new to breeding chickens

[sunnydt]

I have some black copper marans chicks from the bev and jeane lines. I am new to breeding chickens and would appreciate any info about breeding these birds. They all have feathered legs except for 2. Should I not breed the 2 without the feathers? How do others breed their chickens? Father to daughter, brother to sister? Do you sell undesirable roosters to others? I have so many questions. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[sunnydt]

Oh I forgot. If I were to sell some fresh bcm eggs for eating, how much do they sell for? I have not been able to find this.

 

[Illia]

Your best help will actually be in the Marans thread. As for the selling of their eggs for eating, if you advertise well enough, you could sell them for 1-2 dollars above what most eggs at your store go for. They're special.

Well personally I don't cross Wade and Davis lines, but what you should actually do, if you really want to breed them properly for egg color and presence of bird - Is allow them to mature entirely, then keep watch of the hens and who lays what egg. Keep and breed the ones who lay the darkest eggs for the longest time period. (yes, it takes time and patience.

) Also remember, the rooster is the biggest factor of importance for egg genetics, as he donates the most in egg genetics. Make sure the roo you choose for breeding goes along with the standards (you can look on the Marans of America Club site for that) and also, a lot of people choose the rooster that hatched from the darkest of egg(s) But since yours are chicks, you'll have to do it the hard way.

Yes, undesirable roosters go to others or to your freezer. Same goes for hens if you're up for that. We will probably keep all our hens, even if they aren't up to par - We just won't breed them.

As for breeding to whom - It kinda depends, really. We'll probably breed bator buddies (chicks hatched from the same batch of eggs we got. This means they could or could not be relatives, as I don't know how many roosters their original owners kept) because we certainly don't want to cross colors, and certainly don't want to find Marans of different lines and cross them. Chances are very likely that the offspring's eggs will be lighter. But, if your hens don't lay dark enough for you - You can improve that by breeding them to a rooster with darker egg genes. Since the roo, again, is the one who gives the egg genes to the offspring, the offspring should have darker eggs than the mother.

 

[sunnydt]

Thank you so much for your response. That was very helpful.

 

[tadkerson]

Quote:
Illia,

How did you come to this conclusion?

Tim

 

[Illia]

It is a common know thing for both blue/green layers and dark layers. The rooster makes the biggest donation of egg color genetics than the hen. People often improve their lines by taking a rooster with darker egg genetics than the hen's. It has been mentioned with many breeders as well as on the Marans thread a number of times. I've also heard it from Ameraucana and Araucana breeders.

 

[ChickenWisperer]

Quote:
That's really interesting - and I wouldn't have thought it.

I'll be sure to stash this valuable information somewere.....

 

[sunnydt]

Illia, Do you sell Ameraucana chicks? Im wanting some true Ameraucanas that lay very blue eggs. What happens when you cross an Ameraucana with an Easter Egger? Are the eggs then either blue or green? Or should they not be crossed at all? I wish I could find some in Oklahoma so I could just go pick them up! I really like the blue Ameraucanas too.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
No, we don't sell chicks. It takes a lot of money, and crossing them over the state border I have no clues on the laws of - But you can get true Ameraucana chicks from John Blehm at chickhatchery.com or Pips&peeps here on BYC.
If you cross an Ameraucana with an Easter Egger, you'll get an Easter Egger - And it will lay greenish blue eggs, depending on the EE's egg genes and the Ameraucana's egg genes. You might have a chance of finding local Ameraucana chicks. There are a lot of chicken breeders in Oklahoma, try looking on Craigslist. Just remember, there are a LOT of people who sell Easter Eggers and call them Ameraucanas.

 

[sunnydt]

Ok great I will check those breeders. I looked on craigslist but didnt see anything yet. Thanks.