Sex- linked Information

[Mosey2003]

I'm just gonna wait it out.

 

[father time]

a lot of what has been stated is true. as for hatcheries some order plenty eggs from places like hy-line or dekalb and sell under their banner. one other thing some of their breedings they keep close meaning if you think your getting just a straight two way cross that makes certain traits or breeds think again. all lines of chickens will get weak after so much breeding but the key here is selection in any breeding program. knowing when and how to infuse a little something else in them. and that is when good breeders come in to play.five years ago i bought four pullets that a friend bred that was reverse breeding from rosecomb riw which very few exist on rir hens. they turned out to be the best egg layers i ever had. they laid large eggs from the start and did so for two good years before really dropping off some. and both were of heritage fowl. i have been line breeding these hens making my own stock through good selection and i can say they lay as good or better than anything i have bought from hatcheries. and that includes isas and hy-lines. the key here was egg selection first and foremost colors did not come into play that much since im not into the wholesale business. maybe i was just lucky.

 

[SunnySideUpGUAM]

How do you select eggs to incubate?

 

[Ridgerunner]

What are your goals? What are you trying to achieve with those chicks? If you want sex links, hatch eggs from breeding crosses that will give you sex links. If you want pullets that lay a lot hatch eggs from hens that lay a lot. If you want hens that lay larger eggs, hatch the eggs from hens that lay larger eggs for their age and laying cycle (the older the hen and the more times she has gone through an adult molt the larger her eggs will be so take that into consideration). If you want hens that lay green or blue eggs, hatch green or blue eggs.

In general the experts say to select eggs that are normal size for the hen laying them, not unusually large or small. Select regular shaped eggs, not the ones unusually round or elongated. Again, take into account the shape a hen normally lays. Avoid dirty eggs and eggs with thin or cracked shells. Basically just hatch normal eggs.

I’m not exactly sure where you are coming from with this question. Maybe this helps or maybe you could be more specific in what you are asking.

 

[SunnySideUpGUAM]

it was in response to a prior post talking about heritage fowl that laid better than hybrids, and that the key was egg selection

 

[father time]

in response to heritage laying better, not all do and when you cross two lines they are considered hybrids with more vigor. you can take what i call split lines of the same fowl breed them a few generations and cross back into each other and possibly have better birds. the key is always selection and its best to hatch out enough to select the better birds on what your looking for. i have a line of straight comb rir that have been bred like this for over 40 years. and yes they are all over the board for a few traits the worse being immune system is weak and while they still lay pretty good through selection they will give me anything from double yolks to soft shells and even a rubber egg once in a while. but they remain true to color and size. so why do i keep them ? i do it for my base line and what ever i cross them with gives me better birds

 

[cmom]

How do you select eggs to incubate?

For me it's selecting nice eggs if the eggs are small the chicks will be small. More importantly is selecting the parent stock with the traits you are looking for in your birds. I show my heritage birds in poultry shows so selective breeding is most important.

 

[Ridgerunner]

it was in response to a prior post talking about heritage fowl that laid better than hybrids, and that the key was egg selection

Then hatch eggs from hens that lay better. Also use roosters that hatched from the eggs laid by hens that lay better.

 

[Curnow]

Great information in the first post. Pretty straight forward and easy to follow. But I still can't find the info I'm curious about. Is there any way to create a sex linked chick using a silver spangled Spitzhauben rooster? I have hens of several breeds. Buff Orpington, RIR, Cuckoo Marans, Barred Rock, Light Brahma to name a few.

 

[junebuggena]

Great information in the first post. Pretty straight forward and easy to follow. But I still can't find the info I'm curious about. Is there any way to create a sex linked chick using a silver spangled Spitzhauben rooster? I have hens of several breeds. Buff Orpington, RIR, Cuckoo Marans, Barred Rock, Light Brahma to name a few.

Nope. A silver hen can only pass the silver coloring on to her male offspring, but a silver rooster will pass that silver to both male a female chicks. It's the genes of the hen that are the important part of the sexlink equation.