What features should I look in with my Maran babies to see who will be best for breeding stock. I am not planning on culling but the ones not suited for breeding will go with my layers. Just wanting to get my breeders as close to standard as I can.
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New at this and I would like to breed for standard. Which one would you cull, the excessively copper one? Actually there are two of them, and two blacker ones. Unfortunately, this was my first shot at BCM and bought eggs on ebay. I have learned my lesson and I'm picking up my chicks directly from reputable breeders with good lines, next spring!
Any advice is welcome, I know hands on is the best experience but I would love to have a nice flock of these in the future and I have a lot of learning to do!
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Babies? What age? You really can't tell much in babies except comb, eye color, plumage color, and a few other traits like tail angle and only if they're over 6 weeks old.
Otherwise when getting chicks and the sort, look at the PARENT stock.
Also, avoid chicks that have brown on their down. Or clean legged chicks.
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Babies? What age? You really can't tell much in babies except comb, eye color, plumage color, and a few other traits like tail angle and only if they're over 6 weeks old.
Otherwise when getting chicks and the sort, look at the PARENT stock.
Also, avoid chicks that have brown on their down. Or clean legged chicks.
I hatched eggs myself. I got these from another BYC'er with good stock but I know one of mine hatched with clean legs. Thinking that one will end up in my layers coop. My husband is building me a breeders coop on the opposite side of the farm in order to keep laying stock and breeding stock seperate.
So these are a couple hours old. Just studying now what I need to be looking for.