Crazy Crossbreeding. Tips?

[Omniskies]

We're still all stoked about our Dorkings coming in, but for whatever reason we have to still play the "what if?" game. The good version, not the worrisome version. You know, "what if we crossed Dorking roosters with..."

So that's where we are. I'd like to buy a handful of pullets from different breeds and raise them with our Dorking order, then cross those pullets to a Dorking rooster and see what we get.

Dorkings are duel purpose and we like big-bodied birds, they lay tinted eggs and have very short legs. The Dorkings we're getting are silver greys but color doesn't matter on the chicks.

So what would you suggest crossing one with for fun? Are there any other "long bodied" or low to the ground breeds out there? Any thoughts on the breeds we're currently considering?

Our ideas:

Silver Leghorns (Egg Production)
Wyandottes (Body type/color)
Sussex (Egg production/color)
Orpington (Body type/personality)
Faverolle (For fun)
White Rock (Rapid growth)
Easter Egger (Colored eggs

If any of the chicks turn out exceptional we may start up a whole new line and breed them back to a different Dorking rooster until we get the new traits in with the old genetics (eight generations). Since that's a really long-term goal we want to cover all the traits (or colors

we may want to breed in right at the start.

Thanks in advance.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

If you will just keep breeding back to dorkings, they would be dorkings. There are several colors of dorkings out there in both rose and single comb. If you want a longer body, cross to a phoenix, their body is somewhat longer. For crossing to a faverolle, they are similar in type and all, one just has feathered legs and a beard and muffs. If you cross to an EE, you can get any color, the chicks will have beard and muffs, and a pea comb. That is also another thing to keep in mind is what is dominant and what is recessive. The wyandottes will give you rose combs, leghorns will give white earlobes, faverolles and EE will give beard and muff, faverolles will also give feathered feet. It is always nice to see colorful barnyard birds.

 

[Omniskies]

Thanks for the reminder. I was reading about dominant and recessive traits in chickens a few days ago and for whatever reason my brain didn't connect that reading with this project.

In the end I would like to have a purebred Dorking line, a mutt line with the traits specific to our lifestyle (we don't intend to make a new breed, just a personal strain, if that makes sense), and a 99.8% purebred Dorking line from the mutt x Dorking crosses.

I know this will take an excrutiatingly long time and multiple breeding pens (both of which we have barring any disasters) but it sounds like it will be a lot of fun to try out.

Also, thanks for the breed breakdown. I had never even considered the Phoenix and didn't know they had a longer body type. That could come in handy.

If anyone else has any suggestions, be it because the breed is incredibly sweet, quiet, docile, large or whichever, definitely post here. It'll help me place my order with the hatchery

PS: We thought about getting a few Japanese bantams and slowly adding them to the mix. Does anyone know how persistant their legal gene for short legs might be? ie. If we crossed the Japanese to Hamburgs/Fayoumis, then crossed the short legged chicks into another breed would we have to worry about a low hatch rate?

Thanks again!

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I am a member at this site http://www.the-coop.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi the people there can help with any and all of your genetic questions.

 

[draye]

Quote:
So did you ever do this breeding?
If so, how did it turn out?
Are you still doing it?