Cross breeding?

[tiffrosef]

I am going to be getting a rooster soon, as of this moment my flock is incredibly varied. I have 14 birds and 12 different breeds. I had planned on getting a rooster (surprisingly none of the babies I got from my local feed store have turned out to be roos) and breeding my own babies next year. When I mentioned that at the local feed store the gentleman there strongly suggested against it. He said that often times cross breed chickens have a lot of issues. To me it seems like it'd be the opposite, genetic diversity is typically good. Was he saying that so that I would continue to get chicks there or has anyone actually had issues with cross breeding their birds before?

 

[Michael OShay]

It depends on the particular crossbreeds; it can go either way. Some of them are either hardier, or better layers (such as Black and Red Sex Links), or both than either parent breed. Others (such as Cornish X Rocks) grow faster than either parent breed, but are subject to all kinds of health problems. What kind of rooster are you thinking about getting, and what kind of hens are you going to cross him with?

 

[LRH97]

I have had plenty of cross breeds. In fact, one of the roos I have now is a cross and he is one of the best roos I have ever had. There is nothing bad about them, except you obviously can't have pure bred offspring. If you're not particular about breed, then having a few crosses is just fine! Just beware if you keep quite a few chicks and breed them with the same roo (their father), you could have problems with inbreeding down the road if you were to hatch more chicks. Certain things (like egg production) will depend on the bird and breed you cross though.

 

[tiffrosef]

For the hens I have 2 welsummers, 1 rhode island red, 1 new hampshire red, 1 buff orpington, 1 barred rock, 1 cali white, 1 white brahma, 1 delaware, 1 balack australorp, 1 silver laced wyandotte, and 2 silver sebrights. The silver laced wyandotte might be a male, if so that'd be my roo. If not I was thinking Australorp or maybe a Welsummer roo if I can find one.

 

[dheltzel]

Definitely get a Welsummer roo, they are gorgeous and mild-mannered (at least mine are). Plus, you can the hatch pure Welsummers from the dark eggs, or mixed breeds from the lighter eggs.

Where are you? I am in SE PA and would give you a Welsummer roo if you are close by.

 

[tiffrosef]

I'm in Jefferson county WA

 

[dheltzel]

I hope you can find a rooster locally. This is a good time of year to get one cheap or free. You should ask on the WA state thread here, and also search on Craigslist.

 

[Michael OShay]

For the hens I have 2 welsummers, 1 rhode island red, 1 new hampshire red, 1 buff orpington, 1 barred rock, 1 cali white, 1 white brahma, 1 delaware, 1 balack australorp, 1 silver laced wyandotte, and 2 silver sebrights. The silver laced wyandotte might be a male, if so that'd be my roo. If not I was thinking Australorp or maybe a Welsummer roo if I can find one.

I would suggest getting a Rhode Island Red or Production Red rooster. If you cross him with your Barred Rock hen, you will get Black Sex Link chicks, and you know from hatching which gender they are (males will be black with a white spot on top of their heads, and females will be solid black). Also, if your Silver Laced Wyandotte turns out to be a hen, you can breed your red rooster with her and get Red Sex Link chicks (newly hatched males will be whitish, and newly hatched females will be reddish). Not only will it take the guesswork out of the gender of your chicks, but the Sex Links are egg laying machines (better than either parent breed). Whatever breed of rooster you decide to get, good luck with your flock.