We're raising Marans, Bresse and my projects. The hybrids have been really good layers and I'm working on getting bigger size to them. I used Legbars to get the blue egg gene in there but they're a smaller bird. Where did you hear that crosses aren't reliable? From a breeding perspective, you have to carefully use them and breed towards goals, just letting a mixed flock breed without a plan will end up with inconsistencies and "barn yard mixes" that will not replicate themselves. With a tight line breeding plan with specific genes involved, the desired traits bred again and the undesirable ones culled, each generation gets more predictable and consistent, by 5/6 generations in they should "breed true" to reflect their parents. It's tricky to make a new variety but that's how new types come about. They'll be as reliable/consistent as they're bred to be.
You can have a layer flock separate, we don't though. All eggs are fair game for the table, all extra boys are table bound unless I get a really nice one for his variety that I don't need for a breeding pen. Then he is matched up with decent girls and sold as breeding stock. There is a tiny difference in the shape of the dot on the yolk between fertilized and unfertilized, you won't even notice it if you don't look for it.
This guy is a Hybrid. I'm working on structure/type with color as a bonus. He's 25% Twentse, 25% Legbar, 50% Marans. His structure/shape came from his hybrid dad, his depth/width came from the Marans.
I look at the width between the legs, how the chest is made (looking for fullness) and in this case I was also aiming for a winter proof comb and neat egg colors. Last winter the roosters with big single combs lost their comb points to frostbite. This guy won't have that problem.
This is his dad, the Twentse breed structure carries through and it will compliment the next outcross to the Bresse for meatiness. So long as I ONLY retain the ones who inherit the heavier type.
The next part of this project will incorporate the Bresse...
This is a "dressed" Marans at 7 months old.
This is a 6 month old Marans, his body type fills out a baking pan. It's the width/depth of the bird that matters. Coincidentally, SOP for breed standards calls for that width/depth in dual purpose breeds. Dual purpose birds bred to standard should produce table sized birds, versus the leaner hatchery type structure bred for efficient laying. Sometimes the hatchery birds will get some size but they're also prone to being on the leaner side.
These are scrawny 16 week old Bresse, 3 lbs each. Since we're aiming for larger size and always on the hunt for the next big rooster, the small ones come to dinner first.
I just hatched a batch of blue egg laying Hybrids, the Twentse/Legbar project. Those girls will go with the Black Silver rooster who should in theory throw a brown or olive-ish egg color... perhaps creating an Olive Egger next year. I'll have to wait a year to find out. Hahaha The biggest stay, so that over time they develop a table type.
We'll always have the Marans and the Bresse as purebred but I've been having a fun time working with these hybrids too.
These are some of the boys in rooster coop, they're not going to be breeding stock but they look neat and most of them are going to fill out nicely. This batch is mostly Olive Eggers with some pure Marans. Might keep that guy on the right as a spare, he has some size and my favorite comb type. They're between 12-14 weeks.
I used to buy new chickens every year, sometimes it worked out and sometimes I was really disappointed. I used to ship eggs in from all over the country. Again, win some, lose some. I started to see the differences between bloodlines within the same breed, or the inconsistencies within mixing lines of the same breed... started learning more about breeding.
Try different breeds until you find the ones you like.
I've had Black Copper Marans twice now, neither line I tried suited the table well so I'll have try a 3rd bloodline. They just didn't stack up well against the B/B/S line I already have.
If my barn was bigger I'd like to try some nice Dorkings, that's one variety I haven't been able to get a hold of yet.
