Dominique/Brown Leghorn Cross

[centrarchid]

gwhipps,

What is your purpose for making cross?

 

[gwhipps]

Quote:
I'll try to explain: I currently have (9) Dominiques and (2) Brown leghorns. All are about 5 weeks old. I think that what I want to do is absorb the brown leghorns genetic material into the dominique flock with the goal of a bigger egg and numerically more eggs. I want to retain as much Dominique type and traits as is possible. What do you think of this? Remember I'm a new egg and I am much in need of guidance. Thanks.

 

[centrarchid]

gwhipps,
I am no expert and muddling / learning as I go as well. What your are indicating is very similar to what I am setting although the rooster(s) for cross different. I also intend to improve egg production in a "dominiquish" bird, pull size down, harden and lengthen feathers as well as improve foraging capability.

 

[gwhipps]

centrarchid

Sounds like a noble cause you got there. I'm still not sure that I want crele. If you do then can you tell me why you want crele?

 

[centrarchid]

gwhipps,

I do not want crele, but rather for short-term will not select against it. As I understand the characteristics of the American dominique when it was in its heyday 150+ years ago, it was much more variable in terms of coloration although most had barring. The cuckoo color pattern was standardized as dominique competed with and was replaced by a composite breed it was used to create (barred plymouth rock).

 

[gwhipps]

Quote:
So back to my original question...and keeping stated goal in mind. Should I use the male Dom or the male BL or both.

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
Yes, you would need to breed your roos that were closest to the true crele pattern back the the pure Brown leghorn hens and it a couple generations you would start getting decent crele colored birds.

 

[gwhipps]

Thanks Clint

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
So back to my original question...and keeping stated goal in mind. Should I use the male Dom or the male BL or both.

I assume you will breeding back to pure dominique to restore dominique appearance. I will be making a single backcross into the best male dominiques I can get. This being done to retain the W (female coding) chromosome. The W chromosome might have some of the uniquely dominique traits you want to keep, so if female F1 offspring to be bred back into doms, then I would use dom as dam.

My opinion is to avoid making F1 x F1 matings to select back into your desired product unless you plan on working with very large numbers of brood stock.

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
So back to my original question...and keeping stated goal in mind. Should I use the male Dom or the male BL or both.

If you were wanting to keep the dominique traits as much as possible, then you would really only want to cross into the Leghorns once really, and I would use a dom roo on Leghorn hens, that should but the effiency of the offspring and retain most of the dom features ( all of the offspring would be barred and have rose combs ) Then I would breed back to the Doms if that is your goal. I was just throwing the crele in as a sugestion but if you did crele that would take you more towards leghorn birds and really the only thing you would retain from the Doms is the barring gene. And me personally with crele I think the roos look really good but the hens are really ugly so I personally wouldnt breed for crele but there are some who like the color in both sexes and would breed for it so I just wanted to point you in that direction incase you did like it but it seems like what you are wanting would be about the second generation of breeding Dom roo to Leghorn hens and then probably a Dom roo to those female offspring and I think that should probably get you were you want if you want Domish birds and not crele.