International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[BobletFarmBirds]

Just caught up on the thread after a few weeks.
Wow
@Chooks man
I can’t wait to see this MARNECK creation start. I wish you luck.
@kfelton0002
I adore your hens. Love the size, they look bigger than mine! How old are they?
And do you have recent picks of this Duke rooster?...

 

[kfelton0002]

Just caught up on the thread after a few weeks.
Wow
@Chooks man
I can’t wait to see this MARNECK creation start. I wish you luck.
@kfelton0002
I adore your hens. Love the size, they look bigger than mine! How old are they?
And do you have recent picks of this Duke rooster?...

Thank you! They are around 7-8 months old or so. I will try to take some updated pictures of Duke tomorrow. It has been so muddy and gross here lately.

 

[Chooks man]

Sounds like a great plan to me. He is going to be one busy fella very soon with all the ladies he is going to have to keep up with. lol

now that you have a large BC marans genes pool to select from ,I think it is time for you to work with more simple and efficient breeding program . so you don t breed a lot of cull at this stage .
Duke will be your supreme Sire. Correct body type and Correct body marking . the 2 most important thing we want from the Sire. his cockerels progeny will be compared to him in the future . they have to be equal or better than him .
The Hens/Pullets= Select 4/6 of your best hens .all of them need to have a correct body type . and each one of them has to excel in one specific trait { let say .one hen with a correct comb . other one with a dark eggs genes .one with nice hackle marking etc}

pen them all together and hatch 20/25 chicks from each hen . work only with this pen . you need all the space you can get .

if you do what I m saying you will see some great progeny will be produced . select only the best 10 pullets and 4 cockerels and breed from them . line breeding or pen breeding .

all your future chooks will carry Duke genes . easier to work with

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

This pullet is off Max and Lucille (blue copper hen I lost to a varmint over the summer). She is huge. Lol

View attachment 1605884

She is also muddy because of the cockerel she is penned with temporarily.

Wow she is huge .she is going a be a great mama . love every thing about her . especially her body type .her comb and hackle marking ,she is a real deal .

she is breeder for sure mated to Duke I can only see greatness will come from them .

you don t need to look else where .you have all the ingredient .stat cooking my friend.

here what I ll put in my breeding note book if I was going to work with her and Duke=
Expecting from the progeny to be .
1} correct body type
2} correct body marking
3}big heavy chooks
4} good comb
5} Correct feet length / feathering and colour.

pullets/cockerel line producing couple

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Here is the cockerel I'm watching. Still has dark shoulders but they are a very slow maturing line. His topline is too good to throw out I think. Nice low tail to balance out higher tails. He would most definitely have to be mated to a huge chunky female. I am hoping he fills out more. He is a very well mannered bird.

View attachment 1605889View attachment 1605890

agree with you what a gorgeous top line .love his tail every thing about it is great .

which hen is producing those Black shoulder cockerels ? it is a same hen or no ? Because your rooster are all nicely coloured if I remember .

chooks man

 

[WVduckchick]

We’ve had a lot of rain too, so I have a muddy girl too.

 

[kfelton0002]

agree with you what a gorgeous top line .love his tail every thing about it is great .

which hen is producing those Black shoulder cockerels ? it is a same hen or no ? Because your rooster are all nicely coloured if I remember .

chooks man

A lot of them are dark shouldered at first when they are young. That must be a throw back to Cooper my original line A cock bird. He looked the same way until he was mature then he coppered up. Cooper would be this cockerel's grand sire. Give him a few months and he'll copper up though. Queen produced that cockerel (Daughter of Cooper and Sheraz).

Sheraz produced the dark mahogany cockerel because his sire was the dark mahogany Mashburn cockerel I got from Tennessee. I ended up culling him for a squirrel tail and crooked keel. I didn't hatch many chicks from him.

 

[kfelton0002]

The line is very slow maturing. They take forever..

 

[kfelton0002]

Wow she is huge .she is going a be a great mama . love every thing about her . especially her body type .her comb and hackle marking ,she is a real deal .

she is breeder for sure mated to Duke I can only see greatness will come from them .

you don t need to look else where .you have all the ingredient .stat cooking my friend.

here what I ll put in my breeding note book if I was going to work with her and Duke=
Expecting from the progeny to be .
1} correct body type
2} correct body marking
3}big heavy chooks
4} good comb
5} Correct feet length / feathering and colour.

pullets/cockerel line producing couple

chooks man

Thank you! I'm really glad you like her. She is built like a tank. Reminds me a lot of Sheraz. lol She'll be a breeder for sure.

 

[kfelton0002]

now that you have a large BC marans genes pool to select from ,I think it is time for you to work with more simple and efficient breeding program . so you don t breed a lot of cull at this stage .
Duke will be your supreme Sire. Correct body type and Correct body marking . the 2 most important thing we want from the Sire. his cockerels progeny will be compared to him in the future . they have to be equal or better than him .
The Hens/Pullets= Select 4/6 of your best hens .all of them need to have a correct body type . and each one of them has to excel in one specific trait { let say .one hen with a correct comb . other one with a dark eggs genes .one with nice hackle marking etc}

pen them all together and hatch 20/25 chicks from each hen . work only with this pen . you need all the space you can get .

if you do what I m saying you will see some great progeny will be produced . select only the best 10 pullets and 4 cockerels and breed from them . line breeding or pen breeding .

all your future chooks will carry Duke genes . easier to work with

chooks man

Sounds like a good plan. I will work to get them all penned where they need to be. I'll be putting him over black coppers and blue coppers. I may work with 2 separate pens and just move him back and forth.