Best cross breeds

[TJAnonymous]

What can I say? I love chickens.... I have several different breeds currently -

Buff Orpingtons
Rhode Island Reds
Ameracaunas
Black Australorps
Blue Andalusians

Currently, I have 3 roosters who are Easter Eggers.

I tend to like the larger dual-purpose birds because we go through a lot of eggs and sell eggs but I like a bird that could be a decent meal, if desperate times came to desperate measures.

I just spent nearly an hour on various hatchery sites looking at different breeds. I know myself well enough to know that I will be itching to buy a few new chicks in the spring. I may even consider some new Roos if any of my current ones are killed by a predator or need to be culled because of aggressive behavior. So I was wondering what breeds might be a good cross to make some pretty or interesting babies but also remain functional?

Tell me about some of your cross breeding experiences! I'd love to hear them!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Surprised no one has an experience to share

 

[RainbowHen]

One of my favorite crosses was an Easter Egger/Buff Orpington. He was a big, beautiful, buff colored roo with muffs. Handsome boy and very well behaved. Grew to be much larger than his EE dad.

 

[TJAnonymous]

One of my favorite crosses was an Easter Egger/Buff Orpington. He was a big, beautiful, buff colored roo with muffs. Handsome boy and very well behaved. Grew to be much larger than his EE dad.

I'd love to see a picture if you have one! I thought about ordering some more RIR since they are great layers but decided to see if some of my girls would sit on some eggs instead. I'm hoping my EE/BO and EE/RIR turn out pretty....

 

[Double egg 7]

One of the prettiest cross breeds I've done was a Barred Rock roo x EE hen. She came out barred but had red all through her. She was gorgeous! Sadly she just passed away today, about an hour and a half ago.

 

[Acre4Me]

It’s my understanding that size of bird is influenced by size of the mother. If you are breeding, keep that in mind.

we have a BJG father and 3 chicks from this father. We think moms were EE (one has fluffy cheeks), but not sure which others ...all 3 are all black. BJG dad is very large, but the moms were all full size, but smaller than dad. Moms are all These chicks (now 12-13 weeks old) are large, so it remains to be seen how big they get.

 

[TJAnonymous]

One of the prettiest cross breeds I've done was a Barred Rock roo x EE hen. She came out barred but had red all through her. She was gorgeous! Sadly she just passed away today, about an hour and a half ago.

I'm so sorry for your loss... I hate losing chickens! I try not to get super attached but it's hard. I received 22 new babies over the past 2 weeks. It's so much fun to watch their little personalities develop...

 

[TJAnonymous]

It’s my understanding that size of bird is influenced by size of the mother. If you are breeding, keep that in mind.

we have a BJG father and 3 chicks from this father. We think moms were EE (one has fluffy cheeks), but not sure which others ...all 3 are all black. BJG dad is very large, but the moms were all full size, but smaller than dad. Moms are all These chicks (now 12-13 weeks old) are large, so it remains to be seen how big they get.

I won't buy any new chicks until the spring but I thought about getting some Silkies and maybe a few Cochins. Pretty birds but not very functional for eggs. I wondered if they cross bred with my EE roos who are quite big, if that might produce a bird who lays larger eggs. My husband isn't fond of small eggs... He complains that my little EE pullet who is barely 6 months old lays "tiny" eggs. They are more medium sized than bantam size. Hoping they get a little bigger as she matures more but if not, oh well....

 

[LittleBigBantam]

My best cross breeds are my silkie mixes. They are GORGEOUS.

 

[Isyovi]

I have brahma's and leghorn / leghorn mixes. I think they would make a good mixed breed for meat and eggs, brahma's are big chickens and leghorns are great egg layers. But leghorns almost never go broody.