver with feathered legs mostly. They have copper eyes white legs and okay combs and size I'm praying that the eggs they lay are at least as dark as the ones they hatched out of. I did hatch a very nice BC splash roo and I did get a couple of pullets that don't seem to have major faults so I'm going to try Blue Black Coppers..... I'm not close to any good breeder and I'm not paying big bucks for something that has so many faults any more I've learned my lesson. I have met several nice people who seem to have nice enough Black Coppers who sell eggs and someday I might try again but not now I have enough chickens and don't have the room to hatch 100 chicks to get 5 that are nice...JMHO

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
My Wheatens are Bev Davis.

And yes, it is SOO true that, really, about 90% of all Black Coppers I see have faults. All of mine do, I will admit. But, that really comes down to the fact that most people just want "pretty eggs."

Take a look at Bayhorsebonne's - Those were the talk of the town in terms of egg color, but seriously, did anyone ever notice how ugly her birds were?

I believe that Bev Davis said on the forum that her Wheaten Marans started out as Pressley and she added some teasdale blood. I believe the Pressley Marans Wheaten are the only wanted line.

 

[snowbird]

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I feel the same way no more shipped eggs as today I at least know what a Black Copper is supposed to look like. The 87 BC december males I have culled down to 10 at present and will cull again in about a month. I spent a ton of money over the past three year for mostly total junk. With all the faults that the males have it has been really hard trying to breed to males without faults. The females have much better over all type except for some of them being with not enough color in the hackle but I can deal with that.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
I feel the same way no more shipped eggs as today I at least know what a Black Copper is supposed to look like. The 87 BC december males I have culled down to 10 at present and will cull again in about a month. I spent a ton of money over the past three year for mostly total junk. With all the faults that the males have it has been really hard trying to breed to males without faults. The females have much better over all type except for some of them being with not enough color in the hackle but I can deal with that.

And on my side of the experience, NONE of my pullets so far have correct coloring. I either have girls with a copper nape, hardly any copper at all (just around the earlobe) or a tiny tip of coppering on each hackle feather. Seriously, how is it that I have 13 Black Copper pullets, many from different lines, and none are turning out the traditional fully coppered hackles and black body? . . . Oh well, at least I don't have girls so mossy they're golden chested.

 

[Lotsapaints]

Don did you say you have some Cuckoos? I hope you can get some pictures I'm going to try this week to get some of mine they are not that old but I sure like the looks on some of mine. I have another question is it a given that you will get some white when you are breeding Cuckoos? I have one and will be using her to make sure the males are not carrying the white gene she's very typey but has a couple barred feathers on her body.

 

[snowbird]

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I will try and get some pictures of the cuckoo up soon as my grandson get home this week. I only have about 6-7 pairs of cuckoo and some of the males have a little high tail set. I believe some have crossed the White and cuckoo over time .