Crossbreeding dual purpose breeds for sustainable flock

[HomesteadNowhere]

Could she be a White Wyandotte? White feathers, rose comb is wide and flat-ish, yellow legs, lays brown eggs.

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/white_wyandottes.html

I looked up comb pics again. Hers doesn't go back and out like the rose comb pics I'm seeing. Based on these pics it's bumpy like a rose comb but short and does not stick out like a strawberry comb. But it looks like if it made of putty and someone flattened it to her head like a thumbprint.
https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/feed-health/types-of-chicken-combs/

She came from the brown layer mix. Her eggs are of the lightest, more like cream maybe than brown.

 

[NatJ]

I looked up comb pics again. Hers doesn't go back and out like the rose comb pics I'm seeing. Based on these pics it's bumpy like a rose comb but short and does not stick out like a strawberry comb. But it looks like if it made of putty and someone flattened it to her head like a thumbprint.
https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/feed-health/types-of-chicken-combs/

That article is showing a rooster's rose comb, but hens tend to have much smaller ones. I see they did that for most of the other comb types, too.

https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wyand/BRKWyand.html
Here's a page with lots of photos of Wyandottes. Does her comb look like any of those hens?

She came from the brown layer mix. Her eggs are of the lightest, more like cream maybe than brown.

If she was in the brown layer mix, then the hatchery thinks her breed lays brown eggs

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

That article is showing a rooster's rose comb, but hens tend to have much smaller ones. I see they did that for most of the other comb types, too.

https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wyand/BRKWyand.html
Here's a page with lots of photos of Wyandottes. Does her comb look like any of those hens?


If she was in the brown layer mix, then the hatchery thinks her breed lays brown eggs

Ya it does look like those hen pics, but hers still doesn't go back that much. But she's only just a year old so may be that too.

Haha, ya I just meant that's what I ordered so she should be one of those breeds, at least according to their hatchery stock. They all lay fairly light eggs but hers are very cream, not brown at all. Not expecting like dark marans eggs or anything, just funny the way they are all called brown eggs.

 

[NatJ]

Ya it does look like those hen pics, but hers still doesn't go back that much. But she's only just a year old so may be that too.

She is probably supposed to be a White Wyandotte, because all the other breeds that have white feathers and lay "brown" eggs have single combs. So I think a Wyandotte with a not-quite-right comb is more likely than something else with a more-wrong comb

Haha, ya I just meant that's what I ordered so she should be one of those breeds, at least according to their hatchery stock.

I agree, if they packed the box according to their own description, she should be one of the breeds they list as laying brown eggs.

They all lay fairly light eggs but hers are very cream, not brown at all. Not expecting like dark marans eggs or anything, just funny the way they are all called brown eggs.

Yes, descriptions of egg colors are sometimes a bit wrong.
I've had chickens that were supposed to lay "brown" eggs but really laid cream ones.
I've also had chickens that were supposed to lay "white" eggs and also laid cream ones.
So much for the variety I was expecting that year!

 

[Ridgerunner]

They all lay fairly light eggs but hers are very cream, not brown at all. Not expecting like dark marans eggs or anything, just funny the way they are all called brown eggs.

To a certain extent, eggs are either white or brown, blue or green. There can be a lot of variation in brown or green. There are a lot of different genes that contribute to the shade of brown. Some are dominant, some recessive. I believe some are what is called partially dominant and some only act if another certain gene is present. The different ways these genes can go together is what causes all the variation. Some people try to differentiate between tinted, cream, light, or dark, some don't.

If the person selecting which chickens get to breed uses egg shell color as a criteria the flock shell color can be pretty consistent. Each hatchery has its own people deciding which chickens get to breed and they can each have different criteria for that selection. Egg shell color is often not at the top of that list so you can get a lot of variation. My guess is that this is what is going on with yours. Most of the hens lay some shade of light brown but it's not something they maintain tight control over.

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

Feather leg chicks have much shorter wing feathers than the rest. No tail feathers yet.

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

Stripe chicks. All have start of tail feathers.
Bl-p has slightly greenish legs.
Bl-or has fairly greenish legs.

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

Light chipmunk stripe chicks. No tail feathers yet.
Or has slight pasty butt. Not sure what's up, I'm doing wet feed and mixed in yogurt. The brooder is good temp, not real hot. None others are having trouble.

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

Blonde chicks
6 have tail feathers starting.
5 do not have tail feathers starting. Which mostly are ones with the little short wing feathers too.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The past 7 days of eggs...

7 brahmas. 34 eggs.
Avg 4.86 eggs/wk/bird.

10 FR, 1 NH, 1 white. 49 eggs.
Avg 4 eggs/wk/bird.

4/7 is 14 days of collection. Estimated 166 eggs I can collect if they lay at the same rate. Of course loss to cracks, egg eating, overly dirty, odd shape,...

Today I grabbed the NH roo and put him in with the brahmas. They are quite smaller than him, the fertility rate may not be great if he is having a hard time reaching them. We'll see.

I'm trying to work out how to get the Bielefelder roo with the FR hens so I can get offspring and get rid of him and his bad attitude. I started rotating the caged hens with him but it's not a sustainable plan. I think after I set these eggs I'll leave the NH roo with the brahmas and the Bielefelder roo with the FR in the shaw. Putting the NH hen and white hen in the cages.
That will give him three weeks of covering them. Then the next hatch will be biel/FR offspring. And I'll either butcher him or sell him. And butcher the FR hens. I have reason to believe there will be plenty for shmaltz...
That would leave me with 7 brahmas, 1 NH, 1 white. I still don't know what the white is supposed to be, her comb is wide and flat-ish, yellow legs. On mcmurray site doesn't match anything. Whatever she is she has the wrong comb at least, who knows.

That's a great rate of lay for your Brahma. Mine are much closer to 3/5, rather than 5/7 - not much of a difference, but it adds up over the course of a year. The SLW might hit 5/7, but I suspect they split the difference at 2/3. Late start of lay and slow growth rates are part of why the only things I want from mine are pattern (and lighter egg color than my Comets). If I get some size in the next gen, its a bonus.