Have I made a dumb mistake?

[2boxers]

We have silkies who are broody almost all the time, so I was letting them hatch out a few eggs at a time. I have several different breeds of hen-SLW, 3 EEs, two BR, and an Austrolorp. I was using their eggs, which were all fertilized by a RIR. I got some cool looking birds, too!

Well, a local backyard couper has told me that I am not going to get good meat birds or eggers out of my crosses. Is he right? My RIR x Barred Rock will not lay well? I would think it would, given the prolific layers both breeds are?

Did I mess up?

 

[ChooksChick]

Your RIR x Barred Rock should result in a Black Sex Link, one of the most prolific layers possible.

It all depends on the parentage, but I think if you mix breeds that have qualities you're looking for you get those qualities...that's how new breeds are made! Once they breed true, anyway.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Edited to correct for my keyboard dropping letters...blast it!!

 

[2boxers]

Our BRx RIR netted us two birds that look like barred rocks. The black SLW eggs gave us birds that look like GLWs. The EE x RIR eggs gave us birds that are mixed white and red. They are mottled looking. I love them all-they are very different looking! However, I need the eggs, too, for giving them to family and friends.

 

[ChooksChick]

Weird! Are you sure about the parentage?

This is the description on Feathersite.



Both Red and Black Sex-Links use a red male for the father. Either a Rhode Island Red or a New Hampshire may be used.

Black Sex-Links are produced using a Barred Rock as the mother. Both sexes hatch out black, but the males have a white dot on their heads. Pullets feather out black with some red in neck feathers. Males feather out with the Barred Rock pattern along with a few red feathers. Black Sex-Links are often referred to as Rock Reds.


Either way, I think if the parents are of good laying stock you ought to end up with good layers.

Can anyone else out there vouch for these crosses' egg-laying ability?

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

To get a black sex link, doesn't the barred rock have to be the hen and the RIR a roo? I am thinking I read that it doesn't work the other way, but I could be wrong. Which one of yours was the roo?

I have a black sex link that was sold to us by "accident" with some barred rock chicks. I think the RIR roo was given access to the BR hen by mistake. I love my BSL pullet. She is a big fluffy girl and we look forward to the eggs that she will be laying very soon.

Here is her picture, but she is bigger and has prettier feathers now. I need a new picture of her.

 

[2boxers]

My second hatch, all I hatched out where brown eggs. My brown egg layers are a barred rock, a wyandote, and an austrolorp. All my other girls that are laying right now are giving green eggs. My roo is the RIR. I'm going to go back and look at the "baby" pics and see if I see any white spots on any heads, but I do not remember seeing any.

I do have two beautiful youngsters who are almost completely black but have stunning red feathers on their chests. I wonder if they would be the progeny of my BR x RIR?

Who knew genetics were so interesting?

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

If they look similar to the one in the picture above, they are probably BSL pullets. If they have a barred pattern on some of their feathers, they are a roo if I remember correctly. All I have experience with is the pullets because I got the one above by accident. I love her! We no longer have the barred rocks, but this girl will be in our egg layer flock. She gets along so well with any chicken we put in the pen with her and she is our champion bug catcher!

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

Maybe you should post pictures here? We could help you guess.

 

[ChooksChick]

I agree, I don't think it's supposed to work with the Barred Rock as sire.

I will be able to tell you what that looks like very soon, as I just hatched one of those under my broody BR! The friend who provided the eggs only has 3 adults, a BR roo, and BR and RIR hens. I have one that looks like a BR, and one that looks identical, but has red feathering in the cheeks:

RIR momma:

BR momma:

We'll know more about how they feather out in a few weeks!

 

[GAchick]

According to "Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds", by Carol Ekarius. "Hybrids are not a specific breed but a cross of known breeds. Because of hybrid vigor (the tendencyof crosses to perform better), they are usually developed and marketed by commercial companies." It further goes on to say "Hybrids tend to lay more eggs or produce a larger carcass more quickly, so people who are interested in production traits usually choose them. However, the pure breeds are much more colorful and interesting. Keeping pure breeds helps maintain agricultural diversity, and many of these breeds have traits that are valuable for small-scale producers, such as good foraging ability and broodiness."