RIR Rooster White leghorn hens

[00Tolley00]

so I have some rir roosters and was going to cross them with some white leghorn hens. what would the breed be. ive read a lot and know its not considered a sex link. so what is it called? how long would it take 3 roosters to breed 50 hens? I plan on hatching some eggs, how many do you think I should set?

 

[Pyxis]

They wouldn't be a real breed, they would just be mixes, so no breed name. It depends on the rooster, but with that many hens to only three roosters you may see some infertility. Usually ten hens is what a rooster can reliably handle, so with 50 hens your roosters might not get to them all, especially since roosters tend to have favorite hens that they pay more attention to than the others. As for how many eggs to set, that is up to you. You are going to have to raise all the chicks that hatch, and feed them and keep them or try to find homes for them. When you set eggs just make sure that if they all end up hatching you will be able to take care of that many chicks and birds.

 

[Michael OShay]

It will just be a mixed breed unless you happen to have those rare White Leghorn hens that have the silver factor gene in which case you would get Red Sex Links, but I wouldn't count on it. Most likely the offspring would be primarily white with some red flecking. One rooster can efficiently breed 10-15 hens so I would think most of the hens would have been bred within a few days. Just to be on the safe side, however many chicks you intend to hatch, I would set double that number of eggs. Good luck with your hatch.

 

[Blackberry18]

I agree with the above two posts. My 4-H Avian Bowl Manual is incorrect on the Red Sex-Link cross (says exactly what your cross is). Michael mentioned that it has to be a red gene cock/silver factor hen.

My friend always puts in all of the eggs she gets into her incubator, then after about a week of incubation, she candles them and removes the rotten and infertile ones.

 

[BantamLover21]

It will just be a mixed breed unless you happen to have those rare White Leghorn hens that have the silver factor gene in which case you would get Red Sex Links, but I wouldn't count on it. Most likely the offspring would be primarily white with some red flecking. One rooster can efficiently breed 10-15 hens so I would think most of the hens would have been bred within a few days. Just to be on the safe side, however many chicks you intend to hatch, I would set double that number of eggs. Good luck with your hatch.

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