Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[geebs]

Good morning Pink!!! Crazy busy here!!!! got 10 babies running around... must be summer (though it hardly resembles it most days).
There must be 20 pages of reading I have missed on this thread alone... probably will miss the next 20 but wanted to pop in and say HI!!!!

 

[pinkchick]

Mornin' Sunshine! Hope you have a fabulous day and if you get to see our friend AyeUp give her a squeeze for me and Congrats to both of you on the hatching.

I'm collecting again for some single test matings as the last batch I put in the 'bator, I lost them all. One of my extra little giant bators went kaput, now I am crossing my fingers that the gal laying the nice darkies keeps it up long enough for me to get a good number of eggs from her to try again...in the sportsman this time of course.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Kim, I agree that the blue gene had nothing to do with the BC being messed up genetic wise. The Penne had more to do with that. The only thing I am saying is breed the BC and Blue copper to ge some better Blue Coppers but just keep that blood in the Blue Copper and do not put it back into the BC.

You will find that you will get better colored Blue Copper if you use the Splash produced from the Blue Copper , Bred back into the Blue Copper. When Breeding the Blue and Blue Copper the Splash are a gold mine to breed back into the Blue or Blue copper. I would use a splash female with a Blue or Blue Copper male.

Kim, you have an advantage over most of the people breeding Blue Copper as you have the great size and type on your Blue Coppers.

 

[geebs]

PINK UG... sorry to hear about the loss... DRAT... always something.. My broody isn't doing her thing... I think it is a fertility problem with this project line.. I have replaced the rooster and am giving her some more "bantam" eggs today... We will see what hatches out... So early in the project that I don't expect much... I will squeeze Ayeup for ya... (such a gem) if/when I see her this week.

Don: What do you mean by goldmine in the splash for breeding to blue??? Don't get it... Doesn't that mute the color in subsequent breedings....as far as lacing goes???

 

[MARANMAN2011]

Ok guys what will happen if I mix my cuckoos and black coppers togather. what will happen with eggs and what will come out of the eggs.

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
Hmm, I'm not real sure on what the birds will look like. If I remember, Cuckoos are extended black, so you will probably get unicolor blacks, some BCMs, and maybe some dark Cuckoos?? As for the egg color, more than likely it will be lighter, unless your Cuckoos come from very dark eggs. Others will pop in here on the chick coloring, I'm sure.

 

[Debbi]

HEY GEEBS!!!!

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Jan, I stand by my statment 100% on the Splash bred back into the Blue Copper. I bred Blue Cochins and lemon Blue moderns for many years. I have not found that it will reduce the color of the lacing. I realize that most of us like the darker Blue Copper but when they go into the APA most likely the medium Blue will be the color of choice.

By breeding the Splash out of the Blue Copper back to a Blue Copper it will give the Young blue Copper from this mating the much wanted medium Blue color. This is the way I was taught many year ago in breeding the Blues and it has always worked for me. We have to use some commen sense as if you have a nice even shade of Blue there would be no since in using the Splash.

If I had a splash from Blue Copper pullet and had a choice of male to breed to, I would breed her to the Blue Male that Kim owns.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Quote:
Jan, I stand by my statment 100% on the Splash bred back into the Blue Copper. I bred Blue Cochins and lemon Blue moderns for many years. I have not found that it will reduce the color of the lacing. I realize that most of us like the darker Blue Copper but when they go into the APA most likely the medium Blue will be the color of choice.

By breeding the Splash out of the Blue Copper back to a Blue Copper it will give the Young blue Copper from this mating the much wanted medium Blue color. This is the way I was taught many year ago in breeding the Blues and it has always worked for me. We have to use some commen sense as if you have a nice even shade of Blue there would be no since in using the Splash.

If I had a splash from Blue Copper pullet and had a choice of male to breed to, I would breed her to the Blue Male that Kim owns.

I find this recommendation interesting as we have found when talking to different breeders about our Blue Andalusian breed this isn't the case. With these breeders they use only the blue and everything else is culled. One breeder even told us that they feel that the splash isn't as hardy as the black or blue and are culled right away.

 

[Wynette]

With Jersey Giants, if you're breeding blues, you want to keep blues & blacks together - you get your very best lacing on the blues by breeding to black. So....