New Varieties, Existing Breeds

[Amer]

If you could make a breed of chicken -it doesn't have to be your favorite- in a new variety, by crossbreeding, what might you be able to create, and what breeds would you cross?
For example, I do think I could create rosecombed Ancona bantams with the initial cross of Anconas with black Rosecomb bantams. I think this would be a very manageable They are similar in shape and both have white eggs and white earlobes. The biggest concern would be getting the Anconas down to size and breeding birds with the mottling gene.
I think it would be a fun, interesting project to try. Similarly, I could develop black rosecombed Minorca bantams. Leghorn bantams would work in a cross as well, of course. I'm not a huge fan of the temperament of Leghorns, though, so I probably wouldn't use them to breed. However, that is another option.
What would you do? If you have done this type of thing before, pictures are very welcome!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I would love to see solid colored Brahmas. Maybe breeding a Buff Brahma and a Buff Orpington and retaining feather legged offspring to breed back to Brahmas and Orpingtons to get that solid buff color. Obviously this would take some time as single combed and clean legged birds would need to be culled and I’m not sure how the buff columbian pattern would interact with the buff color.
I do like the look of Showgirls, but I don’t particularly care for the 5 toes and feathered legs.

 

[MelissaRose]

I do like the look of Showgirls, but I don’t particularly care for the 5 toes and feathered legs.

I wonder what would happen if you crossed a showgirl with something else until you got the five toes and feathered legs out of it? I wonder if you could then bread the silkiness back into it? I am not sure which of these genes are dominant/recessive though.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I wonder what would happen if you crossed a showgirl with something else until you got the five toes and feathered legs out of it? I wonder if you could then bread the silkiness back into it? I am not sure which of these genes are dominant/recessive though.

The naked neck, feathered legs, and five toes are all dominant. Silkie feathering is recessive.
To get clean legged 4 toes Showgirls I’d select birds with 4 toes and the least feathered legs and breed them until I got what I wanted.

 

[SueT]

I'd like to see a cross between my Spitzhauben rooster and my Sebright hen, but she does not share my curiosity.

 

[Amer]

I would love to see solid colored Brahmas. Maybe breeding a Buff Brahma and a Buff Orpington and retaining feather legged offspring to breed back to Brahmas and Orpingtons to get that solid buff color. Obviously this would take some time as single combed and clean legged birds would need to be culled and I’m not sure how the buff columbian pattern would interact with the buff color.
I do like the look of Showgirls, but I don’t particularly care for the 5 toes and feathered legs.

That would be interesting to see. I have seen solid colored Brahmas, -black, white and blue- but I have not seen any "buff" Brahmas that are solidly colored. I also think it would be interesting to see a Brahma or otherwise with a solid gold genotype, instead of diluted to buff.

 

[Cyprus]

I would love to see solid colored Brahmas. Maybe breeding a Buff Brahma and a Buff Orpington and retaining feather legged offspring to breed back to Brahmas and Orpingtons to get that solid buff color. Obviously this would take some time as single combed and clean legged birds would need to be culled and I’m not sure how the buff columbian pattern would interact with the buff color.
I do like the look of Showgirls, but I don’t particularly care for the 5 toes and feathered legs.

There are turken bantams. Some even are silkie feathered. So I guess cross a showgirl with a silkied turken bantam and selectively breed up.

 

[Cyprus]

I want to create silver laced d'Uccles. Mille fleur d'Uccle x Silver Sebright. Breed offspring together, select for the best. Cull all possessing two copies of mottling, rose comb or hen feathering.

 

[Amer]

I've seen silver laced d'Anvers, and I admit, the idea is tempting. The biggest problem would be the color, if breeding a quail with a Sebright. It would take years. So I'm going to accept that project would just have too much magnitude.
But I still think it's a great idea.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

There are turken bantams. Some even are silkie feathered. So I guess cross a showgirl with a silkied turken bantam and selectively breed up.

Naked Neck Bantams should not be Silkied.