Auto sexing breeds over riff raff?

[Mrs. K]

I have a Bielefelder Rooster over riff raff hens. The Bielefelder is an auto sexing breed, with the white spot on the head being a male, and the chipmunk markings being a female.

I got 7 chicks, 2 strong chipmunk markings, 1 faint chipmunk markings. 3 with a spot on their head, and one just a yellow solid chick.

How does this work? If they are marked, is it for sure?

Mrs K

 

[junebuggena]

The autosexing traits will not work for mixed breed chicks.

 

[Mrs. K]

really? Even if they are strongly marked? I wondered. Last spring I hatched out of this fellow, and I thought I had a lot more pullets, and wound up with a lot more roosters, but I thought maybe I did not keep an actual count.

I will write it down this time, but if I read you correctly, even the chipmunk markings might be a rooster, and the ones with the white spot might be pullets?

Mrs K

 

[bobbi-j]

It'll be interesting to see what you find out from this experiment. (Even if it didn't start out to be one

)

 

[srm7731]

Other way around, lighter in color and white spots are male and chipmunks are girls. It's the barring gene and with males since there's 2 copies they will be lighter in color than females.

 

[donrae]

Here's my understanding....

the rooster should be double barred, so in that case all his offspring should be barred.

I'm not sure how the head spot works with non-black based chicks. I know in the auto sexing breeds the females are barred but don't have a head spot......but in your black based birds, a barred chick always exhibits a head spot.

I don't think your auto sexing is going to carry over, unless you used a similar mate. Like putting your rooster over a CCL hen should make auto sexing chicks, just mixed breed.

What breeds are your hens?

 

[junebuggena]

Here's my understanding....

the rooster should be double barred, so in that case all his offspring should be barred.

I'm not sure how the head spot works with non-black based chicks. I know in the auto sexing breeds the females are barred but don't have a head spot......but in your black based birds, a barred chick always exhibits a head spot.

I don't think your auto sexing is going to carry over, unless you used a similar mate. Like putting your rooster over a CCL hen should make auto sexing chicks, just mixed breed.

What breeds are your hens?

x2 a cream Legbar hen may work to preserve the auto-sexing. But the auto sexing is tricky, even when dealing with purebreds. It's something that needs to be bred, and selected for constantly, with each pairing. One bad pairing can ruin the autosexing in a line for several generations. Mixing breeds is almost always a sure way to eliminate it completely.

 

[Mrs. K]

ok I have him over a BO, a couple Easter Eggers, and production red cross and a white rock... riff faff.

all of the chicks out of him last year, showed baring, some more so than others, the female pullets seem to have less barring than the roosters. Several of the roosters followed his coloring very closely, except for small pea combs.

Tonight I looked closely, 2 white spots on the head, 2 dark brown chipmunk, 1 solid yellow, 2 lightish chipmunk markings.

 

[donrae]

Okay, I don't know about the auto sexing, but it sounds like your flock is going to look pretty much like the Rainbows or Pioneers, with the barring and multiple colors