Breeding mutts

[Joey G]

Hello everyone. I was thinking about getting some welsummer hens and a rooster or two to go with my red and black sex links. I know that they won't make sex linked chicks, but would the offspring from the welsummer rooster mixed with the sex links produce good egg layers and would the next generations continue to make good layers also, or would they get too far from any good genes?

 

[cluckcluckluke]

It's really just a case of trying and see, but id say it is very likely that both 1st and 2nd generations would be good egg layers. Your crossing prolific layers (links) with decent layers (wellies) so your defiantly not going to get bad layers.

 

[Joey G]

Thanks. I will probably try it out and see what happens. I'll bet we get some cool looking birds.

 

[rebrascora]

The excess cockerels that hatch should also have a reasonable amount of meat on them, although I do find that Welsummers are quite slow to come up to weight. I'm assuming you will be processing the excess cockerels for meat....

 

[Joey G]

More than likely.

 

[donrae]

I think they'd make great layers.

I've done a lot of mix and match starting with different breeds of hatchery stock. I've found as long as you start with production birds (parent stock that are good producers/layers), your offspring will lay about as well as the parent stock. Sex links are pretty much the top of the production breeds, so your offspring probably won't be quite as stellar as the parent hens, but they'll still be very good layers.