Incubating mixed breeds

[Wyatt0224]

Hello everyone! So this is a big project that will be coming up in roughly a month and half or so. In one of my classes in high school we are doing a final project that can be anything in any field of science within reason. Last semester someone in the same class did something with ducklings. So my goal of this project is: 1) see what physical traits are dominant in the different cross breeds and 2) see which cross breed grows the quickest to figure which one would theoretically be the better meat chicken.

All of my crosses would be sired by my Rhode Island Red rooster. The hens would be Black Australorp, Delaware, Welsummer, Silkie, Barred Rock, Silver Laced Wyandotte. I would use my RIR hens, yes I know their not a cross, to see how they compare to all the others weight wise. I know the Silkie obviously won't be the meatiest birds but I want to see what physical traits show up.

If anyone can give me insight now to what the crosses might be, that would be great.

Another part of this question/project I need to know ahead of time is what kind of incubator I should use. I've looked at some Brinsea products but I want to know what everyone else thinks. This incubator would need to operate on its own for the most part since I would only be able to be around it during class, never on the weekend. I'd also like it hold a lot of eggs, preferably around 30.

Any other insight would be great! I want to know everyone's opinion so I can use them to make my final judgement.

 

[junebuggena]

The Delaware and Silver Laced chicks will be red sexlinks, males are sliver, females will be gold. The Barred Rock will produce black sexlinks, males will be black with a white spot on the back of the head, females will have no head spot. Silkie feathering is recessive. The rose comb of the Wyandotte is dominant over single comb. The white skin of the Australorp is dominant over the yellow skin of the RIR. Solid black is the most dominant pattern gene a chicken can have, so all of those chicks will also be black. Keep the eggs separate and labeled so that you can band the chicks at hatch, that way, you know exactly which chick came from which parent. I recommend the Incuview from Incubator Warehouse. Best all around value on the market and holds 27 eggs.

 

[Wyatt0224]

The Delaware and Silver Laced chicks will be red sexlinks, males are sliver, females will be gold. The Barred Rock will produce black sexlinks, males will be black with a white spot on the back of the head, females will have no head spot. Silkie feathering is recessive. The rose comb of the Wyandotte is dominant over single comb. The white skin of the Australorp is dominant over the yellow skin of the RIR. Solid black is the most dominant pattern gene a chicken can have, so all of those chicks will also be black. Keep the eggs separate and labeled so that you can band the chicks at hatch, that way, you know exactly which chick came from which parent. I recommend the Incuview from Incubator Warehouse. Best all around value on the market and holds 27 eggs. 

Wow that is a lot of information, I'm shocoked you knew all of that off the top of your head. Thank you for sharing it. Do you know what the Welsummer cross might look like? And do you know which cross might be the best for meat production? I will look into that incubator.

 

[Wyatt0224]

I just looked at the incubator and I like everything I see. Thank you again for sharing!

 

[junebuggena]

The Welsummer crosses will likely be very similar to Production Red type birds. They are gold/red base color, like the RIR. But the RIR has the columbian gene, which restricts black patterning to the neck, primary wing feathers, and the tail. The columbian gene is dominant. There may be quite a lot of variation when it comes to the shade of red/gold.
All should be about equal in growth rate and meatiness, with the exception of the silkie crosses, which may be a bit smaller.

 

[Wyatt0224]

Thank you so much for all that information. Now do you know what the crosses would like if I were to use a Black Australorp rooster? And talking about the Columbian gene, will it show up in later generations of the sex linked? For instance what would a red sex link rooster do with the other breeds I listed?

 

[junebuggena]

Thank you so much for all that information. Now do you know what the crosses would like if I were to use a Black Australorp rooster? And talking about the Columbian gene, will it show up in later generations of the sex linked? For instance what would a red sex link rooster do with the other breeds I listed?

A black Australorp rooster will produce mostly black chicks, regardless of the hen. The exceptions would be with the Barred Rocks and the Delawares. Both those hens have barring, so will produce Black sexlinks.
Breeding sexlinks produces a huge range potential outcomes. The columbian gene is dominant, so likely will show up in at least some of the offspring.
Just to give you an idea of how much variety you can get with sexlink roosters, I'll show you some of the chicks that I've gotten from my black sexlink Easter Egger.





And that is just a small sample of the possibilities. Most of these birds are full siblings.