Ameracauna and maran ?s

[ShaggysGirl]

Hi we are getting our Ameracaunas around 6/10 and I am thinking of next year adding in some marans and who knows maybe a silky.
My question is, is that ok to do since my rooster is going to be a Ameracauna?
If we hatch eggs what will they be?
Should I get another rooster?
Will my one rooster be ok with many hens?
Can you tell I'm a newbie? lol
Thanks for any info
Rhonda

 

[Nemo]

If you hatch Maran eggs from hens bred by an Ameracauna roo, you will get mutts. There wouldn't necessarily be anything wrong with the chicks produced, but they are not one breed or the other. There is no way to tell what color eggs the mutt hens will produce until they start laying... It all depends on how the genetics worked out.

It would be "OK" to breed a Maran hen with an Ameracauna roo. Mutts make some of the best animals in the world. But, you can't sell them as standard "Marans" or "Ameracaunas".

For a good fertility rate, the standard ratio is one roo for eight-to-twelve hens. When you get more than that, he will have a handful of his "favorites" who get most of the attention, and the others are ignored most of the time. If a hen isn't mated often enough, her eggs will not be fertile, and therefore won't hatch.

If you are going to be selling hatchable eggs, or hatching them yourself, you might need another roo to keep fertility up. If you are going to be selling just edible eggs, then you don't need a roo at all. Hens will lay eggs with or without a roo around.

 

[ShaggysGirl]

Thanks Nemo, Good to know. If I do get another rooster in the future will they fight? Should I divide them up?
Thanks so much
Rhonda

 

[Nemo]

Some roosters get along fine, but I wouldn't bet on it. Keeping the flocks separated would help.