deleware X buckeye . . .

[Dustin Biery]

The only think I can see being helpful in sexlinking in this particular situation is raising the males and females seperately, and selling the females as laying hens. I think that would definately help to off-set some of the expense of raising for slaughter. JMHO

 

[walkswithdog]

Right now I'm looking at a delaware/partridge rock cross for meat - since that happens and I don't want to breed the progeny at all - I just like the last pretty red chicken with stripes.

But I'm growing some marans and will do that cross for a meat generation to see how that goes.

I don't like Cornish x either, so I have been toying with the results from Del to Rock and will do Del to Marans while I establish a small marans group here. All spares to the meat bird pen.

I like the weight and foraging skills of the Dels - so they're keepers and my starting point.

Since my breeder dels don't lay less than my hatchery birds - whether rocks or dels, that point is moot. Can't lay more than an egg a day in general.

So it's going in the right direction with some of the same consideration as your thoughts.

I want big healthy high foraging, dual birds. I'm beginning to suspect you can do that with dels alone but I like playing to see if you can eventually shave a couple or a few weeks off what I want for butchering weight on my culls. I hear marans grow to a butcher weight fairly quickly and are heavier breasted than some breeds. Worth checking out and a pretty project to boot - I'm doing it with GCMs.

 

[Krys109uk]

How about a proper Indian Game (known as cornish in US) crossed with another breed?
I used to breed some proper Indian Game, they were large, attractive, meaty & foraged well. Crosses of these are traditional meat crosses. But not the hybrids sold as cornish crosses.

 

[McSpin]

Quote:
I was responding to this statement she made

"If she combined them with hatchery Dels she'd be taking them down several notches in weight/breast/width development."

There was no "could be" or "sometimes". Just a statement suggesting that any any hatchery del would degrade them in weight/ width. I simply disagree. Lumping all hatchery dels into a lower quality is not right without having experience with all hatchery dels.

Since the OP has now stated they are breeding for meat, I think the cross will be a good one, regardless if a hatchery del is used. Possibly if the cross is to a good hatchery del, the results could be superior. Most hybrids have better growth than what goes into them anyway.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Quote:
thanks! yes that is exactly what I was thinking.
I already have laying hen breeds that I like very much so that's not a factor in my thinking right now.
I have Buckeyes and thougth they would be the answer to my meat needs, however they have not proved themselves to be hearty in my area. I LOVE their bodies, personalities, growth rate, foraging capablities, etc. I want to cross them with another large heritage breed (Delaware) and then when I get what I like consistantly, after a bit of experimenting, cross that offspring with a dark cornish (indian game) for the rate of gain factor.
So silly ol me opened a few big cans of worms saying "healthy" meaty and . . . hatchery vs purebred. I just reallywanted tokow the color I would get so that I could then plug that in with the dark cornish. LOL I am sorry for wasting so much of your time, you are so patient and I do apprecate it!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I'll start a different thread. This one was really just about what color and pattern I would get by crossing them with a Deleware.

 

[cgmccary]

Hello Katy:

I think the red Buckeye plumage will dominate in your first generation and you will have a pea comb as well. Here is a pic of a young pullet (at 3 months of age), Buckeye male X Easter Egger hen, I hatched a few years back-- she was a very prolific layer-- I gave her to a friend who wanted egg layers:

and a young cockerel from the same cross (at 3 months) (his pea comb was excellent):

and another close-up of him:

 

[Germaine_11.20]

The Buckeye look alot like a RIR. Do they have similar background

 

[cgmccary]

They are not related to each other but share some minor similarities in heritage (as do most of the American breeds). Both are dual purpose breeds but were created separate and independent of one another.

The RIR was created by crossing native mutts with Brown Leghorns, Cochins, Brahmas and Red Malays.

The Buckeye was created by crossing Barred Rock hens to a Buff Cochin Rooster, then a Black Breasted Game Fowl, probably of Asian descent, was top crossed over these hybrid pullets and the breed developed from there. The Buckeye has a pea-comb, small wattles, heavy bone structure, short beak and a dewlap between his wattles (all indicating an Aseel (Asil) or Cornish blood as the Asian Game)-- today's Buckeyes have an infusion of Dark Cornish in the not-so-distant past. It is not known for sure whether the originator used Cornish in the Buckeye's development (but again, no doubt that today's Buckeye has Cornish blood). The Buckeye was developed as a winter egg layer as well.

The RIR has a finer bone structure, no dewlap. a Single or Rosecomb, larger wattles. The Asian Game influence is not the heavier game like in the Buckeye. The RIR is less of a winter egg layer but is a better egg layer than the Buckeye generally (recall the Leghorn used in the RIR development)----The RIR is more rectangular in shape; the Buckeye is more square in shape. Note that Cochins were used in the development of most of the American breeds. IMHO, the Buckeye is a meatier bird.

 

[Pathfinders]

Never mind...