International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Old Man Tom]

Ruby and Jade will be almost 1 year old in march. They hatched In April. I hope that's good enough.

If I remember correctly the eggs we are going to hatch should weigh 65 grams. Weather here is still winter. We had a low of -11 with wind, it will be cold until Feb or March!! My hens have not started laying yet. Pullets are laying nice color this year. Very happy with them. TOM

 

[Bantambird]

Black silver hen doing very well after surgery. She is eating with gusto, I have to make sure she doesn't overeat, especially since she was practically starving when her crop was impacted. She's getting a hard-boiled egg with 2 tbs of whole fat plain yogurt. This morning I added a small handful of mash and a sprinkle of kelp and stirred until the mash became soft and thoroughly mixed. I'm feeding her about every 2-3 hours and feeling her crop.
Suture site shows no swelling or redness, doesn't appear overly tender.
She's got 9 more days of recovery before she goes back with the others. I suppose she will have earned herself a name with all this.

 

[marchick]

Black silver hen doing very well after surgery. She is eating with gusto, I have to make sure she doesn't overeat, especially since she was practically starving when her crop was impacted. She's getting a hard-boiled egg with 2 tbs of whole fat plain yogurt. This morning I added a small handful of mash and a sprinkle of kelp and stirred until the mash became soft and thoroughly mixed. I'm feeding her about every 2-3 hours and feeling her crop.
Suture site shows no swelling or redness, doesn't appear overly tender.
She's got 9 more days of recovery before she goes back with the others. I suppose she will have earned herself a name with all this.

I am glad she is doing well. She definitely needs a name. I am terrible at names though.

 

[kfelton0002]

was just too hot and smoky , normally they are used to the heat ,but heat and smoke in a same time was too much for some . plus they are fully outdoor .

chooks man

Sorry for your losses! The losses in Austrailia have been devastating. I saw that the Irwin family were saying Koalas are now considered an endangered species. So many animals were lost. So very sad.

 

[kfelton0002]

I have quite a few people getting in touch with me wanting free chicks. I have way too much into my line to give them away. It was around $250 just for the last two pullets shipped to me. No one on this thread just people I have met. Some I have communicated with over the internet but never met. I think they could just buy birds from the same person I did. I feel bummed. I don't like being put in this spot. Does this make me a bad person? What would you guys do?

I only give free chicks or chickens away to friends and family. No I would not be giving free chicks to people soliciting on facebook or elsewhere. We have way too much money tied up in them for all that. Now if it were someone wanting me to sponsor 4H that is different, as I am all for helping out youth getting started with poultry. Otherwise, adults can purchase birds the same way we all have. That is my 2 cents.

 

[kfelton0002]

Black silver hen doing very well after surgery. She is eating with gusto, I have to make sure she doesn't overeat, especially since she was practically starving when her crop was impacted. She's getting a hard-boiled egg with 2 tbs of whole fat plain yogurt. This morning I added a small handful of mash and a sprinkle of kelp and stirred until the mash became soft and thoroughly mixed. I'm feeding her about every 2-3 hours and feeling her crop.
Suture site shows no swelling or redness, doesn't appear overly tender.
She's got 9 more days of recovery before she goes back with the others. I suppose she will have earned herself a name with all this.

Glad to hear she did well with the surgery. I like naming birds by their physical attributes a lot of the time. Like Silver Girl or Silver Lady for example for your bird. Silver is a precious metal so it seems suitable.

 

[kfelton0002]

Pardon me all for being absent. We have had a very eventful year so far in 2020. We had a terrible storm a couple weeks ago that blew a tree down on our back porch. My family and I have also been sick nearly all winter, it seems like it occurs in rotation. My son now has flu A and I've been nursing him through it. As a very active and rambunctious nearly 7 year old, it hurts me to see him crawl through the house because his little legs ache from the flu.

I do have a couple of updates as of yesterday. While I was out feeding, I noticed Jolie had laid her very first egg and it is rather nice in shade and shape. Obviously it must be bigger to begin breeding her, but hopefully by March I'll be putting her eggs in the incubator. She is still in pen by herself. To help jog your memory on which bird Jolie is, she is one of the pullets I took to show, and the only pullet I selected for breeding out of the ones that went to the show.

Here is her egg! I am very pleased.

The second update is that a young blue copper cockerel that was left free ranging I hadn't noticed before has caught my eye. I am not a creature of the cold, so my husband assumes most of the feedling/watering during the cold months. I think he may grow out to be a decent looking bird. He is a late hatch and is still immature, but if his tail doesn't get sky high, I am really liking the length of his back. His type and mass looks good so far. His shoulder color sucks, but that is a work in progress with my birds.

 

[kfelton0002]

@Chooks man
While my child has been sick I have been binge watching nature documentaries, so I feel like I could be your neighbor because of how much I have seen of Austrailia!

 

[Chooks man]

@Chooks man
While my child has been sick I have been binge watching nature documentaries, so I feel like I could be your neighbor because of how much I have seen of Austrailia!

hope your child is doing fine .
OZ country is under too much stress . fire after fire . we lost a lot of bush and wild animals .
bad things we lost a lot fire fighters and lot missing peoples .

we just lost 3 American fire fighter ,they come here to give us a hand ,we lost them the other day .

Hope this fire stop soon ,other wise nothing will be left .
chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Pardon me all for being absent. We have had a very eventful year so far in 2020. We had a terrible storm a couple weeks ago that blew a tree down on our back porch. My family and I have also been sick nearly all winter, it seems like it occurs in rotation. My son now has flu A and I've been nursing him through it. As a very active and rambunctious nearly 7 year old, it hurts me to see him crawl through the house because his little legs ache from the flu.

I do have a couple of updates as of yesterday. While I was out feeding, I noticed Jolie had laid her very first egg and it is rather nice in shade and shape. Obviously it must be bigger to begin breeding her, but hopefully by March I'll be putting her eggs in the incubator. She is still in pen by herself. To help jog your memory on which bird Jolie is, she is one of the pullets I took to show, and the only pullet I selected for breeding out of the ones that went to the show.

Here is her egg! I am very pleased.

View attachment 2009866

The second update is that a young blue copper cockerel that was left free ranging I hadn't noticed before has caught my eye. I am not a creature of the cold, so my husband assumes most of the feedling/watering during the cold months. I think he may grow out to be a decent looking bird. He is a late hatch and is still immature, but if his tail doesn't get sky high, I am really liking the length of his back. His type and mass looks good so far. His shoulder color sucks, but that is a work in progress with my birds.

View attachment 2009863
View attachment 2009868

sorry to hear about your trouble ,hope your son in doing better . it is always hard to watch them going through the pain .

chooks man