Cinnamon Queen Thread!

[ThePRfan]

2 springs ago I got I think 6 chicks to start my own flock.Out of those was a Cinnamon Queen.This is a Thread for the lovers and carers for the breed.Talk about your birds,discuss info,and post pictures.

 

[Peep_Show]

The debate on Cinnamon Queens....are you sure you got a true one? Would love to see a picture.

My Cinnamon Queens (RIR x SLW) and the black Olive Egger at one day old





Now in the coop. Note that the SLW parent of the Cinnamon Queen contributed a rose comb


A lot of folks think any old red/silver combo making a red sex-link can be labeled a Cinnamon Queen. It is VERY hard to find a *true* Cinnamon Queen.... The hatchery stock on-line is NOT a CQ, doesn't use a SLW. More often is just a name for what RSL they're breeding, one even has a video of red and white birds (RIR x rocks?). One hatchery I called could not even tell me what the heritage or parent stock was of their birds. Another hatchery was surprised that a CQ was not what they were breeding when I told them what the cross was supposed to be; that is just the name they used for their RSL du jour.

I would've preferred a NHR x SLW cross, but RIR x SLW was the closest I could find in hatching eggs.

The RIR personality is VERY apparent in these birds. They are first and in the forefront and often jumping to snatch treats. Pecky, too. But, honestly, I'm in it for the eggs and I'm hoping these ones will produce.

Many years ago I got Cackle's version of CQ's... They were delightful. Laid huge brown eggs and lots of them. They free-ranged on occasion in the pastures and really helped to keep the flies down, and would come running when called. Gentle, too.

 

[Peep_Show]

Rather than throw around the generic "red sex-link," here are some articles outlining what makes which hybrids.

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/what-breed-is-it-understanding-sex-link-chickens/

http://www.plumjam.com/poultry/breeds/

 

[Michael OShay]

A lot of folks think any old red/silver combo making a red sex-link can be labeled a Cinnamon Queen. It is VERY hard to find a *true* Cinnamon Queen.... The hatchery stock on-line is NOT a CQ, doesn't use a SLW. More often is just a name for what RSL they're breeding, one even has a video of red and white birds (RIR x rocks?). One hatchery I called could not even tell me what the heritage or parent stock was of their birds. Another hatchery was surprised that a CQ was not what they were breeding when I told them what the cross was supposed to be; that is just the name they used for their RSL du jour.

I would've preferred a NHR x SLW cross, but RIR x SLW was the closest I could find in hatching eggs.

Since Cinnamon Queens are hybrids to begin with, there is no such thing as a "true" Cinnamon Queen. To speak of a true Cinnamon Queen is like speaking of a true Easter Egger or a true Black Sex Link. As you yourself stated, hatcheries sometimes use the name Cinnamon Queen for whatever RSL they are breeding. Some hatcheries such as Cackle breed their Cinnamon Queens by crossing RIR roosters with RIW hens, and who's to say that their RSLs are any less Cinnamon Queens than a RIR rooster X SLW hen. Since RSLs are hybrids, there is no governing body such as the APA to establish which RSL is which. Furthermore, other hatcheries sell the same RIR X SLW cross that you refer to as a true Cinnamon Queen under other labels such as Gold Sex Link, Golden Buff, Gold Star, etc. Because hatcheries are marketing their Red Sex Links under so many different (and even multiple) labels, the only certainty when purchasing Red Sex Links is to get a verification of what red gene rooster is being crossed with what silver gene hen (no matter what RSL label it's being marketed under). As far as egg production goes, I've raised RSLs purchased under a number of different labels over the years, have done meticulous egg counts on them, and cannot say that one RSL cross is superior to the others. All of them are egg laying machines, outlaying either parent breed, and consistently churning out over 300 eggs per hen per year. It's one of the interesting quirks of hybridization.

 

[Michael OShay]

Rather than throw around the generic "red sex-link," here are some articles outlining what makes which hybrids.

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/what-breed-is-it-understanding-sex-link-chickens/

http://www.plumjam.com/poultry/breeds/

P.S: I've read the links above where the two authors of those links state that Cinnamon Queens are NHR X SLW crosses, but that is just the opinion of those two authors. They are not governing authorities in this regard any more than the breeders who run hatcheries such as Cackle are.

 

[ThePRfan]

The debate on Cinnamon Queens....are you sure you got a true one? Would love to see a picture.

