Miracle- Hello! guinea/chicken crossbreed

[OurLittleChickenFarm]

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I'm hoping his bones are more like a chicken.

The feet and legs have always been beefier like the EE daddy. Don't know about the rest of his bones but the feet and legs don't look or feel fragile like a guinea. We'll see. Thanks for the information!

 

[cluckin_crazy]

stumbled across this while I was looking for some info on Guineas and thought of you, LittleChickenFarm. Is this the feathersite page you saw and said they were ugly? Because I agree!!

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Guineas/BRKGuinHybrid.html

 

[OurLittleChickenFarm]

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Yep. That's the one. The naked neck----oh my-----scarrrrrrrrrry. Way too much like a vulture!

 

[cluckin_crazy]

I would have a hard time loving one of those. I have some uglies of my own. When I bought them, I was told that they were black sex links, but clearly they are some kind of Oriental game fowl mutt... They have ugly faces like vultures too.

 

[OurLittleChickenFarm]

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Oh, I think I read your post about those birds! I hope they grow on you if you are keeping them.

I'm just going to love Miracle anyway even though he will probably be the ugliest of the ugly. I'll still know he's ugly - just won't care just cause he's a rare bird.

 

[LCwilson]

give us an update. LOL! hows miracle doing?? any more pics?

 

[JestersEye]

I love hearing about everyone's experiences with hybrid crosses!

I just wanted to point out a few things for the folks who have asked if they are always sterile. For the most part, the answer is YES; because one of the definitions of a species is whether or not animals are able to interbreed and produce "viable" offspring. Viable offspring are those that live to adulthood, and are capable of passing on their traits to future generations. Some species are closely related enough to breed and produce hybrids, but they aren't considered viable if they are sterile (due to differences in numbers of chromosomes, etc.). Sometimes, testing whether or not two similar types of animals can breed successfully can help scientists determine if they are truly different species, or simply different subspecies. Hybrids very rarely live as long as either parent species, due to resulting health problems.

Ligers and Tigons, are some examples, as well as Mules and Hinnies. In these cases, the types of offspring that result from these crosses (Tigers and Lions, and Horses and Donkeys) depends on the gender of each parent. Mules occur when a mare (female horse) is bred to a jackass (male donkey), while a Hinny is the product of a jennet (female donkey) and a stallion (male horse). Mules are much more common because they have a higher conception rate and are hardier and stronger than Hinnies. Parentage is even more of a factor with Ligers and Tigons because of the size differences. A liger is the huge offspring that results when a male lion breeds with a female tigress, while a Tigon is the smaller offspring of a female lioness and a male tiger. Supposedly, sometimes female ligers and tigons can be fertile, and can be bred back to a parent species... but the male hybrids are ALWAYS sterile.

I wonder if it might make a difference if the types of guinea crosses that can occur are affected by their parentage, as well. Only guinea hen / rooster crosses occur "naturally", according to a website I read... but it is possible to cross a chicken hen with a guinea cock, through artificial insemination. I would hypothesize that it MAY be possible for some Guin-hens (female guinea-chickens) to lay eggs but they would most likely be infertile. However, I feel certain that all male Guins (male guinea-chickens) would be incapable of, and possible disinterested in, breeding.

I just thought I'd share this information with anyone who might be interested in understanding some of the biology involved. I find it fascinating!

 

[catdaddyfro]

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I thought I might add that I've heard of rare instances where female mules were fertile and foaled young, pretty rare though.

catdaddy

 

[JestersEye]

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That's interesting... and it seems to fit in with the idea that at least some female hybrids can be fertile. Thanks for sharing!

 

[that_crazy_lady]

that is sooo cool!

I like the freaky vulture look

I have heard of these guys befor but never seen them. I think I'll give it a try....I'm woundering what facter the breed of chicken would play, like if some breed crosses would live longer then others???
thanks so much for sharing

as for mules when a female is bred to a stud the foal is geneticly what the stud is, there mite be more fertile mares out there but few people are willing to try. and they have not ruled out fertile jack/stud mules but next to noone wants to keep a stud mule around and I understand. I can't remember if I read that or if it was on tv, but I also remember that if they could bred a mule to a mule it would be all mule.
that being said it is much more easy to find a good jack, and a good mare then pair them up