Sexing black and blue copper marans

[poecilia]

Hi all,
we have 13 awesome black and blue copper marans (about 3 weeks old now). There is a lot of variation in comb development. A local breeder told me that sexing in this breed is not reliable based on comb, but rather it is the development of copper coloration on neck and back that allows for sexing. The thing is, we have a bunch of chicks with serious combs and no copper, and the other way around. Any advice on how to sex?
Best wishes, MT

 

[SIMZ]

It's been my (limited) experience with my Black Copper Marans that it's pretty easy to tell boys around 3 weeks and up -- especially in a group of them. It's funny you mention the copper, because my "serious combs" don't have as much copper as my "no combs". lol Chances are that the large combs are boys, especially is they're turning red.