new hatch Black Copper Marans (mutiple questions)

[fresheggs4u]

Today I have BCM chicks hatching. Out of 12 shipped eggs, so far 7 have hatched within the last 4 hours. Everything seems to be going well with the hatch. However, I think I have been cheated. One of the chicks appears to be totally yellow with dark shanks and light feathering on the shanks. I recall reading somewhere that this a a dormate gene. Is t his true or do I have a mutt. The other chicks appear to be BCM when compared to a hatch from last week.

Another question I have.... how can i mark them to identify them as coming from two different breeders and hatches. Any suggestions?

thanks!

 

[KellyHM]

It's probably a Wheaten Marans! They do pop up occasionally out of the Black Coppers.

A good way to denote the separate hatches is with a tiny rubberband or zip tie around the leg - a different color for each hatch.

 

[Illia]

First, don't worry about the hatch - My Marans ALWAYS take forever, and well into day 23.

Second - The yellow chick is perfectly fine, it is a fluke Wheaten. It happens to a lot of Black Copper lines that have Wade Jeane in them. It's nothing bad, just don't breed the chick.

Third - The best to have done was separate the eggs during lockdown, and perhaps even put up a cardboard wall so they don't mix and mingle after hatch.

Otherwise, if you couldn't or didn't do that, I always mark down notes on each one that hatched - Things like the white markings on their faces, or the markings on their toes. . . Stuff like that you can mark down, so when you take them out you can separate them by those markings, then what I do is take a colored marker and add a color by bloodlines/breeders to their white undersides to tell them apart.

 

[fresheggs4u]

thanks for the quick responses.

They where eggs from the Wade line. The hatch last week was not and they are all black and white. The week old chicks are doing great.

I think the hatch has gone great so far this is only the 20th day. I don't know what I do differently but my hatches always start early sometimes on the 19th day.

If i mark the chicks with rubber bands. Will the other chicks pick on them or should band them all?

thanks!