Cross-breeding Hatch

[Three Little Bunnies]

I would like to hatch eggs eventually. I have 13 standard hens. If I bred them to a Bantam rooster, what would happen? I know the looks (color, clean-legged, etc) depends on the breeds.

 

[Offshoreorca]

I would like to hatch eggs eventually. I have 13 standard hens. If I bred them to a Bantam rooster, what would happen? I know the looks (color, clean-legged, etc) depends on the breeds.

I had LF cochin hens (partridge, buff, blue, silver-laced, etc.) bred by white silkie roo and got some beautiful chicks with mixed traits from them. The silkie roo over the silver-laced hen produced a beautiful silver-laced chick with the fluffiest feet, yellow legs/skin, but five toes. From what I've been reading, they should a bit more take after the hen for adult and egg size.

 

[Offshoreorca]

Several took more after the silkie and some more after the cochin, but you could tell the crosses from the pure Cochins (as I have a cochin roo as well) by comb type, number of toes, and in most cases skin colour when they hatched.

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

Any idea what traits a Standard White Leghorn hen x Bantam Partridge Cochin roo would have?

 

[Offshoreorca]

Any idea what traits a Standard White Leghorn hen x Bantam Partridge Cochin roo would have?

I think the chick colouring would be mixed (depends on the dominance or recessiveness of a specific colouration, but as neither the cochin or leghorn have a really dominant colour, I'm not suite sure - ask the chicken genetics experts about it as there is a section on the forum that deals with this), and there would be light to medium feathering on the legs. Very likely good layers - we have 2 cochin/brown layer cross hens that we got when we started our coop and they produced really well.

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

Thanks!

 

[SharW75]

As far as size goes, they would probably end up somewhere between the two parents. We have many LF hens and only bantam roosters (they're easier on the girls ), and the chicks we've gotten have all been a mix of parents, size-wise. Our biggest is a cockerel named Smokey. His mom is an olive egger and his dad is a bantam red cochin. He's probably closer to the size of his mom, but nowhere near the size of a LF rooster.

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

I appreciate your tips! (And stories)