5 mystery chicks

[cluckylady812]

That would be awesome! Thats chipmunk, original guess was male. I guess we should change Blairs name lol. So still with two roos..... I know i wouldnt want the red, but what would the outcome be if i have an EE roo in with my hens? Rhode island, australorp, dark brahma, other than these chicks.

 

[junebuggena]

It depends on what kind of boy he is. Some roosters need at least 10 hens, some only need a few.

 

[cluckylady812]

It depends on what kind of boy he is. Some roosters need at least 10 hens, some only need a few. 

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I have 8 laying hens, 3 brahmas,3 australorp. 2 rhode islands, in addition to these little ones. I just dont know enough about the genetics involved to speculate what the result would be crossing a hybrid to a pure.... Other than mutts lol. Would i have decent layers, colored eggs, meaties? I cannot have a separate flock of just EE's. Im limited to total number of birds by town ordinance.

 

[daskhan]

If your getting rid of your production rir roo I'll take him in

 

[junebuggena]

Are your Brahmas buff, light or dark? Light and Dark Brahmas are silver-based colors. When crossed with a red-based rooster, they will produce red sexlinks. The laying rate of cross breeds, is usually a bit better than their purebred parents. Males will also grow a bit bigger and faster than either parent breed.

These are my Easter Egger/Barred Rock chicks at 3 and half weeks old. Nearly completely feathered out and have been out in their little coop for 5 days now. Since my hens are barred and the rooster isn't, these are black sex links. The cockerel is barred, the pullets are solid black. You can see how big they are compared to the adults.

 

[ShrekDawg]

If it were me I would maybe wait a little bit still just to be sure the EE is a roo because sometimes they seem it then aren't. I agree the red probably is though lol

 

[cluckylady812]

Are your Brahmas buff, light or dark? Light and Dark Brahmas are silver-based colors. When crossed with a red-based rooster, they will produce red sexlinks. The laying rate of cross breeds, is usually a bit better than their purebred parents. Males will also grow a bit bigger and faster than either parent breed. These are my Easter Egger/Barred Rock chicks at 3 and half weeks old. Nearly completely feathered out and have been out in their little coop for 5 days now. Since my hens are barred and the rooster isn't, these are black sex links. The cockerel is barred, the pullets are solid black. You can see how big they are compared to the adults.

You have a beautiful flock! Sex links would be nice. I have dark brahmas,

 

[cluckylady812]

So if i understand correctly the red will give me red sex link chicks, the EE will give me black? I really like the idea of sex links, takes the guessing oit of gender lol.

 

[junebuggena]

Dark Brahmas are a silver-based color. It's dominant over any red-based color, and it's sexlinked, meaning silver-based hens can only pass the silver gene to their male offspring. When you breed a silver-base hen with a red/gold based rooster, you get red sexlinks. It's not exactly a typical red sexlink crossing, but it should still work. The differences between the male and female chick down might be a bit subtle, since all the chicks will likely be chipmunk patterned. But after a few hatches, you should be really good at spotting the differences between the silver/white males and the gold/red females. As they feather in, it will be more obvious which are male and which are female.
Since both your Easter Egger and your Production Red are red/gold-based colors, when either is crossed with your Brahma hens (dominant, sexlinked silver), you should get red sexlinks.
The Easter Egger has the added bonus of potentially passing on the blue eggshell gene. Since the hens are brown egg layers; the blue eggshell gene, plus the brown 'coating' gene, equals green eggs.
My chicks are black sexlinks. You need barred hens to make black sexlinks.

 

[cluckylady812]

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all of this!!! I keep reading and reading, but still have much to learn. I truly appreciate your help!!!!!!!