International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[wrathsfarm]

This has me wondering how many generations it would take to get from say one of Angel's eggs to one of @BlueTheBrahma Chanel's eggs?
Is there even actual estimated progression documented?

 

[wrathsfarm]

Quote from @Chooks man in response to @BlueTheBrahma

Marans dark egg genes are not well studied , so we don t know if they are sex linked or not .
in my experience they are autossomal .they can be pass down from both parent .
the problem we have with dark egg gene are some time they do not appear in the next generation ( they go dormant ) but they reappear in the next generation if we don t outcross the line .

for me I always select the hens who lay dark eggs for as long as they live like my Dark Angel and breed from her /them .I keep both of her/they progeny cockerels and pullets .to cross them to other lines to enhance the egg colour .
peoples always prefer to give credit to a roosters because thy sire a lot progeny but that doesn t mean they pass down more dark egg genes to they progeny better then hens .I prefer hens , with hens I can see the progress of dark egg genes through they life .the rooster does not lay eggs .
if you want to breed marans who can lay dark eggs than incubate only dark eggs ,in few generation you wil have more and more dark egg layer .
one thing dillute the dark eggs genes is outcrossing the lines soo many times .. bad practice.
chooks man

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

This has me wondering how many generations it would take to get from say one of Angel's eggs to one of @BlueTheBrahma Chanel's eggs?
Is there even actual estimated progression documented?

View attachment 3756892View attachment 3756893

It’s hard to say, I wouldn’t say it would be too much work if you threw out all caution to the SOP. Breed the hen that lays darkest egg to get a son, and breed him back to her to get lots of pullets. High pullet numbers will result in variation, increasing the chances of improvement on the dam’s egg. This will darken the egg quite quickly over generations but will limit the gene pool for the other genes too.

I think the best way to do it is hatching the darkest eggs but doing this alongside breeding programs for the SOP. This will take more time but will produce all-round healthier and better quality stock.

Perhaps a clan breeding strategy may be good for this, allowing you to consistently improve egg colour by slowly and healthily restricting the gene pool for all the best traits.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Quote from @Chooks man in response to @BlueTheBrahma

Marans dark egg genes are not well studied , so we don t know if they are sex linked or not .
in my experience they are autossomal .they can be pass down from both parent .
the problem we have with dark egg gene are some time they do not appear in the next generation ( they go dormant ) but they reappear in the next generation if we don t outcross the line .

for me I always select the hens who lay dark eggs for as long as they live like my Dark Angel and breed from her /them .I keep both of her/they progeny cockerels and pullets .to cross them to other lines to enhance the egg colour .
peoples always prefer to give credit to a roosters because thy sire a lot progeny but that doesn t mean they pass down more dark egg genes to they progeny better then hens .I prefer hens , with hens I can see the progress of dark egg genes through they life .the rooster does not lay eggs .
if you want to breed marans who can lay dark eggs than incubate only dark eggs ,in few generation you wil have more and more dark egg layer .
one thing dillute the dark eggs genes is outcrossing the lines soo many times .. bad practice.
chooks man

Great advice, backed by his experience. I really miss his input to this thread.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Great advice, backed by his experience. I really miss his input to this thread.

I do also. Hope he's doing ok and just busy with other projects.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Second egg, much more even and the same dark red colour as Chanel’s usually are. Both mother and daughter’s eggs are very matt, rather than shiny like a Marans should be. Natasha’s are shiny so hopefully as the two bloodlines mix I can keep them dark and make them consistently shiny.

 

[Tstraub]

What are your thoughts on Marans eggs with very heavy bloom? 2 pictures of the same egg one first one dry second one wet. I didn’t see who laid it but given it size, shape and the laying cycle of my Marans pullets I suspect it was Betty. They don’t always look like this but it’s definitely not the first chalky looking egg I have collected

 

[Lkase]

What are your thoughts on Marans eggs with very heavy bloom? 2 pictures of the same egg one first one dry second one wet. I didn’t see who laid it but given it size, shape and the laying cycle of my Marans pullets I suspect it was Betty. They don’t always look like this but it’s definitely not the first chalky looking egg I have collected View attachment 3758592
View attachment 3758593

Interested to see what others say! My pullet has laid a few like this and I just figured it was her body getting used to laying again (she's only been laying for a week now this spring after not laying all winter). I figured she was still working on getting the pigmentation part right again.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

What are your thoughts on Marans eggs with very heavy bloom? 2 pictures of the same egg one first one dry second one wet. I didn’t see who laid it but given it size, shape and the laying cycle of my Marans pullets I suspect it was Betty. They don’t always look like this but it’s definitely not the first chalky looking egg I have collected View attachment 3758592
View attachment 3758593

They wouldn’t fair well in a show, which is realistically the end result of the SOP. However, I don’t think it’s a bad thing for your flock. You get more egg variety and they can still pass on the dark egg genes (I think you will see the true colour on some if you wet them, but this one has so much it’s hard to see). I’ve seen heavy bloom marans eggs that look purple, I think it’s a balancing act. As long as she isn’t stressed, a common cause of heavy bloom, I wouldn’t have any issues.

 

[Tstraub]

They wouldn’t fair well in a show, which is realistically the end result of the SOP. However, I don’t think it’s a bad thing for your flock. You get more egg variety and they can still pass on the dark egg genes (I think you will see the true colour on some if you wet them, but this one has so much it’s hard to see). I’ve seen heavy bloom marans eggs that look purple, I think it’s a balancing act. As long as she isn’t stressed, a common cause of heavy bloom, I wouldn’t have any issues.

Thank you for your reply. Stress levels were getting high in my flock. I had 3 cockerels with raging hormones and only 15 girls to to share the attention. I took care of that and I’m down to just one cockerel now. The flock seems a whole lot more relaxed now.