cross breed chickens

[RoostRootFarm]

I just ordered RIR roosters Delaware hens and barred rock hens for sex link chicks. Am I go on a get the same high producing chickens that the hatcheries do?

 

[Ridgerunner]

What you will get is sex links that produce a lot like their parents produce. With most hatchery RIR’s, Delawares, and Barred Rocks, that is pretty good. But what many people do not understand is that you can get two different kinds of sex links from hatcheries.

The ones from crossed dual purpose chickens like RIR, Delawares, and Barred Rocks will be a lot like their parents in size, productivity, and behaviors. Some hatcheries offer those.

The other kind are the commercial hybrid egg layers. They are also like their parents but their parents are not standard breeds. They are highly specialized flocks that when you cross them with the right other flock you get the smaller chickens that lay a lot of fairly large eggs with a frequency the commercial egg laying operations like. They are not as big so they are more efficient at converting feed to eggs as the other kind. They don’t need to use as much of what they eat to support larger bodies. Some hatcheries offer these.

Some hatcheries offer both kinds.

There is nothing magical or mythical about chickens being sex links making them produce better. The quality of their parents determines how well they produce.

If you take a RIR rooster from a flock that lays well and put him over Barred Rock hens from a flock that lays well, you will get black sex links where the pullets lay well. If you take a Barred Rock rooster from the same flock and put him over a RIR hen from the same flock you will not get a sex link but you will still get a pullet that lays just as well. It has nothing to do with them being sex links, it depends on their parents.