International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[wrathsfarm]

if they don't molt out there is always a layer's pen.

Depending on the color of their eggs. If not they're culls... I need to thin the herd.

 

[Pumperkinz]

Yes I do. Mine are 5 weeks today, also.
The 2 boys...
View attachment 3822063

This one is a mini Kong...
View attachment 3822064

Oh wow he's got some beautiful coloring for five weeks!

 

[wrathsfarm]

Oh wow he's got some beautiful coloring for five weeks!

Thank you... Super excited to all these youngsters feather out. My first hatch with Kong as the Sire.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Can someone post me a picture of what an egg looks like from a mystic maran?? Thank you!!

Mystic Marans are a misleading name for these bird (don’t worry, I know that’s not your fault!). They are hybrids/cross breeds. Utility breeders produce them by crossing Marans with other breeds like the Rhode Island Red, to keep the dark eggs and increase egg production. (Sorry if you knew this already.)

This is why I don’t like the name, it isn’t very obvious that they are hybrids, so they are often bought by people without knowing they are not getting the real deal (aka a purebred Marans).

You see, the dark eggs cannot be retained if you want to have a high egg yield - they will not spend enough time in the hen to gather the darkest coating. As a result, Mystic marans, Midnight Majesty marans and whatever else they get sold as, do not produce the famous marans egg.

Don’t get me wrong, they are still lovely and darker than average, I’ve attached a photo to show one I once had and a darker one which is from my proper marans.

Sorry for my little rant!

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

What say y'all, 5 week old wheaten Marans

Sorry for the hulk gif, I don’t know anything really about the specific SOP for wheatens (especially hens), so I’m only going to comment on type.

First off, it’s a girl! Wheatens are the easiest non autosexing pattern to sex in my opinion. Boys are way darker when they get adult feathers like these.

Legs: good, pink, well feathered

Head: good and strong looking

Tail: nice and low

Body: my main issue is that the body looks very square (this could be the photo angle). Marans should have deep and wide bodies, but they should be much longer than they are deep/wide. Don’t worry too much, this can change with age.


Overall, a nice and healthy looking pullet with good potential.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

View attachment 3823379Sorry for the hulk gif, I don’t know anything really about the specific SOP for wheatens (especially hens), so I’m only going to comment on type.

First off, it’s a girl! Wheatens are the easiest non autosexing pattern to sex in my opinion. Boys are way darker when they get adult feathers like these.

Legs: good, pink, well feathered

Head: good and strong looking

Tail: nice and low

Body: my main issue is that the body looks very square (this could be the photo angle). Marans should have deep and wide bodies, but they should be much longer than they are deep/wide. Don’t worry too much, this can change with age.


Overall, a nice and healthy looking pullet with good potential.

Thank you! It very well may be the angle, I was kind of up above her, when I squat down they freak out, lol. She is going to be part of an Isabel OE project, although I'm definitely looking forward to some rich colored eggs!

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

This might be a question we have to pray to @Chooks man to answer.

Does anyone know if the SOPs in the US/Europe have a point based judging criteria? By this I mean how the UK Poultry standards have a points system for every breed out of 100, each breed breaking the 100 points down into different sections like head, type, colour, differently.

I thought that if there was, I’d start having a go at judging people’s chooks by the book, giving a more conclusive, quantitative score.

If the states or Europe don’t have one, I’ll use the UK scoring categories but base the score on adherence to the French type SOP when necessary.

Thanks.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Thank you! It very well may be the angle, I was kind of up above her, when I squat down they freak out, lol. She is going to be part of an Isabel OE project, although I'm definitely looking forward to some rich colored eggs!

Are they going to be wheaten Isabels or is there duckwing/partridge coming from the other parents?

If you are trying to breed true duckwing type isabels, I suggest using Cooper marans as the birchen will be easier to breed out than wheaten.

Obviously you have this girl now, and we always say here ‘work with what you have,’ so don’t worry too much, this is just a thought I had.

 

[wrathsfarm]

This might be a question we have to pray to @Chooks man to answer.

Does anyone know if the SOPs in the US/Europe have a point based judging criteria? By this I mean how the UK Poultry standards have a points system for every breed out of 100, each breed breaking the 100 points down into different sections like head, type, colour, differently.

I thought that if there was, I’d start having a go at judging people’s chooks by the book, giving a more conclusive, quantitative score.

If the states or Europe don’t have one, I’ll use the UK scoring categories but base the score on adherence to the French type SOP when necessary.

Thanks.

Is this it?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/marans-proposed-standards-for-reference-purposes.385769/

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Are they going to be wheaten Isabels or is there duckwing/partridge coming from the other parents?

If you are trying to breed true duckwing type isabels, I suggest using Cooper marans as the birchen will be easier to breed out than wheaten.

Obviously you have this girl now, and we always say here ‘work with what you have,’ so don’t worry too much, this is just a thought I had.

She will be bred to an Isabel Ameraucana, then I'll breed the offspring back and so forth. I am growing out 6 Isabel Ameraucanas to see what I've got, my plan is to keep a cockerel and 2 pullets, and this little lady along with the 2 Wheaten Ameraucanas to keep feather quality good down the line. So, I'll be breeding pure Isabel Ameraucanas, and some Isabel OE's. I also plan on some English Orp/Ameraucan EE's just for fun. If all goes well, I may get a Wheaten Marans cockerel also. This is the plan anyway, lol