Cross Breeding??

[mamato8chicks]

This is not my intentions what so ever, we ended up with a bantam rooster and hen out of a straight run random pick with 6 confirmed pullet hens. Is it possible to crossbreed by accident with the rooster and other non bantam hens I have??

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

If the birds are housed together, yes, a rooster will gladly mate any hen that will let him.....regardless of whether either is bantam or large fowl.

 

[mamato8chicks]

If the birds are housed together, yes,  a rooster will gladly mate any hen that will let him.....regardless of whether either is bantam or large fowl.

Is it dangerous? Should I take steps to prevent??

 

[donrae]

Nope. since your rooster is the little guy, he might not have great fertility with a big hen, but he'll sure have fun trying

If you had a bantam hen and a large rooster, you might need to be concerned, but that's not the case here.

If you wanted to hatch eggs next spring, you could set just the d'uccle hens' eggs and get pure bred birds, or you could set the big girl's eggs and have mixed breed babies. They'd make cute little mixes, just be aware any hatch is statistically 50% males, so you'd need to have a plan for them.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Nope. since your rooster is the little guy, he might not have great fertility with a big hen, but he'll sure have fun trying

If you had a bantam hen and a large rooster, you might need to be concerned, but that's not the case here.

If you wanted to hatch eggs next spring, you could set just the d'uccle hens' eggs and get pure bred birds, or you could set the big girl's eggs and have mixed breed babies. They'd make cute little mixes, just be aware any hatch is statistically 50% males, so you'd need to have a plan for them.

X 2 - with the bantam on the male side there isn't anything to worry about safety wise and there is no need to try to prevent mating.