Greatest number of variations with fewest number of roosters?

[aspenangler]

Hello,
I am looking for suggestions to get the greatest variety of bird breeds/colors in my flock with the fewest number of roosters.

For example: If I had a Blue Birchen Marans Rooster x a Blue Marans hen I would get blacks, blues and splash.....correct?

Then if I bred that same Blue Birchen Marans Rooster x a Cream Legbar I would get Olive Eggers? Or would that only result from Blue Birchen Marans Rooster x a True Amerecauna hen to get an Olive Egger?

These are just what I had in mind. I would love to hear any suggestions or thoughts that you might have. Would I gain anything by having an Amerecauna Rooster or a different type of Marans Rooster, or an additional rooster of another breed?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

FUN!

I'm not sure about the Birchen gene... I do like Marans roosters. I keep both (BBS)Marans and Ameraucana, in addition to others. I keep only breeds I actually like but also will feed my family. That puts legbars farther down my list... but if their laying is betting than AM and that is important to you... So other than getting some variety do you have other goals for your flock? More eggs, good table bird, best selling chicks, simple eye candy on pasture or in the basket, lap birds, good foragers or able to tolerate confinement?

You can use either legbar or Ameraucana to get OE... Both lay blue eggs. You might even be able to use Super Blue Egg Layer.

BUT with the legbar you could get sex linked chicks... or for that many any barred or cuckoo female to a solid dark male.

Yes, it's also true that you can get BBS from a Blue X Blue.

I keep two rooster for each breed and variety that I keep... because if something happens like accident or illness I have a back up. I keep one stag pen with all my boys in it. I move grow out in there as well while they are still young enough because they will try mating before processing time arrives and we eat our extras, gotta have a plan. I also have a hen pen with breeds that lay different colored eggs and swap in the rooster of the breed I wanna hatch and collect only those colored eggs. Limited space requires imagination when ya got chicken math on the brain!

What do currently have... or are you working with something? Can't wait to see all the great suggestions people make.

Here are a couple charts so you can look up the differences between breeds easily when you are considering if they will work well for you...
https://livestockconservancy.org/images/uploads/docs/pickachicken.pdf

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

 

[aspenangler]

WOW! Thank you for you input EggSighted4Life. My goals other than variety are:
1) Best Selling Chicks (something different than the local TSC offers every year).
2) Egg color variety (something different and unique for sale at the farmers market). Also the possibility of using in a local fair or show.
3) Easy going, hardy and birds that I just like.
4) Table fare

I have the same plan to have a hen pen with breeds that lay different colored eggs and swap in different roosters!

I would like to focus on a couple of breeding pens eventually for specific birds, but in the meantime I would like to add to my free ranging/ hen pen egg producers that I have now.

 

[aspenangler]

Any more suggestions for good combinations?