Brainstorming a Rooster choice

[yes2matt]

Hi I wonder if you would help me brainstorm a rooster choice?

> 4 white Rocks (hatchery pullets)
> 4 white Leghorns (hatchery pullets)
> 6 assorted hens, RIR, golden comet, etc.

I'm thinking of putting a single roo over the Rocks and Leghorns with the idea of raising the cockerels to eat and selling the pullet chicks to other urban-flock types. So I want the roo+Rock to be a good meat bird and the roo+Leghorn to be a good layer, and more friendly than the leghorns are.

a big plus would be color or feather sexing.

Right now I'm thinking about a nice big RIR rooster, but the RIR+Leghorn won't sex (or will it?)

Does anybody have any good ideas to help me out or am I just being silly?

Thanks, Matt

 

[chickee]

White Rock hens x New Hampshire Red rooster = Golden Comet Sex-Link. White Rock hens x Rhode Island Red rooster = Golden Sex Link. Roosters are white and hens gold. From what I have read online, White Leghorns aren't used in creating Sex-Link chickens. I just looked up "The making of sex-links" and found the info I just gave you and more. Good Luck!

 

[yes2matt]

yeah thanks for the note; I have a Golden Comet hen now and she is fantastic for eggs. But she would definitely not serve on the table! I read that New Hampshire reds are meaty enough to serve as a dual purpose breed? Does anybody have experience w/ that?

What about an Orpington or Australorp roo over the Rocks and leghorns? Or a Dorking? I guess I'm all over the place.

The original plan was to have two roos, a NHR and Cornish, and alternate them over the hens by season. But that's one too many roosters, and way too complicated for me. So I'm trying to figure out if there's a nice middle path...