Thank you. That's a pretty cool idea; certainly better to reuse somebody esle's discard than to trash another tarp every year, and hopefully less than $70.
It's unlike me to appeal for assistance on something like this, but Kelli Swan really is awesome and her dad is absolutely one of the most outstanding Marines I had the pleasure of serving with.
You can hear her perform here and vote if you like it. She's in second place by about 300 votes and...
It's fine to breed an Easter Egger roo to an Easter Egger pullet. You'll get beautiful Easter Egger chicks.
As for the predicting the phenotype of the offspring, we need photos of your birds. :)
from http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/09/biomimicry-is-a.html
"Biomimicry is a science that studies Nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems."
"How do dragonflies outmaneuver our best helicopters? How do hummingbirds cross the Gulf...
My policy is at least one nest box per five hens, but never less than two boxes in any case. Consider also the potential for broodies to tie-up a nest box for weeks at a time.