We are goingto start a series of projects......

[chickletteSarge]

We have a mixed flock, mostly brown egg layers....
My goals in this process is 2 seperate crosses.... one for eggs, the other for meat.
Our flock consists of:
pullets/hens
2 Production Reds
2 Golden sexlinks
2 EEs
Necked Neck
Barred Rock
GL Cochin
SL Wyandotte
a mixed polish(march hatch hasnt yet layed)
RS Yokohama
Sumatra
Buff Silkie
5wko Olive Egger
roos
Minorca
GL Cochin
Buff Silkie
Self Blue d' Uccle
RS Yokohama
6wko Olive Egger


We are thinking of breeding the Minorca over the Necked Neck, Barred Rock, a PR,& a GSL for our egg producers.... see which cross lays better and go from there...
For the meaties.... I wanted to try crossing the GL Cochin over the EEs and his mate.
I was thinking of aquiring a white rock and crossing him over my longtails and a few other single females.
Spring is comming up and so is the start of hatching season.... as much as id like to start now.... i can wait a season to start my future breedings. i know its alot of work... i have some time...
Any and all comments welcome! this is my first time breeding! if anyone would like to give me some tips on it and candeling and what not id greatly apreciate it!

 

[Ridgerunner]

For egg layers, I'd not worry about the breed of the hen that much. Egg laying traits are inherited. Different hens within a breed have different egg laying traits. Simply take your best egg layers and breed them.

Which rooster to use is a lot harder if you don't know anything about the egg laying traits of the flock he came from. He's going to contribute over half the genes his daughters get (The hens don't give the sex linked genes to their daughters) so he will influence his daughter's egg laying ability, He doesn't lay eggs himself so it is a lot harder to evaluate what kind of genes he will contribute. From your list the Minorca sounds as good as any and probably better than most, but I really don't have a way to evaluate him.

As for meat, you can eat any chicken, but you are probably after size. That is an inherited trait so I'd choose the largest to breed.

Good luck!!!

 

[aoxa]

For egg layers, I'd not worry about the breed of the hen that much. Egg laying traits are inherited. Different hens within a breed have different egg laying traits. Simply take your best egg layers and breed them.
Which rooster to use is a lot harder if you don't know anything about the egg laying traits of the flock he came from. He's going to contribute over half the genes his daughters get (The hens don't give the sex linked genes to their daughters) so he will influence his daughter's egg laying ability, He doesn't lay eggs himself so it is a lot harder to evaluate what kind of genes he will contribute. From your list the Minorca sounds as good as any and probably better than most, but I really don't have a way to evaluate him.
As for meat, you can eat any chicken, but you are probably after size. That is an inherited trait so I'd choose the largest to breed.
Good luck!!!

This is why I find it so important to know where my roosters come from, and how dependable their sisters and mothers are in terms of egg quality and quantity.

Since you have cochins and barred plymouth rock, I'd suggest crossing these two for a meat mix. My boys are a great size, and grow faster than their purebred siblings (faster than pure cochins and faster than pure barred plymouth rock). The girls I've had out of this cross were sold, so I can't comment on egg laying abilities, but according to a friend who has one of the girls, it's 5-6 eggs a week.



Here are some of my 20 week old Cochin x BR cross. Ready for the freezer. Just started crowing.

Try to stay away from EEs for meat. They are scrawny. I'd use a heavier breed.

I didn't see where you stated what breeds your roosters were...

White rocks are a great choice for many reasons. One of the best dual purpose birds out there. I just love the Plymouth Rock and any colour it comes in. Barred being my favourite variety.

 

[chickletteSarge]

the roos are the minorca, GL Cochin, silkie, d 'Uccle, Yokohama, and a 6wk old olive egger roo....
i was planning on breeding the cochin roo over a few ov the larger layers to see if we get an even bigger bird....
never thought of crossing him with a BR!!! thanks now i have that in my mind for a possible cross!
since the minorca is a white layer i was going to put him over the EEs then those will go under the olive egger later on in the year....
as of right now i plan on putting the minorca in over the necked neck, barred rock, and a production red....
i was planning on keeping them penned for a month or so then switch the roos out to the cochin for another month or so...
my final breeding will be the long tail crosses i have a yokie pair and i wanted to put my roo over my sumatra and have some fun with that...then i will put my silkie over the crosses to put in some darker skin...

 

[aoxa]

the roos are the minorca, GL Cochin, silkie, d 'Uccle, Yokohama, and a 6wk old olive egger roo....
i was planning on breeding the cochin roo over a few ov the larger layers to see if we get an even bigger bird....
never thought of crossing him with a BR!!! thanks now i have that in my mind for a possible cross!
since the minorca is a white layer i was going to put him over the EEs then those will go under the olive egger later on in the year....
as of right now i plan on putting the minorca in over the necked neck, barred rock, and a production red....
i was planning on keeping them penned for a month or so then switch the roos out to the cochin for another month or so...
my final breeding will be the long tail crosses i have a yokie pair and i wanted to put my roo over my sumatra and have some fun with that...then i will put my silkie over the crosses to put in some darker skin...

EE's X BR also make for a beautiful cross if you ask me. I have tried a few of your possible crosses. Here are some images to give you an idea on what you may end up with.



Easter Egger x Barred Plymouth Rock.


Ameraucana x Naked Neck Turken


Barred Plymouth Rock x Naked Neck Turken




Here's the female of the BR x Cochin cross. In my situation the father was the Barred Rock. Mother was the cochin. That is why both genders are barred. If you use a barred mother, you will get sex linked chicks for the most part. Depending on if one of your birds carries dominant white. Boys will look barred at hatch (black and yellow with dot on head). Girls will be all black. This cross is called the Black Sex link.
I'm sure your cochin would work well for the cross.

 

[chickletteSarge]

my cochin roo is golden laced... would that make a sexlink?

 

[aoxa]

Yes that would make a sex link.