Arkansas Blue egg layers

[farmhand]

With any luck I will have eggs or chicks at Chicken stock

What is Chicken stock?

 

[1muttsfan]

It is an annual gathering of BYCers to socialize, eat, and swap chickens, eggs and other stuff. We have the Michigan one as a picnic in June, it is great fun.

Check here for events in your area -

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/8/chickenstocks-shows-meet-ups

 

[farmhand]

I'm planning on hatching some of Ron's @ronott1 eggs this spring which will have blue or black feathering. Next year I'd like to cross a Ark Blue Ro over California Gray(productive white egg layer) and also Barred Rock and get sex-linked chicks. Should this work? I'm also posting this over on the sex-link thread.

 

[johnderosa1]

I'm planning on hatching some of Ron's @ronott1
 eggs this spring which will have blue or black feathering.  Next year I'd like to cross a Ark Blue Ro over California Gray(productive white egg layer) and also Barred Rock and get sex-linked chicks.  Should this work?  I'm also posting this over on the sex-link thread.  

Farmhand, do you currently have california grays? I am looking for some eggs.

 

[farmhand]

Quote: I currently have only two hens and no Ro's as I had to cut back my flock last year. I purchased 25 chicks from Crackle Hatchery last year. Their my best layers, calm and curious. The breed is under rated.

 

[johnderosa1]

I currently have only two hens and no Ro's as I had to cut back my flock last year.  I purchased 25 chicks from Crackle Hatchery last year.  Their my best layers, calm and curious.  The breed is under rated.  

I have found some chicks but no eggs... I wanted to add a few to my layer flock this year but no luck . I just ordered some brabanter eggs from ebay that the seller claims lay 5-6 xlarge-jumbo eggs per week. Fingers crossed that they will fit the bill for my white egglayer needs . Cool looking birds. I received my eggs today and they averaged more than 2.5 ozs each with several in the 2.8 oz range. If i get 5 eggs a week from them i will be thrilled.... And now back to the univ of Arkansas thread. Sorry for going off on a bit of a tangent.

 

[caj1985]

I have found some chicks but no eggs... I wanted to add a few to my layer flock this year but no luck . I just ordered some brabanter eggs from ebay that the seller claims lay 5-6 xlarge-jumbo eggs per week. Fingers crossed that they will fit the bill for my white egglayer needs . Cool looking birds. I received my eggs today and they averaged more than 2.5 ozs each with several in the 2.8 oz range. If i get 5 eggs a week from them i will be thrilled.... And now back to the univ of Arkansas thread. Sorry for going off on a bit of a tangent.

No problem. We're all friends here.

 

[farmhand]

Since I only have 1 Ab hen, I will put him over my 4 CL girls as well - should get some nice blue egg layers out of them, and they should also be sexable at hatch (at least that is my understanding)

I'm trying to do a comparison with @1muttsfan project of using Ark Blue Ro over Cream Legbars vs. my proposed Ark Blue over California Gray. What might be the strengths and weakness of both? Having raised both Cream Legbars and California Gray's I find the CA Gray have a much higher production rate of eggs and the birds are about the same size. But they lay a white egg so I'm not sure what that would do to the blue egg coloring. Also my cross is only getting sex-links vs. an Auto sexing bird from Ark Blue x CL if I understand things.

 

[Manningjw]

I'm trying to do a comparison with @1muttsfan project of using Ark Blue Ro over Cream Legbars vs. my proposed Ark Blue over California Gray. What might be the strengths and weakness of both? Having raised both Cream Legbars and California Gray's I find the CA Gray have a much higher production rate of eggs and the birds are about the same size. But they lay a white egg so I'm not sure what that would do to the blue egg coloring. Also my cross is only getting sex-links vs. an Auto sexing bird from Ark Blue x CL if I understand things.

You hit on the key aspect of the differences.

If you cross CCL over Arkansas Blue, you SHOULD have 2 blue egg genes and egg laying will likely be somewhere in the middle of the two breeds. You will gain the other colors from the CCL side as well which can be hard to get rid of if you want to go back to blue/black stock. One pea comb will be linked to the blue gene of the Ark Blue, the other to the chromosome without that gene. The advantage I see here is if you ever want blue egg laying straight comb hens (I don't, it gets cold here). In the F2 cross of this breeding, you can select for straight combs and as long as your stock started off correct/double blue egg gene on the CCL side, all should have double blue egg genes in the F2 generation as well.

If you breed to California Grey, you should get a better egg layer in theory. As long as the Ark Blue stock was selected well you should have started with 2 pea comb genes linked with 2 blue egg shell genes, so in the F1 cross you should get Oo, and a single pea comb that should remain linked to the blue egg gene. The advantage here is you are less likely to have anything but black/barred possibly over silver base too which should mean less chance of red leakage in feathers. Breeding back to Ark Blue or breeding F1 to F1 and selecting for tight pea combs should make it possible to get back to double blue egg/pea comb genes and you will be adding diversity to the line. The resulting birds should be close to the original Arkansas blue egg layer breed goal. I personally like this option but that is also because it is what I am doing but with White Leghorns instead of Cali Grey which means i have to select for removing dominant white as well.

 

[Manningjw]

I'm planning on hatching some of Ron's @ronott1 eggs this spring which will have blue or black feathering. Next year I'd like to cross a Ark Blue Ro over California Gray(productive white egg layer) and also Barred Rock and get sex-linked chicks. Should this work? I'm also posting this over on the sex-link thread.

Yes that should produce sex linked chicks, the ones with spots on the heads should be boys from the barring.