Breeding Advice Needed

[tlcollins13]

Aight ya'll, I've got 2 roosters (RIR and Barred Rock), and 3 types of hens (ISA Brown, Black Star, and Barred Rock). What results can I expect by letting all them live (and breed) in the same area? I'm guessing I'd get variations very similar to what I already have (or at least I'm hoping). My goal is to keep the lines as pure as possible to be able to sell the eggs and/or chicks for a good profit. Any help is appreciated.

 

[NYREDS]

You have 4 different breeds, 2 of which are hybrids not actual breeds, and they all run together. How can you possibly think you'll "keep the lines as pure as possible"? What you'll get is a bunch of cross bred birds; sometimes known as mutts. I'm sure the genetics experts here will be able to tell you all the possible outcomes but they'll still be mutts.
As to that "good profit" thing; good luck.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are not going to have pure lines unless you isolate your Barred Rock from the others. If the two roosters are together with the flock, either rooster may be the one fertilizing any egg. You won’t know which rooster is the father until they hatch and feather out, and maybe not then.

Your ISA Brown and Black Star are not pure now. Both are sex links made by crossing different parents so you can tell the sex at hatch. They have mixed genetics. The ISA Browns are commercial egg layers with four different flocks in their background, each of those four flocks producing one of their grandparents, so their genetics are really mixed up. Your Black Stars may also be commercial egg layers with four distinct flocks in their immediate background, or they may have been made by just crossing a red rooster with a barred hen. The name Black Star doesn’t really tell the difference.

If you cross your RIR rooster with the ISA Brown hens, you should get all red chicks. They should be different shades of red and could have different patterns, but they should all be red.

If you cross the RIR rooster with your Black Stars, you might get about half red chicks and half black. Or you might get all black chicks. I really don't know the genetics of your Black Stars well enough to be able to be sure. Black Star just does not describe the genetics well enough. Again, the colors and patterns could be different.

Your RIR rooster with the Barred Rock hens will give you black sex link chicks. The chicks will all be black, but the males will be barred and the hens will be solid black. The male chicks will have a white spot on their head that shows they will feather out barred. The female chicks will not have that white spot on the head.

Your Barred Rock rooster with the ISA Browns should give you chicks that generally look like Barred Rocks. Again, you could have some stray red feathers showing through when they feather out.

Your Barred Rock rooster with the Black Star hens and Barred Rock hens will give chicks that look a lot like Barred Rocks.

All these appearances are talking about color only. Size and configuration will be somewhere between the father and the mother. Your chicks from the ISA Browns and maybe the Black Stars will probably be smaller than the ones from the Barred Rocks.

Chickens inherit egg laying ability from their parents. The ISA Browns and probably Black Stars should be good egg layers so their offspring should be good egg layers. Same with the Barred Rock, but the ISA Browns are professionals at egg laying while the Barred Rocks are amateurs by comparison. Barred Rock can still be pretty good amateurs so their offspring should do OK in egg laying with either of those fathers. You should get good egg layers from any of those crosses but they will not be “pure” unless you isolate the Barred Rocks.

 

[tlcollins13]

Makes sense. Definately should've used a different choice of words than pure. Appreciate the help.