Are all hybrids short living ?

[Zimbamo]

Hi, everyone just wondering if you have any info on if all chicken hybrids don't live as long as heritage chickens because I'm planning on a olive egger mix (Black copper maran and ameraucana mix) and I want to know if you know

Thanks

 

[BantamLover21]

As far as I know, Hybrid chickens live just as long as purebred chickens.

 

[Veer67]

As far as I know, Hybrid chickens live just as long as purebred chickens.

x2

 

[Zimbamo]

Thanks for the info, the reason I asked is because sex-link chicken hybrids and some other serious daily laying hybrids only live to be about two a lot of the time

 

[BantamLover21]

Thanks for the info, the reason I asked is because sex-link chicken hybrids and some other serious daily laying hybrids only live to be about two a lot of the time

I think that is probably because sex-linked hybrids have been selectively bred by commercial egg-production companies to lay a lot of eggs in a short period of time. The strain of laying so many eggs causes hybrid egg-layers put so much energy into egg production that they live a shorter amount of time than other chickens (of course, commercial hens are usually killed at 1-2 years of age when their production decreases, so they never really get a chance to live very long). In a normal small-flock cross (like what you are doing), the difference in life expectancy between purebred chicken and crossed chicken is likely to be minimal.