Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[laughingclown]

Well, I moved some birds around today. Very noise in the coop this evening. They were not happy lol. Checked my young little roo again today and so far no white yet. I hope it stays that way!

 

[math ace]

Lisa, You have somewhere along the road missed the reason for not breeding the off spring from the BC and blue copper back into the BC. The blue copper are not even close to being as good as a BC, this is not an opinion it is just a fact. There are keepers of poultry and there are breeders of poultry. The choice is entirely yours to make and it seems like you have made the choice.

I have not missed the reason for not breeding the off spring from the BC and blue copper back into the BC. My BLUE COPPER were of better size and type than my single Black Copper marans hen. The Blues were a better start in my program.

Over the last 3 years I have ordered eggs from various sources and have yet to hatch BCM that did not come with more issues than I was already addressing in my own flock - Yellow Legs, Vulture Hocks, side sprigs, and the list goes on. I stay with what I have because I am on the 4 th generation and have not seen these issues yet.

My QUESTION is WHAT EXACTLY makes the black copper offspring inferior from the blue x black copper mating? ?
What EXACTLY appears that makes the resulting black copper substandard?

Barngodess and You both claim to of SEEN, as in a documented fact, that the offspring are substandard. Did the black get paler? Did feather striping appear? What exactly happened when you mated a black to a blue to make you such firm believers that this is an unacceptable practice?

There are keepers of poultry and there are breeders of poultry
Be Nice Don... You KNOW me and you KNOW I work hard with my poultry. You KNOW that I am not simply a keeper or a seller.
You know I cull and cull hard. You know that I have busted my fanny to learn the SOP and apply it. You know my goals are to show one day.

I normally agree with you, but I do take a different stance on this concept. Breeding poultry is part skill and part art. There is some room for each of us to make different decisions and take different roads. The SOP is where we will be judged. I choose to take another path. I've weighed my options and decided that this might be the best path for me to travel to produce the best birds that I can. Cliches have a time and place, but this one was inappropriately used with me. We should be allowed to differ with each other without insulting or slinging mud

. ... You are still my MIGHTY mentor even if you just hurt my feelings

... Where are those dang Big Girl Panties ? ? ? ?

 

[math ace]

Here are the better pics. What do you think. Please be honest I can handle it

Don has already mentioned that the leg color seems to be off. If there is a yellow leg issue, it can hide in the chicks. Then when a pullet hiding a yellow leg gene is mated back to this male, it will come out in spades. There is a way to test mate this male to either confirm or deny the existence of a recessive yellow leg gene.

What really strikes me about this male is his head. I know the wattles are way to big, but there could be more going on than that.

Do you have a picture of this boy head on from the front or the top? The tail angle is higher than it should be, but I am wondering how full his chest and back are.

He seems to have more coppering on one side of the should than the other. Is that just the lighting playing tricks with the picture?

Remind me again - How old is this male?

Hobbychicken, I am not picking on your bird. It is hard to evaluate a bird with just a couple of photos. He is a 3 dimensional object being presented in a 2 dimensional format. That means I either have to ASSUME a lot or ask for more information so that I give a fair and valid opinion. OBTW, it is just my OPINION. Others will have their opinion. It is your job to take all our opinions and make your own ...

Welcome to the MARANS thread. Good job re-posting your pics. . . Sometimes the conversations, discussions, etc. come quickly on this thread. We don't mean to be rude, but sometimes we will miss a request for a critique.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Oh Pink... I am the only one playing right now! Do you want to come out too?

If I get some sleep tonight, I will be getting back with you about your project.

Dad has pulled ALL nighters the last two nights. I sure hope he doesn't try for a third night.
I am feeling like a brain dead walking zombie at the moment. I won't even know my name tomorrow if he doesn't sleep tonight....

 

[math ace]

I seriously doubt that the blue gene is responsible for the genetic mess of Black Coppers.

If only life was this simple !

Remember Elmer Fudd and "Kill the Rabbit" ? ? ?
To think, all we have to do to fix all the issues with the Black Coppers is "Kill the Blues" or avoid crossing them with the Blues...
Facetious I know, but what can I say ? ? ?

 

[gilavina]

Oh Pink... I am the only one playing right now! Do you want to come out too?

If I get some sleep tonight, I will be getting back with you about your project.

Dad has pulled ALL nighters the last two nights. I sure hope he doesn't try for a third night.
I am feeling like a brain dead walking zombie at the moment. I won't even know my name tomorrow if he doesn't sleep tonight....

I sure hope you are able to get a good night of sleep lady! I miss chatting with you on the thread!

 

[CountryFriedChicken]

Hi, With all the faults we are dealing with in the Marans I would only single mate to start with. Then you could take females that were sisters and breed them in the same pen if you wanted.

Good idea - thank you. I will start doing that next year.

 

[CSTUEDLE]

I have some bcfm roos that need homes. Would you be interested ? They were hatched in May and are from the wade-jean blood-line.We are in the Greater Cincinnati area.

 

[VillageChicken]

Wynette- the winning roo, the shank picture you posted, what did he look like otherwise? Not too dark? Enough copper?

Math- I think the roo's head is a bit narrow, crowheaded?

Maybe the photo or my monitor is off, but isn't that roo really red vs. copper?

 

[BarnGoddess01]

My QUESTION is WHAT EXACTLY makes the black copper offspring inferior from the blue x black copper mating? ?
What EXACTLY appears that makes the resulting black copper substandard?

Barngodess and You both claim to of SEEN, as in a documented fact, that the offspring are substandard. Did the black get paler? Did feather striping appear? What exactly happened when you mated a black to a blue to make you such firm believers that this is an unacceptable practice?

It is the quality of the black. That was what I was told by established breeders and genetics experts when I inquired and it what I have seen with my own eyes in my own backyard. The black out of the blues isn't as black as black out of pure black lines - especially their bum fluff. It tends to be very "faded". I have seen this to be the case with Marans, Ameraucanas, and Silkies. Silkie breeders don't combine b/b/s. I guess because they've been around for so much longer, they keep black completely separate - unless their blue becomes too light in which case they will inject more black. But the main point is, blue breeders will often use black. It is the breeders that are serious about true black that avoid blue - and something "black" out of blue - like the plague.