ID Rooster

[cbascom]

Can anyone tell me what kind of rooster this is? He is a little over 2 years old. The girl I bought him from said he was EE and bantam. But it turns out she was not a very reliable person!

 

[chickencoop789]

Old English Game...for sure

 

[cbascom]

Thanks, I was wondering if that could be it. He is very flighty, but not at all aggressive with us. He is our only rooster, though. He is very kind to the hens, but I have not seen him mate one since his favorite died about 5 months ago. What would be the pros/cons to using him to breed EE hens? My goal is dual purpose birds.

 

[chickencoop789]

Sorry, I cant answer. I'm not too familiar with those breeds to give you breeding specifics

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thanks, I was wondering if that could be it. He is very flighty, but not at all aggressive with us. He is our only rooster, though. He is very kind to the hens, but I have not seen him mate one since his favorite died about 5 months ago. What would be the pros/cons to using him to breed EE hens? My goal is dual purpose birds.

I agree he is Black Breasted Red OEGB.

I'm not sure what effective dual purpose you would get by breeding him with EE hens, at least not anytime soon, at least not with my limited genetic understanding.

EE's are mutts, so it would depend upon what breeds they've got in their background...but they are not generally considered dual purpose...although a number of them are heavy enough for meat and some do lay decently well to work as that. They are more desired for their colored eggs and colored plummage.

Games are generally not good layers nor meat birds. They are beautiful show birds today; fighting birds in the past. Typically there isn't enough meat on them to make it worthwhile. And I would never put games in my flock to directly increase egg production. (I have a game/EE mix that is a pretty little bird, but she will never be a good layer for me...her eggs are too small, she's too flighty, and she does not lay often. I keep her as a pet mostly...one of my few ornamental grain eaters. On the other hand, I have an EE/Wyandotte that is a pretty bird, calmer, and is turning into a decent layer...she is also quite a bit heavier than my EE/game, so could be used for meat...typical of the Wyandotte in her.)

So while you could get some very pretty birds, some really odd looking birds, and could get some decent layers and maybe some that had some meat on them, it would not be my choice for immediately gaining a dual purpose bird, ie expecting the chicks from this roo and your EE hens to be dual purpose immediately....unless you plan to emulate Nettie Metcalf and her efforts to develop the Buckeye breed. She began with a Barred Rock/Cochin 1st generation (big lazy birds) and then added a Red Game Roo to lighten them and give them endurance. Her next generations gave an assortment of oddballs, but also the base red birds that she kept 2 mating pairs from, Then over the next generations she continued to refine the line to get her marvelous Buckeyes we know today. Calm, friendly birds that are excellent dual purpose birds (http://www.americanbuckeyeclub.org/About_Us.html)

If that is what you are planning...post photos as you develop the line...it should be fascinating to watch, and i wish you the best of luck.

Lady of McCamley

 

[crowinncluckn]

I crossed the rooster in my avatar which I was told is a gamebird of some sort with an easter egger. ( Actually I had a hen go broody so I just stuck a handful of eggs that were layed that day under her which included two green EE eggs.) The EE/X pullets are not very big and lay very small olive colored eggs. They do lay 4 or 5 days out of the week, but like I said they are very small eggs. I am hoping the eggs will get larger as the pullets mature. One has a pea comb and yellow legs and one has a straight comb and green legs. They are pretty though.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

crossing a EE and your rooster will likely not result in a dual purpose bird. two smaller chickens will not give you a bigger one. And neither breeds are great layers. You could just buy chickens that are dual purpose birds already. Mutts do not breed true, so you are just going to end up with a lot of variety.

 

[donrae]

crossing a EE and your rooster will likely not result in a dual purpose bird. two smaller chickens will not give you a bigger one. And neither breeds are great layers. You could just buy chickens that are dual purpose birds already. Mutts do not breed true, so you are just going to end up with a lot of variety.

x2

 

[dretd]

Hmmm, sorry guys but I am not seeing a single comb there so I am going to say that although he looks OEGish there is a pea comb in the background somewhere.

 

[cbascom]

I don't really plan to build by flock with the EE hens, they are just what I have right now. I have not yet decided on a dual purpose breed, although I am leaning towards Dorkings.
I am just curious about this rooster, probably won't ever try to hatch any eggs from my EE hens, although I did just get 6 more pullets. LOL.
So maybe the girl was right, the rooster could be EE (they have a pea comb, right?) and bantam game? He is kinda small, about same size as the EE hens.