My Cinnamon Queens (RIR x SLW) and the black Olive Egger at one day old





Now in the coop. Note that the SLW parent of the Cinnamon Queen contributed a rose comb


A lot of folks think any old red/silver combo making a red sex-link can be labeled a Cinnamon Queen. It is VERY hard to find a *true* Cinnamon Queen.... The hatchery stock on-line is NOT a CQ, doesn't use a SLW. More often is just a name for what RSL they're breeding, one even has a video of red and white birds (RIR x rocks?). One hatchery I called could not even tell me what the heritage or parent stock was of their birds. Another hatchery was surprised that a CQ was not what they were breeding when I told them what the cross was supposed to be; that is just the name they used for their RSL du jour.

I would've preferred a NHR x SLW cross, but RIR x SLW was the closest I could find in hatching eggs.

The RIR personality is VERY apparent in these birds. They are first and in the forefront and often jumping to snatch treats. Pecky, too. But, honestly, I'm in it for the eggs and I'm hoping these ones will produce.

Many years ago I got Cackle's version of CQ's... They were delightful. Laid huge brown eggs and lots of them. They free-ranged on occasion in the pastures and really helped to keep the flies down, and would come running when called. Gentle, too.

Ohhhhhhhhh!Mines looked nothing like that.She has a few white speck son her neck and white all over.Very dossile though.Yeah,but I do have 1 that looks almost the exact same as yours.Couldn't figure out what it was.Mrs.Prissy my CQ I think,I know is not a PR.I had a leghorn(white)come with me from the PR tub.

 

[Peep_Show]

RSL is the name applied for breeding a red roo over a silver gene hen. The various combinations thereof have specific names, much like labradoodles and puggles. You can visibly tell (at least I can) the difference between a Golden Comet and a Cinnamon Queen or a Red Star, just as you can visibly tell the difference between a BlackStar (RIR x BR) vs. an OE (FBCM x CCL or EE), which is also a black sex-link. There are other citations, too, which define a CQ as a having a SLW cross, so it is not just some sort of random willy-nilly classification but a generally accepted one, even if there is no governing body of classification.

However, as evidenced by my conversations with various hatcheries, the hatcheries are somewhat ignorant of what they are breeding.... I've even had serveral unable to tell me what the parent stock are! So they are perpetuating the random naming of their hybrids, much to the detriment of those that know what they are breeding gene-wise and name-wise. Yes, it is convenient and accurate to call them all RSL's, but I would no more call a RIRxRIW a Cinnamon Queen than I would call a GSD x poodle a labradoodle... It's just misleading! If the hatcheries are going to dictate what we call our various crosses of chickens, then I at least ask them to be consistent across the board.

 

[Peep_Show]

Michael, PLEASE tell me which hatcheries have a RIRxSLW cross! I haven't gleaned any.

 

[Peep_Show]

Quote by Michael Shay:

Furthermore, other hatcheries sell the same RIR X SLW cross that you refer to as a true Cinnamon Queen under other labels such as Gold Sex Link, Golden Buff, Gold Star, etc.

 

[Peep_Show]

What I am trying to say is that there should be consistencies in appellations. True, Cinnamon Queens are not a breed... But there should be some agreement that when you say CQ you're talking about a specific combo of genes (with SLW) and not just some lottery random selection of a name for a RSL. It has become a rather jumbled mess with the hatcheries.

If you want a good laugh, go to eFowl and you'll find that their pictures do not match the combinations they state AND an ISA Brown is the same as a Golden Comet, although they sell them as different birds, and their RSL's (not their gold sex-links, which include the Cinnamon Queens, Gold Sex-Links, ISA Browns and Comets) are RIRxDelaware. Other hatcheries are equally as confusing.... In other words, there is no uniformity as to just WHAT they are selling as a RSL or, even more pointedly, a Cinnamon Queen. I've had hatcheries tell me that the names are interchangeable and they were not aware that certain names are associated with certain combinations. They were kind of surprised when they researched it.

I, at least, like to know exactly what is in my hybrid by whatever name it goes by. To me, a Cinnamon Queen is the RIRxSLW or NHRxSLW hybrid when you get down to specifics of RSL lineage. And when you start combining for a RSL I do believe you can visibly tell the various breed combinations apart, so it would be nice to have some uniformity in naming (truth in advertising, as it were). I think it would be laudible if more attention to detail were spent by the hatcheries on their production birds as is on their purebreds.