Breeding Different Breeds

[Mitchell Farm]

I have 22 hens; 5 Wyandottes, 6 Buff Orpingtons, 5 Australorps, 4 Reds, and 2 White Leghorns. I also have one Wyandotte Roo, one Australorp Roo, one Buff roo and 1 Leghorn Roo.

They are all 13 weeks old and none are laying yet and won't for about another 7 weeks or so. They all (Roos and Hens) are in the same coop together and have all been raised together and for the most part get along very well. They enjoy a spacious coop and a 30 ft by 8 foot run at this time.

My question is this: At some point I will let one of the hens that go broody to raise chicks to replenish my stock as the hens lose their laying prowess. Is it a good idea to leave them all together and end up with hybrid chicks? I have no idea which roo is dominant at this point. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this setup and are hybrids better, worse, no difference from the purebred as far as production, body weight etc. (I understand that certain characteristics of each breed will manifest themselves in the hybird chicks).

I have ample space to seperate all breeds if needed and to run the same breed roo with the purebred hens. Any advice from the experts out there would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Den in Penn]

If you have ample space you could go both ways. Breed some pure breeds and crosses. The breeds you have a decent to good layers so crossing the will not lower the rate of laying noticeably. Hybrid vigor does allow the hens to have better health and so tend to lay better. With pure breeds you do know what you are getting, no unexpected traits showing up. It really comes to what you want out of the chickens. If you plan on selling hatching eggs or chicks you generally get a better price to pure breeds than crosses. Just eggs for you self and don't want the bother of separating then crosses are not a bad thing. I crossed that path with my present laying flock when one went broody. Since I'm only selling eggs I didn't need to have pure breeds.

 

[Mitchell Farm]

Thanks for sharing. That is pretty much what I thought, but wanted to hear from those who have experienced it first hand. Have a great day!