'Each Shall Seek His Own Kind'?

[bubba1358]

So I have some babies in the incubator right now, and I'm hoping to, generally speaking, sustain the population once I set them out to pasture. They'll be penned and cooped together, with the sheep, in a movable coop/electric netting system. I have some Jersey Giants, Australorps, Rhode Island Reds, and Red Stars.
I was wondering if, come breeding time, they will 'seek their own kind,' if you will.
Can anyone advise on this? Do breeds 'stick together'? Or should I just go ahead and expect some 'Jersey Island' hatchlings?
Thanks!

 

[LottieLou]

You will have "Barnies"! They do seek out the same breed Expect some mixed chicks, it is fun to guess how they will turn out.

 

[farmin4fun]

I have never noticed any of my roosters being particular about who they mate with. I had one attempt to mate with a duck. Roosters typically will mate with any hen available, sometimes even by force. If you have two roosters of different breeds you will likely end up with a few mutts so to speak. You have a bout a 50/50 chance of getting a pure bred unless you separate them to ensure otherwise. Best of luck!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I have never noticed any of my roosters being particular about who they mate with. I had one attempt to mate with a duck. Roosters typically will mate with any hen available, sometimes even by force. If you have two roosters of different breeds you will likely end up with a few mutts so to speak. You have a bout a 50/50 chance of getting a pure bred unless you separate them to ensure otherwise. Best of luck!

It's most likely that both your roosters will mate with all the hens. Even if one rooster "claims" some as his property, the other will mate them when his back is turned. And since hens store sperm for up to three weeks, and store sperm from multiple roosters, you could actually have a clutch of eggs from just one hen that hatches chicks from both roosters.

We call ours Barnyard Specials. I can usually tell which of our roosters is the daddy of which chick, though--I have a Marans and an Ameraucana. So the Marans babies have feathered legs, and the Ameraucana's babies are all Easter Eggers with pea combs and muffs. We used to have a Rhode Island Red, too--so if they didn't show feathered legs or muffs, we said they were his.

 

[bubba1358]

We call ours Barnyard Specials.

I love that! Thanks for the replies, everyone. Sound like we'll have a nice eclectic 2nd generation.

 

[Blue]

Yep, rooster generally aren't that picky in my experience. I have noticed that roosters do seem to have favorite hens, but those hens could be any breed at all.