Hybrid sexing

[hellfire]

I’ve hatched some more chicks this year but for the first time I’ve used my barred Plymouth Rock roo to a few mixed selection hybrid hens. I took some eggs from my Marans, RIR, and laced Wyandotte as was curious to see what I could get and add to my laying ladies (hopefully). They hatched today and I’m curious if they will still be able to be sexed by colour. I have a feeling because of the Roos barred gene they can’t be defiantly sexed. I have a mix of yellow with a few small black spots, black chicks with some yellow tips to wings. Anyone crossed these before?
Aldo had a nightmare as mum left the nest before the rest of her eggs hatched. They were cold and pipped but to my amazement still chirping!!! Whipped them out as had a broody brooding shavings. A few hours later she’d crushed two that had nearly hatched so they were dead and the one that only had a small pip had made no progress as the egg had got cold and membrane tough. Carefully with warm water, cotton buds and tweezers I got it out and now currently am drying him/her in the incubator as the others with mum were moving about in the pen so she wouldn’t warm this one. I’m hoping I can slip it under mum in the night once it’s fluffed up.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Sorry about the mishap with brooding. I hope that works out.

As to your sexing question, no you cannot sex these as you used a barred rooster. All sexes will be indeterminable by chick down or pattern. To get sexing, you must take a barred hen with an unbarred rooster, preferably red based.

But I am also questioning that you have only him as your rooster or that he is a pure Barred Rock.

If he were pure, all chicks would be black with head spot to represent the single barring gene they carry to grow up to be black ground covered and single (light or sparse even) barring pattern.

Now I believe he isn't pure and has only 1 barring gene if he is your only roo. That would make sense as you would then have 50% chance of chicks getting barring and 50% chance of chicks not getting barring....but both sexes.

That would explain why half of your chicks are yellow down (likely from the RIR mix if she is truly red ground color) with some black spotting, and why half your chicks are black (look closely there will be a white dot or streak). The black chicks could be from any of the moms as the barring gene would create that.

I am still a little surprised that you didn't get all black chicks as anytime I've used a clearly barred rooster (mixed or otherwise) I either get black with white head dot (both sexes) or all black chicks (both sexes). The black ground color has always shown dominant for me.

My thoughts.
LofMc

 

[hellfire]

Thanks for your reply. I too was surprised to see yellow chicks and makes me wonder if he is pure or if somehow my bantam Roos mated my full size females which would be a first for me as they’ve never produced fertile eggs before. He came from eggs I bought that were ‘apparently’ pure. It was a shame i couldn’t find any unrelated females or eggs as was hoping to hatch some pure Plymouth barred rock but they are hard to get here. It’s funny as the barred rock eggs I bough from the lady had a single yellow chick hatch and she said she must of mixed up the eggs. I never got to see that develop as I had a few chicks pass very early on which was a first for me. I posted last year about that.
You confirm my suspicions anyway with the sexing and genes. It will be interesting to see them develop and colour up. The black ones do have a yellow dot yes just like my apparent pure barred hatch the other year.
Thanks

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Bantam roos are often quite capable of creating fertile eggs, so that is a real possibility and can describe what happened.

As to this barred roo producing yellow chicks, I remain very skeptical. Generally roosters with black ground color and white barring produce black chicks with white barring, both sexes. If he is only 1 gene barring, then 50% black, with some possible other color bleed through, both sexes, and 50% barred.

My experience and understanding of genes, but mixed breed genes can surprise you especially breeding hybrid to hybrid.

LofMc

 

[hellfire]

Bantam roos are often quite capable of creating fertile eggs, so that is a real possibility and can describe what happened.

As to this barred roo producing yellow chicks, I remain very skeptical. Generally roosters with black ground color and white barring produce black chicks with white barring, both sexes. If he is only 1 gene barring, then 50% black, with some possible other color bleed through, both sexes, and 50% barred.

My experience and understanding of genes, but mixed breed genes can surprise you especially breeding hybrid to hybrid.

LofMc

I’ve had the bantam roo for a fare few years now long before my barred and he’s never fertilised a single of my ladies eggs so I can’t see he did unless having a new larger roo made him up his game .
Genetics can be funny and complicated at times. For certain the next lot I want to hatch I’ll separate my bantam in a breeding pen for a few weeks. I’ll pop some ladies in with him too and shall see as I’m very curious.
Still I’m just glad I got some lovely chicks and be interesting to watch them develop.
Managed to instal the chick I helped back under mum in the dark too.