????Buff Orpington x Rhode Island Red combos????

[SunnySideUpGUAM]

Hey guys i gotta 3 part question for the board!

1) What do you get when you cross a BO roo x RIR hen?

2) What do you get when you cross a RIR roo x BO hen?

3) What do you get when you cross their offspring? (BOxRIR)x(RIRxBO) OR (RIRxBO)X(BOxRIR)?

Im just wondering if I would get a better dual purpose bird. Roosters for meat and hens for eggs. Will i get anything better than the utility/production strains out there?

 

[junebuggena]

1. and 2. - Offspring would look like Production Reds, but with white skin. Slightly faster maturing than a typical Buff Orpington and pullets will be better layers. Males will be a bit larger than either parent breed.

3. Offspring will look like Production Reds or darker-than-average Buff Orpingtons. Second generation crosses do not lay quite as well as first generation birds, and they don't grow/develop quite as fast.

You aren't going to get something that lays as well as hatchery red or black sexlinks, and you're not going to get something comparable to Cornish Crosses.

 

[SunnySideUpGUAM]

nice thanks that saves me a bunch of time! Do you think the first generation cross will be comparable to the RSL or BSL as layers?

 

[junebuggena]

They won't quite reach the productivity levels of hatchery red or black sexlinks. They are production breed crosses. The Orpington is going to bring down their ability a bit. You'll get something that lays just about as well as a RIR, and better than the Orpington.

 

[SunnySideUpGUAM]

Thanks!