Jersey Giant/Cochin Hybrid??

[mathewmarie]

Hello All,
I have about 15 Black Jersey Giants right now and I love them. They lay enough eggs for my family to eat and give away plenty. They are big and yummy when harvested for meat. And they never attack my kids.

But, they never get broody. So I am wondering about mixing in another breed known for broodiness and generally similar in these other BJG trait we already love. We live near Buffalo NY so winters are cold. They free range quite a bit.

Would Cochins be good to mix in here? Wyandottes? Or is breed mixing unwise and to be avoided? I appreciate the thoughts and comments of all the veteran chicken farmers out there.

My goal is a self sustaining flock that produces eggs, meat, and young without electricity.

 

[pipermark]

I have had Cohchin and Giant mixes and they are good birds. Cochins can be slightly more aggressive than Giants but they arent flighty and tend to be easy going. Mutts in chickens, as in all things, generally will be healthier then pure breeds, unless the person raising the pure breeds cull their flock well. By the way most "pure" breeds purchased from hatcheries are either crossed or they have been inbred so much they are smaller and lay smaller eggs then a "pure" bred chicken coming from a well culled flock. My advice cross away.

 

[Paganrose]

I had a hatchery Jersey giant hen that decided to go broody every year. Had a Cochin roo who was mellow and good with the mixed flock. Unfortunately the only chicks I got from the JG/Cochin cross were roos

 

[Kev]

How about a couple broody hens with the sole purpose of hatching eggs? No mixing, just let them sit on pure Giant eggs year after year.

Do realize that broodiness affects egg production. With it present, you could find yourself without eggs for a good while... especially if there are not very many hens in the flock and all have broody inclinations. That's why I'm putting in the idea of having extra hens in the flock for broody purposes only.. that way your Giants can go on producing well for the family especially as it seems this flock is practically perfect for your family.

Also with the mixing, you run a small chance of bad roosters, poor layers(either few eggs or eggs are tiny instead of the larges you're getting now) etc starting to show up down the line.

 

[mathewmarie]

Hmmm...

If I got some Cochins just for hatching out JG's, I would simply remove the Cochin's own eggs to prevent the cross from occuring? And I could still eat their eggs...

The only thing that occurs to me about that scenario is if there was an emergency that forced us to total self sufficiency (SHTF), my Cochins would eventually die and I would be exactly where I am now. A bunch of JG's that can't reproduce without electricity.

Should I consider doubling the size of the flock to up my odds of long term sustainability? Still considering allowing a mix and culling more diligently...