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That's what I thought. I guess it's only a concern if I try to cull before it's obvious which sex they are. Thanks for confirming.

Yes. My concern was the roosters over-breeding the hens. I've only got about 30 hens.

As much as I like experimenting, this might make the most sense. Then I could cross the resulting hen under the opposite rooster and see which order works out better in the balance. The F1's would be sex-linked, I know. If I crossed them back under a solid rooster, would they still be...

I think you just saved the life of my NH red rooster. I was planning on culling him once my BO rooster was breeding. Now it seems I have a reason to keep both.

That's exactly what I was aiming for. Then if I'm not happy with the egg production, I could take one of the hens and put it under a NH red rooster, to try to get some faster laying genes, maybe at the expense of a little body shape loss?

I don't have any BR roosters in my flock, though. It does make me think though. If I wanted to cross something in to increase egg production, you're suggesting I do it through a rooster rather than the hen, correct?

That's something I'll keep in mind. I have a NH red rooster, and about 13 hens that I may try crossing in if I'm not happy with the egg production.

I guess my BR must be at the productive end of the scale then. From what I've read, Orpingtons are a bit larger than Australorps, so I'm thinking that an egg or two a week vs. a bit more meat on the cockerels is a balance I'm happy with. There is another benefit to me, in that the offspring...

Thanks. I'm looking to get into a bit of breeding. I'm hoping it will keep the fun in this work for a few years at least. As far as egg production, I'm getting 4 or 5 every 7 days from my BR hens. Would Australorps produce more than that? I've been doing the egg thing for a few years, and...

I'm starting to think about what I want my next generation to be. My Buff Orpingtons always seem to have broad chests and be quite heavy. My Barred Rocks have always been good layers. My thought is to cross a BO rooster over a BR hen. My goal is to get something that I have a use for both...