What birds to breed?

[Tyler Matthesen]

This past weekend I got 6 two week old barred rock chick, and I'm pretty sure 2 are are gonna be rooster based on color.

I also have 5 red star hens and 1 dark Cornish x bantam rooster that are 5 months! I really would like to have true barred rock fertile eggs, so should I keep a breeding pair separated?

Another question is I had heard that red stars (because they are a hybrid) won't lay fertile eggs?? Is this true

 

[junebuggena]

Red stars can be bred and lay fertile eggs just like any other chicken. They are a cross between two different breeds of chickens, not a cross between two different species. You can keep one of your barred Rock roosters and get him at least four more hens and keep them all in their own coop and run to ensure purebred chicks. Or you can get rid of both your barred Rocks and keep your Cornish mix and make some black sexlink chicks with your barred Rocks. Whatever you choose to do, make sure that you have a good hen to rooster ratio, ideally 10 hens to 1 rooster. With only 4 or 5 hens in each flock, there will be some serious overbreeding. The hens can get very seriously injured, not to mention being so stressed out trying to dodge the rooster that they won't lay as well.

 

[Tyler Matthesen]

Thank you for the information! Which breed would be a better layer? The black sex link or barred rock? We have a poultry auction about 45 minutes from where I live that would make getting rid of whichever rooster I decide easy

 

[junebuggena]

Both lay well, but being a hybrid, the black sexlinks usually lay a bit better.

 

[Michael OShay]

Junebuggena has given you some good advice. Being egg laying machines, Black Sex Links are typically considerably better layers than Barred Rocks, although Black Sex Links produced by crossing Dark Cornish mix roosters with Barred Rock hens will likely not be quite as good at laying as the standard hatchery Black Sex Links that are produced by crossing RIR or Production Red roosters with Barred Rock hens.

 

[Tyler Matthesen]

Does it matter that my Dark Cornish is a bantam? With him being so much smaller I didn't know what the cross would turn out like. I've been trying to find info on crossing bantam roo over pullet and I can't seem to find much.

 

[junebuggena]

Many bantam roos have successfully bred standard sized hens. The resulting chicks will be a bit smaller than the standard sized hens, but bigger than a bantam. From a resale standpoint, the cockerels won't be very desirable for meat birds, and bantams aren't know for their egg production. If your bantam Cornish mix has a fantastic personality, than he is still the rooster I would keep. Roosters tend to pass their personalities on to their sons. Nice boys make more nice boys. So if, next year, you decide that you want your birds to have a bit more size to them, you can keep one of his sons for breeding the next season.

 

[Tyler Matthesen]

I am leaning toward keeping my Cornish mix but who knows, at times he can be a little aggressive towards me as well as the hens. If one of the rocks is a really gentle rooster then I might go that route, but who knows that's several months down the road.

 

[Michael OShay]

I am leaning toward keeping my Cornish mix but who knows, at times he can be a little aggressive towards me as well as the hens. If one of the rocks is a really gentle rooster then I might go that route, but who knows that's several months down the road.

If your Cornish mix turns out to be an aggressive rooster, I would recommend removing him from the flock and going with another rooster as you don't want to risk him injuring someone and you don't want to breed that kind of aggression into your flock. Even if you don't have a rooster you really want to use, the market is flooded with unwanted roosters out there and you can always find a gentle one.

 

[donrae]

If you're wanting chicks for egg layers, don't go with the bantam Dark Cornish. They're not stellar layers and the eggs are small. All you'd be doing is pulling the production of the hen's line down. Honestly, I can't imagine a good use for that cross unless you're looking for small meat birds or possible broody hens. If you're wanting production offspring, go with a Rock rooster over your rock and rsl hens, you'll get good laying offspring.