Red sussex x cuckoo maran

[Pekin bantams]

Hi am wonderin what I would get from this cross and if anyone has ever done it before. I presume it would be a good laying cross and would probably produce a good quantity of meat. but then again it could always be a fail of a cross. I just want to say the people on this forum are absolutely great and I am look forward to your replies

 

[SJ]

Well the first thing I see about this cross is that it would result in a sex-link. Similar to the black sex link you can buy through most hatcheries. As both breeds have decent lay rates you should see some improvement due to hybrid vigor in the laying rates of the offspring. When it comes to meat potential, the only improvement I feel you could see would be perhaps in grow out times. Due to the same hybrid vigor. Overall size, fleshing, temperament, feed conversion, broodiness, egg color, skin color.

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One thing to keep in mind when you crossbreed chicken is that the male offspring have more of the mothers DNA than the female offspring. Or very simply the girls take more after their daddy and boy more after their mommy.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi am wonderin what I would get from this cross and if anyone has ever done it before. I presume it would be a good laying cross and would probably produce a good quantity of meat. but then again it could always be a fail of a cross. I just want to say the people on this forum are absolutely great and I am look forward to your replies

Well you will be crossing alleles. The Red Sussex ( depending on the flock) is based on either eb ( brown ) or eWh ( Wheaten). The Cuckoo Marans ( depending on the flock) is based on either ER( Birchen) or EE ( Black). It would be easier if you kept the parents in the same allele "family". Some of these alleles may require color balancing I the underfluff to obtain proper top color in the birds. In the case of my breed, the Light Sussex, it is eWh based and does not require such color balancing. In the case of the eb ( Brown) based Light Brahma ( which looks "nearly" identical to the Light Sussex if one isn't familiar with the genetics) it does require the color balancing. So it is not as easy as just mixing color if you are trying to achieve a certain color.
Best,
Karen in western PA, USA