International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Tstraub]

I think you can easily convince some silkies. Even potatoes make appealing babies to them. But that’s silkies for ya. And yes, I think they do convince each other to time it just as they all started laying reliably.

I have a Jersey Giant that spends most of her life broody. She has been sitting on golf balls for 3 weeks. I tried to give her brand new chicks straight out of the incubator and she ignored the chick. Even when I took the golf balls away she sat on imaginary eggs and refused to keep the chick.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

I have a Jersey Giant that spends most of her life broody. She has been sitting on golf balls for 3 weeks. I tried to give her brand new chicks straight out of the incubator and she ignored the chick. Even when I took the golf balls away she sat on imaginary eggs and refused to keep the chick.

That must be frustrating. To be honest, I think my silkie marshmallow would adopt checks even if she wasn’t broody, not that I’d risk it.

 

[Tstraub]

That must be frustrating. To be honest, I think my silkie marshmallow would adopt checks even if she wasn’t broody, not that I’d risk it.

It’s not a real big deal I knew the risk when I set the eggs. I currently have an olive egger hen brooding 6 chicks in the same coop. I think the jersey tried stealing her chicks once and got run off. Now she thinks the new chicks belong to the other broody and is waiting on the golf balls.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Here are two marans cocks, the first from my English cuckoo breeder, the second is Chooks man’s.

I thought it would be good to have a visual comparison of two birds which both get called ‘dark cuckoo marans’ according to different standards, mostly because I’m going off a different one to everyone else. The lack of consistency across poultry terminology can be frustrating!

English standard dark cuckoo
E/E, S/S, B/B
See the uniform cuckoo pattern which is as even in shade across the body, though still clearly barred throughout.

French ‘standard’ dark cuckoo (they are not a standard variety but a result from mixing true colours)
E^B/E^B, S/S, B/b+
See how the batting is dull across the tail, the lighter hackles a result of the birchen allele. A ‘light’ silver cuckoo has the barring of the top photo but lighter hackles like the bottom.

This made me jealous of all chooks man’s marans, look at that huge body.

Thank you to @chickengr for pointing this out because it made me do a little research into the two standards.

 

[Kytera]

I hope this is the right place to ask - I have 2 baby BCM chicks (4 days old) and both have very stumpy outer toes. They are getting around like champs and doing awesome otherwise. But I have never seen such short toes. Will it impact them as they grow? Is it "normal" for the breed? I was told they are pure BCM. I tried the search feature but didn't find anything, thanks in advance!

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

I hope this is the right place to ask - I have 2 baby BCM chicks (4 days old) and both have very stumpy outer toes. They are getting around like champs and doing awesome otherwise. But I have never seen such short toes. Will it impact them as they grow? Is it "normal" for the breed? I was told they are pure BCM. I tried the search feature but didn't find anything, thanks in advance!
View attachment 4093327

these are my marans as chicks, sorry I don’t have better photos but obviously I never took them for this particular comparison. I believe yours do have shorter fourth toes, I don’t think it should be an issue but feel free to keep us updated with their growth.

 

[Bantambird]

They always say you can’t convince a hen to go broody but I’m a firm believer that a broody hen absolutely can talk her friends into joining her.

my turkey hens are going nuts with this. I think right now I have 6 broody turkeys hiding about my yard and barn.

 

[Bantambird]

I hope this is the right place to ask - I have 2 baby BCM chicks (4 days old) and both have very stumpy outer toes. They are getting around like champs and doing awesome otherwise. But I have never seen such short toes. Will it impact them as they grow? Is it "normal" for the breed? I was told they are pure BCM. I tried the search feature but didn't find anything, thanks in advance!
View attachment 4093327

I get stumpy outer toes on a statistically significant number of my chicks. Marans do indeed get them on the regular.

 

[wrathsfarm]

One of the 9 that hatched in the incubator has a head spot. Should I keep it? I won't know it's dam but still could be fun to follow, I could stuff in under Chloe that's hatching Solo's tonight.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Kong x Solo.. last check was 4 so far