Breeding Good Cross Breed Chickens

[FortCluck]

I crossed all of my hens/pullets with Jersey Giant roosters. I'm all about Jersey Giants because they are like the Great Dane of the chicken world. They are very respectful and you don't really have issues with the aggressiveness. The only time that I have seen mine get somewhat testy with me is when they got to the maturity stage. It only lasted about a month and they really didn't too much besides stomp their feet at me, I just did it back at them and then they'd walk away.

They aren't aggressive when they mate with hens either. They are actually very caring to the flock. Squatch and Sid also took on a hawk not too long ago, I have a thread about it.

I crossed the Jersey Giant with my Delaware and red sex links. Their chicks are absolutely stunning. I have more in the incubator that are barred rock, Cochin, Delaware, and red sex link. All have the Jersey giant as a father.

They are only 21 days old and almost fully feathered.

And here is Squatch, the father

 

[Rose Quartz]

I don't think so. A barred rock father should produce chicks that are black with barring, for males and females both. They may have a bit of red in some places, depending on the color of the mother, and they will not be color-sexable the way pure barred rocks are (or the way chicks with a barred mother and not-barred father are.) Of course, that only applies if a rooster is a pure barred rock--if he's a cross of some sort, then some chicks will be black and barred, and the rest are anybody's guess.

Oh, ok. I was going by the chicks I got this year from someone that was a random cross with a barred rock roo. I got lots of brown with barred wing feathers.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What is a good idea to cross breed hens with? I have a Gold Wyandotte, Easter Egger, Cuckoo Maran, Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Australorp, Barred Rock
Any Ideas for excellent egg laying?

It would be good to know if these are all hens or if the roosters need to come from these breeds.

If your only goal is egg laying and these are your choices for roosters I'd go with any of them except the EE. EE's are not a breed so there is no standard. They don't have trends or traits that mean anything. The others should produce good egg laying pullets if you cross them with good egg laying hens. EE's might, I just don't now.

If your only goal is egg laying but are looking for a rooster to put with these hens, I'd suggest a leghorn or a rooster from the commercial hybrid egg layers. Leghorns don't have to be white to be good egg layers but the white ones are often the easiest to get.

The commercial hybrid egg layers can be kind of tricky. Some hatcheries sell them as their red or black sex linked chicks. If you get one that is from a commercial hybrid egg laying mix, you will get egg laying pullets. The problem with that is that some hatcheries red or black sex links are not based on the commercial hybrids but simply cross pure breeds. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference. Sometimes you can tell in the write-up. a big clue is the estimated adult weight. The commercial hybrids will weigh a lot less than the breed crosses. The breed crosses will be as good as any of the ones on your list, they are not a bad choice. If you know which hatchery you will use give us a link and maybe we can help you with that. Or better yet, call the hatchery.

The leghorns and commercial crosses are small in size. If you are planning on eating the cockerels the finished weight will be noticeably less than if you use a dual purpose rooster. You can still eat them but you won't get as much meat.

I got the feeling you are interested in chick colors and patterns. In general, stay away from black, black barred, and white roosters. Those tend to be pretty dominant Go with red or buff. These allow the hen's colors and patterns to show through much better.

 

[NatJ]

Oh, ok. I was going by the chicks I got this year from someone that was a random cross with a barred rock roo. I got lots of brown with barred wing feathers.

but...but...but.... I don't think it's "supposed" to work that way. You actually saw it, so I won't argue about whether it happened. I just want reality to match what I've read is supposed to happen!

 

[Rose Quartz]

but...but...but.... I don't think it's "supposed" to work that way. You actually saw it, so I won't argue about whether it happened. I just want reality to match what I've read is supposed to happen!

I was told all eggs were 100% barred rock. :3 I have no idea the mothers so it's possible it was a different breed from RIR that were the mothers. I only have 5 of the 23 teen chicks I had left. I don't have any of the boys so I can't get an example picture for you. I had 6 orange/brown with sporadic black stripes on their wings and tails with yellow legs. I wish I had some RIR females so I could test it out myself. I have a couple of boys that are about 5 weeks, and a bunch of BR girls. Maybe I'll be able to test it next year.

 

[ColetasticChickens]

Are those the breeds of hens you have, or of roosters you have?

If those are your hens, then to produce daughters that lay well--choose a rooster of a breed known for good egg production.

Possiblities could include a White Leghorn, a Rhode Island Red, any of the sex-link hybrids sold for laying--any breed or cross sold by a major hatchery that brags on them being good egg layers.

If the breeds you're listing are roosters you have, then probably the Rhode Island Red or the Barred Rock will sire chicks that lay best, with the Australorp and the Buff Orpington also being good choices.

I don’t have a roo

 

[Mrs. K]

A high quality rooster can really up the quality of you flock the quickest. If you are buying a rooster - make sure you are familiar with the SOP of the breed. Years ago I bought a rooster, and he had long term effect over my flock long after he was gone.

 

[ColetasticChickens]

I crossed all of my hens/pullets with Jersey Giant roosters. I'm all about Jersey Giants because they are like the Great Dane of the chicken world. They are very respectful and you don't really have issues with the aggressiveness. The only time that I have seen mine get somewhat testy with me is when they got to the maturity stage. It only lasted about a month and they really didn't too much besides stomp their feet at me, I just did it back at them and then they'd walk away.

They aren't aggressive when they mate with hens either. They are actually very caring to the flock. Squatch and Sid also took on a hawk not too long ago, I have a thread about it.

I crossed the Jersey Giant with my Delaware and red sex links. Their chicks are absolutely stunning. I have more in the incubator that are barred rock, Cochin, Delaware, and red sex link. All have the Jersey giant as a father.

They are only 21 days old and almost fully feathered.

View attachment 1963817

And here is Squatch, the father

View attachment 1963818

View attachment 1963819

What do u think RIR will look like?

 

[FortCluck]

What do u think RIR will look like?

RIR with Jersey Giant?

I would assume that they would almost look like my red sex link and Jersey Giant cross. They're black with brown markings. Some have stripes, some have just a little brown, and some have brown faces and black bodies. I can't exactly say what they'll look like because all kinds of coloring patterns can happen with crosses.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What do u think RIR will look like?

Jersey Giants come in three approved colors, black, blue, and white. If you use a black or blue Jersey Giant rooster over a RIR hen, you will get a solid black chicken as long as they have the genetics they are supposed to have. I would expect some leakage. Leakage is where random colored feathers show up that are not supposed to. It happens all the time. The white birds in this photo were supposed to be solid white but you can see how different colors in different patterns came through.

I like this photo too. In theory this should be a solid black bird but you can see the buff leakage.

I can't tell you what you will get with a White Jersey Giant rooster. There are different ways to make white genetically so it would depend on which way was used and what other colors/patterns might be hiding under that white. The odds are pretty good you would either get black or white but you could get some surprises.