Breeding a new chicken breed

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Arjun Masthi

Chirping
Jan 4, 2021
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I am sure that somewhere, a similar thread exists, and I'm new to this community, so I wouldn't be wiser than to make a new thread.
So here goes: I'm from India, and most backyard chicken are a local Landrace (there are some breeds, none that produce a lot of meat or eggs). Farmers also tend not to supplement the chicken with feed much, so they need to be good scavengers and escape predation well.

Universities here have released a lot of quick maturing chicken breeds that grow big, and lay more eggs, but none go broody (unusual, since these breeds don't produce over 150-180 eggs- there are breeds elsewhere that produce more and still find time to brood :D).
Also unfortunately, they all look like the other- large single combed birds of a multitude of colours.

I intend to breed a new breed (also for the fun of it), after being around chicken most my life, I'm aware of in breeding, line breeding and cross breeding, and genetics of some of the characteristics.

I intend to create a breed that has clean legs, a v comb (to easily identify crossbreds, that is a common practice by some middlemen to make a quick buck), a Spitzhauben crest, hopefully a beard (I need help here), goes broody and mothers well, lays a respectable number of tinted eggs and has meat that tends not to be too fatty on mature birds (I'm guessing a moderately fast growth rate would help- too quick, and joints get weak too)

Here are the parent breeds I intend to work with:
Brahma- for the stature and broodiness
Giriraja- a local breed for Growth rate.
Spitzhauben- for a crest that doesn't cause hernia and block vision
Salmon faverolles- for egg production and Growth rate
And of course, some good specimens from the local Landraces, for disease resistance and mothering abilities.
Tips and pointers would help greatly. Thanks for your patience to read through this all.

I already have first generation crosses of some.Fb.com/irpuchicken
 
So this is one of the F3, two month old birds that I bred for the crest gene from a Silkie (now abandoned, because on a single comb, males have negligible crest, but females still can't see properly- even though they are still heterozygous. That's the reason I later chose the Spitzhauben). I had 10 hens from different unrelated mothers but a single father. Sad I had to abandon it. But hey, breeding something with so many traits, maybe I was asking for hiccups 😀

P.S I need help with the following:
Can I use the non-crested birds from the same breeding for future breeding? (I wouldn't want modifiers for crest type to influence future Spitzhauben cross chicks)
 

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I had one lone white faverolles, that was very old and layed eggs once a while. It just so happened that she gave us one egg when she was in with the Brahma (she's no more). Never hatched eggs by her before, so don't know her purity. That chick hatched! (The bird at the right, in comparison to a pure Brahma of the same age- same father). Definitely has a faster Growth rate of the faverolles.
I brought this up because I wanted help with the beard gene- I can't find proper information anywhere, even here with some people claiming it as dominant, partially dominant and recessive. The chick doesn't have a beard, and I don't have more chicks for comparison.
I've attached a picture of the mother (I honestly wish I had a better picture of her)
 

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:welcome
Sounds like a great project, keep us informed!

I can't help much, but there are plenty of very knowledgeable people here that are willing to. You could possibly get more feedback over on the genetics and breeding section.
 
:welcome
Sounds like a great project, keep us informed!

I can't help much, but there are plenty of very knowledgeable people here that are willing to. You could possibly get more feedback over on the genetics and breeding section.
Thanks a lot! I'm reading as much as I can here. I'll definitely keep everyone posted here. Thanks again!
 
I intend to create a breed that has a v comb (to easily identify crossbreds, that is a common practice by some middlemen to make a quick buck), a Spitzhauben crest

Tips and pointers would help greatly. Thanks for your patience to read through this all.

I already have first generation crosses of some.Fb.com/irpuchicken

I have just begun crossing Spitzhaubens for some hybrids I'm working on. The crest they pass on has been really beautiful and practical (i.e. never impedes vision). However, the V-comb hasn't worked out like I expected. Here is a post about that: multiple-comb-type-breeds. There is quite a bit of useful comb info on that thread.

Here are my most recent Spitz crosses: is-there-such-a-thing-as-brown-sex-link-using-barring-gene

Everything crossed with a Spitz has turned out really beautiful and predator savvy (which is the priority for my flock). Best of luck with your project!
 
I have a couple Projects I'm working on myself.

Wheaten Crele Orpingtons, & Giant Silkies.
A couple side projects will be Rainbow Laying Silkies, & an Attack Chicken for coop security.


You're project sounds interesting. Wish you luck.


One question. How large do you want your breed to be?
 

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