Chicken Math & Genetics Experiments in Southeast Missouri

[halefamily_flock]

Here are some photos of the hybrid chicks (Golden Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben rooster over Dominique hen). They will be 6 weeks old in a couple of days. The baby roo with the gray band tried to crow this morning. We have 6 females: 4 black, 2 black with gold flames. Of the 3 males, the one with pink band is developing a thick horned comb and the other 2 look like they will be rose combed.

 

[halefamily_flock]

Here are pictures of their parents, I also included a photo of our Gold Spitz female. I got the Gold Spitz trio by accident/luck, when Cackle Hatchery didn't have enough Hamburgs to fill my order & asked what I might want as a substitution. They are such beautiful birds, I want to cross them with all of my other favorites. It's hard to believe no one else is creating black sex link with these gorgeous birds...although I'm not expecting quite as much egg laying performance as a more traditional black sex link

 

[TwoCrows]

Here are some photos of the hybrid chicks (Golden Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben rooster over Dominique hen). They will be 6 weeks old in a couple of days. The baby roo with the gray band tried to crow this morning. We have 6 females: 4 black, 2 black with gold flames. Of the 3 males, the one with pink band is developing a thick horned comb and the other 2 look like they will be rose combed.View attachment 2338657View attachment 2338658View attachment 2338659View attachment 2338660View attachment 2338661

Here are pictures of their parents, I also included a photo of our Gold Spitz female. I got the Gold Spitz trio by accident/luck, when Cackle Hatchery didn't have enough Hamburgs to fill my order & asked what I might want as a substitution. They are such beautiful birds, I want to cross them with all of my other favorites. It's hard to believe no one else is creating black sex link with these gorgeous birds...although I'm not expecting quite as much egg laying performance as a more traditional black sex linkView attachment 2338663View attachment 2338664View attachment 2338665

Gorgeous!!

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Welcome to BYC!

Those breeds are gorgeous!!

 

[tribalacres]

Welcome to BYC and best wishes on your projects, sounds exciting!

 

[drumstick diva]

Wow you have some gorgeous birds, hope you will keep posting photos to show the outcomes of your breeding projects.

 

[Kiki]

I recently left city life & corporate America after 20+ years and moved to rural southeast Missouri, to restart/rebuild the family farm where my dad grew up. I got my first chickens --4 Dominique hens and a Rooster--from Cackle Hatchery in June 2019. I thought I might expand the flock in 2020 with the goal of rainbow eggs and a few more heritage breeds. In February 2020, I picked up 25 day-old chicks after having just hatched 5 from my original mini-flock. #ChickenMath?! By August, after re-homing a few extra roos, I had a gorgeous free-ranging flock of 26 hens: Dominique, Speckled Sussex, Welsummer, Cream Legbar, Olive Egger (Welsummer x Cream Legbar), Silver Spangled Hamburg, and Golden Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben and 4 roosters (Cream Legbar & Gold Spitzhauben). I noticed my Cream Legbar roosters getting quite a bit of action with the Dominiques in the chicken yard, so I thought I might hatch a few mint-eggers before Easter. I hadn't put much thought into a Dominique x Gold Spitz cross, but 9 of 10 chicks ended up being black sex link Dom-Spitz. The sex link chicks just turned 5 weeks old and are ridiculously cool. 4 pullets are solid black, 2 are black with gold flames, the cockerels are barred with black backsides and green eyes, all 9 of them have chicken mohawks. I can't wait to see whether the girls end up with rose or horned combs, or some sort of blend, and what color eggs they lay (I'm expecting cream/tinted?). One of my cockerels has a horned comb and the other 2 look like they're growing rose combs. After the surprise black chicks hatched and inspired me to do a little chicken genetics research, I'm now officially hooked. I have plans to setup at least 2 fenced areas next spring so I can pair my roos more intentionally with the hens I want to cross. At a minimum, I want to try out a blue-egg black sex link (Gold Spitz Roo x Cream Legbar hen). Aspirationally, I want to create a blue egg layer, that breeds true, with horned or rose comb. Looking forward to connecting with others in the community with similar interests and experiments going on.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[halefamily_flock]

Wow you have some gorgeous birds, hope you will keep posting photos to show the outcomes of your breeding projects.

Thank you! I will do. Here are a couple photos of the only chick in the last hatch fathered by a Cream Legbar rooster. I'm debating whether I should hatch more Dominique x Legbar F1 chicks in the spring, to select for egg color, or just breed this guy back to the Cream Legbar hens and see what happens. Not sure if I have the patience of a real breeder lol.

 

[DobieLover]

Thank you! I will do. Here are a couple photos of the only chick in the last hatch fathered by a Cream Legbar rooster. I'm debating whether I should hatch more Dominique x Legbar F1 chicks in the spring, to select for egg color, or just breed this guy back to the Cream Legbar hens and see what happens. Not sure if I have the patience of a real breeder lol. View attachment 2340173View attachment 2340174

Pretty boy!

 

[Newyorkrita]

Would love to see and hear some updates. The birds are gorgeous.