So interested is cross breeds for hybrid vigor and characteristics.....now the quandry....

[JMarch]

Previously I've had production reds, EE, and commercial white leghorns (egg farm retirees- one of which turned butch and started crowing). Got some nice olive eggers from the prod red and the EEs- nice temperament and decent layers. The retired leghorns were still fantastic layers of HUGE eggs- hatched some out from the production red roo (he was the only roo in the pen) and they made beautiful babies- chicks were white with black spots and they got to about 12 weeks old before the fox killed them all- by then they were strong white chickens with a few random black feathers- heavier than a leghorn, but lighter than a production red.

Got my pen fixed now- have 11 production reds (looks like 4 roos), and 13 red sex link pullets. Kind of sat to know that the red sex links are productive for two years and then get sickly and get poor, but at their rate of egg production, I suppose it takes its toll. I'm very interested in crossing in another breed for chick hatching out next year that would add great DNA to the pool and keep perpetuating from that pool in order not to have to order or buy chicks afterwards. You guys are the experts- so I figured I'd seek your input on what you guys would think is the direction I should take:

1) Don't want to cross in white leghorns again because as gorgeous as the chicks were, too much white in and around the pen seemed to attract predators.

2) I LOVE Black Minorcas- can't find anything about people's experiences with crossing them with production reds or red sex links. Thinking that if I could get my hands on a roo, I could cull my production red roos (dumplings or gumbo) and cross them with the production red hens and the red sex link hens and have a nice bird with good size and eggs. Otherwise I could get a half dozen Black Minorca hens and keep a couple of production red roos and only incubate the Minorca eggs and not worry about incubating any brown eggs.

3) Orpingtons have such a sweet personality, but not sure about their egg production- retired birds from F1 and subsequent generations could be used for baking hens, gumbo, or dumplings or pot pie. If I had a red orpington roo and no production red roos, then I could be free to incubate anything and know I had a cross if he'd be the only roo- and could use some great genetics with the red stars and production reds alike.

4) Black Copper Marans- love the egg color- not sure about production. A roo or two crossing with production red and red star would probably give great colors and hybrid vigor and pass on some of the brown egg coloration.

5) Thought about the mahogany leghorn- too light weight to cross in.

6) Thought about EE or Americauna- prefer brown eggs.


Figured if I don't do anything and leave the production red roos with the prod red hens and red sex link hens, crossing back the RSL to production red can't be too bad, and the prod red to prod red will breed true.

 

[Michael OShay]

I would suggest Black Australorps for crossing with your flock. They are very hardy, docile, and great layers of large, brown eggs. I have crossed them with some of my other breeds in the past and have gotten some very hardy, great laying offspring from them.

 

[Arielle]

Not sure why you think black sexlinks are poor in health after 2 years . . mine are growing strong just starting their 4 th year. My BA go broody-- 3 are hogging the nest boxes.

White-- fox can see anything that moves-- dogs as I remember are color blind so white is just on the grey scale. SO i have stopped worrying about white in my flock. I do prefer to have non-solid colors so when a hen does freeze she is better camoflauged, but once she moves the game is up.

Predator protection is a better option.

Mix and match your birds that you have now-- you will enjoy the outcome. THe survivors will be the ones to have more offspring in the long run if that is your option.

Have fun!!

 

[JMarch]

thanks- hadn't even considered the Black Australorps!

Our pen is now refortified with chainlink lined with buried chicken wire and cinderblocks around the interior perimeter and covered with chicken wire on top- so far, even the squirrels can't figure out how to get in.

Our sex links are the red ones- have read that they conk out after a couple of years- and they're not too big for using as a dual purpose bird as the black sex links are.

Really interested in crossing in the Australorps!

 

[Michael OShay]

Not sure why you think black sexlinks are poor in health after 2 years . . mine are growing strong just starting their 4 th year. My BA go broody-- 3 are hogging the nest boxes.

White-- fox can see anything that moves-- dogs as I remember are color blind so white is just on the grey scale. SO i have stopped worrying about white in my flock. I do prefer to have non-solid colors so when a hen does freeze she is better camoflauged, but once she moves the game is up.

Predator protection is a better option.

Mix and match your birds that you have now-- you will enjoy the outcome. THe survivors will be the ones to have more offspring in the long run if that is your option.

Have fun!!

X2. I've gotten 3-4 good laying years from my Black Sex Links.

 

[JMarch]

the local feed store has some 12 week old Australorps for CHEAP! Got 9 pullets and 3 cockerels. Will retire the production red cockerels to the frying pan when they get a little bigger and will keep the Australorp cockerels for crossing with the production red and RSL pullets next year!

 

[Michael OShay]

the local feed store has some 12 week old Australorps for CHEAP! Got 9 pullets and 3 cockerels. Will retire the production red cockerels to the frying pan when they get a little bigger and will keep the Australorp cockerels for crossing with the production red and RSL pullets next year!

That should work out nicely for you. They will be mutt birds, but they should be hardy hens that lay well.

 

[JMarch]

looking forward to it. Next spring we'll hatch out some eggs from the Australorp roos and RSL and production red hens. From what I can tell, they'll be mostly black.

Once those chicks grow and start laying, we'll start "retiring" the old stock to the dinner table beginning in the fall, and then get something else to cross in for the next spring hatching- thinking :

buff orpington- good sized, decent layers, gentle

or

saggita- excellent cross between RIRxNH with dark cornish supposed to be a good laying meat bird

or

dark Cornish- hardy, big, but not exactly the best layer, and the roosters can be mean- not too sure about that one

Got plenty of time to mull it over- either way, hoping to have my own flock of sustainable mutts.

 

[JMarch]

leaning toward saggita to bring back some of the red back into the line and add a little Cornish DNA (without TOO much Cornish DNA)........ plenty of time to plan tho

 

[JMarch]

I've got 40 eggs in the incubator- mostly from the red hens crossed with the Australorp roos. Excited to see how they grow up to look and lay. Also ended up getting 4 Ameraucana pullets to cross with the red/Aussie cockerels later this summer. Should make a really hardy olive egger.