The SBEL thread

[StarMeKritten]

I would have prefered to start with brown leghorn and silver Ameraucana, but both are almost impossible to find. I set eggs from white legs and a black Amer cock. I have ordered silver Ameraucana chicks for the spring that I will breed to any pullets I get from these...

I love the silver ameraucanas. I'd like to order some for next year too. The ones I have right now are technically easter eggers since they are non-standard colors. The rooster was a pure silver ameraucana but the hens were all different colors of ameraucanas so mine are silver with some other colors bleeding through. The rooster I kept is really beautiful. I am looking forward to hatching some eggs from him and my SBEL girl whenever I get my flock divided up by breed. I'm thinking I might get a white leghorn or two as well. I'm really excited about this little project.

 

[donrae]

I imagine silver Ameraucana are hard to find, but Murray McMurray has brown Leghorns. My EE at the time were basically the black breasted red, so my EE/Leghorn crosses looked very similar to a brown Leghorn, with funky combs and smaller earlobes..






I didn't continue with Leghorn or EE blood, most of these hens went under a bsl rooster. That gave me black barred birds that laid tons of big green eggs, for the most part. I was surprised how the blue gene carried over that much, I think I only got 1-2 brown egg layers from that second generation.

 

[hotlipshens]

I have BBS ams and am getting some LH chicks. Has anyone done blue am cock over white LH hens and kept pullets?

 

[tigercreek]

I have BBS ams and am getting some LH chicks. Has anyone done blue am cock over white LH hens and kept pullets?

I used a black...should be the same results....almost completely white chicks with a black feather here and there,,,,pretty blue eggs...they just started laying, and are medium sized...

 

[hotlipshens]

Thanks! LH lay pretty young, don't they?

 

[tigercreek]

Thanks! LH lay pretty young, don't they?

Yea they start early...my F1s were hatched in September and started laying in Feb.

 

[hotlipshens]

Cool - I could have my first white eggs this summer

 

[Wishapup]

I have my first SBELs hatching now! 1 chick hatched and 6 more hopefully on the way (at least 3 are pipped)! They are from a WLH hen and Black Amer rooster. It's a very cute chick -- I might be able to see a little black mark but mostly yellow. Appears to be bearded!

 

[StarMeKritten]

I have my first SBELs hatching now! 1 chick hatched and 6 more hopefully on the way (at least 3 are pipped)! They are from a WLH hen and Black Amer rooster. It's a very cute chick -- I might be able to see a little black mark but mostly yellow. Appears to be bearded!

Awesome! I have some hatching right now too.. But mine are SBEL hen x EE roo. Hoping some of them grow up to lay lots of big blue eggs like mom. I hope yours do too!

 

[Wishapup]

Awesome! I have some hatching right now too.. But mine are SBEL hen x EE roo. Hoping some of them grow up to lay lots of big blue eggs like mom. I hope yours do too!

Thanks! I've never had one before. Are they very blue eggs? I have a bantam EE that I think has a blue egg gene and a white egg gene...her egg is very pale and now the pale green tint is very hard to see at this point in her laying cycle. It has to be in the right light. Otherwise it looks white.

Nice cross! Hopefully you will get a better egg colour retaining the high productivity of the Leghorn!

Second SBEL currently zipping

Add: And he's out! Do these usually hatch early? ALL my SBELs are hatched or pipped on Day 20, like the bantams. My other LF eggs are doing nothing.