Breeding questions

[Leilukka]

We have a mixed breed that has a heritage barred rock dad and a black australorp mom.

Her name is Eclipse since she was born during the darkness of the eclipse.

We are planning on getting a black australorp rooster.

How many generations will it take to get the black australorp features out in the offspring if the BA rooster mates with Eclipse?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm going to assume Eclipse is all black because of the name? (Though that doesn't make sense from her lineage...BR dad, BA mom). If so, Eclipse bred to a nice Black Australorp would produce 3/4 Australorp black chicks both genders as you won't have barring to contend with but would have to wait to figure sex. Continue to just line breed back to the BA rooster your best daughter pullets. I did this with a nice double laced Barnevelder rooster over a red hen and by 2nd generation was getting nice patterns and Barney looking birds. You don't have patterning to deal with. It will be mostly conformation you are looking for with you BA. BR and BA aren't that far off from each other in body type. You aren't trying to remove crests, leg feathers, muffs, etc. You might be pleased with the first generation, definitely by 2nd.

If Eclipse is barred, which she should be if full BR dad over BA, then you have sex linking! You will get 3/4 BA barred males and all black girls. Even better. You'll know what you have immediately. As before, breed the best black girls back and continue.

Again, I say it will take only a couple of generations at most to have some nice birds through line back breeding that look fully BA if you choose a very nice rooster. As said, you might be pleased with some from the first generation. Only line breed if you have strong healthy animals with no deformities like wry neck or tail.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

...and you won't have to deal with different ear lobe color or egg color.

BA and BR have the same color ear lobes (red) and lay brown eggs.

Just get a really nice looking, good tempered Black Australorp rooster, and you should have a nice flock of BA birds fairly quickly.

Good luck.
LofMc

 

[Leilukka]

...and you won't have to deal with different ear lobe color or egg color.

BA and BR have the same color ear lobes (red) and lay brown eggs.

Just get a really nice looking, good tempered Black Australorp rooster, and you should have a nice flock of BA birds fairly quickly.

Good luck.
LofMc

Thank you! Sounds exciting. I'll look for a nice BA rooster then! This really gives me comfort because mama hen BA just died from what we guess must have been an opposum. We found her today.

Well, Eclipse is still alive *knock on wood* and yes she is barred, looks like single barred. So, it's exciting that her chicks are sex-linked!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

She will be single barred as that's how the barring genetics work. Only full blooded barred males have double barring. Mixed males may be single hence my question about Eclipse. Barred females only have single barring.

Yes. A good well tempered BA rooster bred over Eclipse will get you to your goals., with first generation sex linking. Cull or rehome those boys as they will be single barred and will cause barring in breed backs....if you want black BA.

Sorry to hear about the possum. You need to capture it or shore up your coops or there will be more losses.

LofMc

 

[Leilukka]

Thank you. There was a vulnerability to the coop. We had converted our playscape swingset with slide to a chicken coop. There was an opening at the top of the slide for clean-out. No one thought any animal could climb up a slippery slide.

The following night (after our BA, Sky, died) I was staying up late talking to friends online. It was 1:53am when I heard squaks outside. I ran out there and said, "Hey, Hey" really loud to try and scare an opposum and I didn't stop yelling this. Our 2 silver laced wyandottes were scurring about on the ground so I put them back up into the rafters of the coop. As I was putting the second one back up there, I saw the gigantic opposum shoot out of the large coop through the open slide opening and jump onto an iron table that was placed right up against the coop and dash off over the fence. Terror dashed over me as I remembered that our barred rock hen Cute Cuddle Buns was in there. I quickly flew open the man door where she was. I saw her in a heap laying on the coop floor. My heart raced as I ran in to find a flashlight. Upon my return, there was Cute Cuddle Buns, alive and unharmed, sitting back on the perch in the large coop!

I then closed and secured the man door. And dashed to the iron table and moved it far away from the coop. I found some scrap wood boards in our building pile and wedged them in at the opening at the slide.

The next morning all of our chickens were alive and unharmed. I thanked God the opposum didn't get another one.

In hindsight its very clear. Our black australorp hen, Sky, was broody for a long time. Eggs were disappearing, and then she would gather more. She never got any to hatch because they disappeared, or there was the aftermath of a chick that didn't make it, or a not fertile egg expired. We thought it was a snake. Now. I realize it was an opposum. He would each night, I guess, jump on the iron table, go into the large coop where Sky sat on the eggs and eat the eggs while she slept. Unfortunately, Sky had had it with the failed hatch and burried the eggs that expired and she got out of her broody on her own. So, the opposum didn't find eggs that night and found her instead.

She was about to turn 6 years old in December. I was looking forward to finally having a hen live past 5 years on our homestead. We are all in deep mourning for our beautiful sweet Sky.