Pictures of Possible APA Standard Marans Please...

[millebantam]

Here's a picture of one of my roos that I really like. He has been really slow to "color out", but he is still young (6 months) and has outstanding copper hackle color, with no sign of lighter colored feathers. He is slowly getting decent color on his saddles. He has great eye color and good foot feathering. He is also very big compared to some of my other BCM's. I'm pretty satisfied with his overall type. I'm no expert on these, but I think he's a keeper.

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Another shot with another roo in the foreground

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[littlepeddler]

Mille ....you want input?

Brenda

 

[millebantam]

Sure Brenda, I've got thick skin, lol. I always welcome any input, good or bad. That's how we learn stuff. I've been culling through my BCM's for quite a while now trying to keep what I think the French standard describes. This guy was a slow developer, but I see a lot of things in him that I haven't seen in a lot of my other roos. I hope he turns out good, 'cause he's been breeding all of my hens for a while now, and I have around 60 of his chicks to sort through when they get a little older.

I'l post a couple of pics of some of the more promising hens a little later on.

 

[littlepeddler]

Well Mille.....I would like to see more color in his saddle at this age. Shank color looks a little dark especially since it goes all the way down to his feet. If his feet were a little lighter than I am sure that would run up the shanks.
He has great comb points.
I really like the rich cooper color in his hackles.
What color is his eyes?
At a year I would love to see how he progresses.
I favor the hen on the right foreground with him from what I can see. (top Pic)

I truly hope you don't think take offense of what I said. That was not my intention.

I'm sure there will be another response form my statements no doubt.

Thanks for sharing some great pics of your birds.
I just love this variety.

 

[millebantam]

Thanks Brenda, I agree with your observations. He really is a rather odd one. Up until he was about 3 months old he was solid black. He just started to get color in the last 7 or 8 weeks. He is developing at an odd pace, but I see more and more color everyday. I think he will be a different rooster color-wise, at a year old. For whatever reason, my pics show everything to be slightly darker than it actually is. In my pics of my hens, they look like they are almost solid black, but actually, they have that same rich coppering in their hackles that the roo does. His eye color, to me, looks to be equal parts brown and red, and at least from my interpretation of the standard, woukd be reddish bay, or whatever it is that they're looking for.

He does have his faults, but I'm thrilled about his overall body type. He is thick and stout, and has "balance". From looking at other breeders BCM's, as well as pics on this site, I have noticed that many of the BCM's are kind of long and rangy, almost game chicken looking. My hope for his offspring is for them to have his body type, but have better overall coloring.


Here are a few pics of some hens. They also have the same large, but compact body type that I particularly like.

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[Freckle Face Farm]

Quote:

Geesh!!! I didn't even see ya posted.. I have been so crazy this week with homecoming..Dance is tomorrow so its almost back to normal...

I am sooo Glad!!
This is a cockrel from the same line you can see a bit better...

 

[littlepeddler]

Mille do the hens have black eyes?
All your birds have some pretty dark shanks.......you by chance have some Black Marans hanging around? I've ask some of the french for some input on that ok? I'll get back with you on what they say.
Hope you didn't mind.

Reddish -bay will get by as an orangy color..
Brenda

 

[millebantam]

Nope, the hens have reddish brown eyes, similar to the Roo's eye color. I would say that the color is closer to reddish brown than to orange or yellowish brown. As I have previously mentioned, the pictures are not accuratley portraying the true colors of these chickens. For example, the hens all have really decent coloring on their hackles, but in these pics they look solid black. Also, as to the shank color, I would use "medium gray" to describe the skin color. It's really hard to see because the hens have very heavily feathered shanks. The outsides of their shanks and toes are just about entirely covered in feathers.

As far as any Black Marans in the background, I have to say "not that I know of". These pictured birds are third generatiuon away from what I started with. I do have some blue copper hens in the pen, and I have hatched over 300 chicks from this pool. I have never seen a black, wheaten, "sport", or anything but a Blue or Black Copper ever pop out. I occasionally get a poorly colored one, or a poor developer, but my results have been good for the most part.

If weather permits tomorrow, I'll try to shoot some better, close-up pictures of the eyes and shanks. I think I'm just having lighting issues and can probably adjust the settings on the camera to compensate.

I certainly do appreciate your interest and opinions. You are well respected in the Marans community, and have been at this a lot longer than I have. I'm not in the egg selling business, and I may never even exhibit these birds. I just want a flock of BCM's that I enjoy looking at, and my goal is to get them as close to the French standard as I can.

 

[littlepeddler]

They are great looking birds over all and I love them all.
Brenda

 

[amazondoc]

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Handsome fella! I love that dark color.

The English translation of the French standard no longer allows for a solid black breast. The official standard page says: "Black-breasted red, with parsimonious red spotting on the breast. " Does your guy have any spotting at all? I can't tell from the pic.

I wouldn't worry too much about the shank color. As the French standard states: "white or lightly pink coloured for all the varieties except for the BLACK, BROWN-RED and BIRCHEN Marans were grey or dark grey is permitted, although not preferred". So it might be a few points off, but dark shanks aren't even listed in the "serious defects" category.

Also, I can't tell about your guy's tail set. Birds move their tails around so much! Do you think the angle is 45 degrees? The French allow up to 60, I think, but the ideal angle should be about 45.

I like the heft and broadness of your guy. He looks like a great solid bird!