What do people think about hybrid or mixed breed chickens ?

[Hucklekree]

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I like this! And totally agree. There needs to be enough breeders that stick to standards to keep breeds going but everyone should have fun mixing them up too

Not that I really planned on adding anything to this thread I just like cackleberry's post

 

[EM Squared Farms]

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Glad to hear from another breeder !

Yeah, I hear with some breeds you have to hatch out so many to get just a few good ones. Some breeders just end up killing their culls. Which I guess inspires them to breed better so there are less culls to kill and what you're left with is all good offspring.

We enjoyed seeing some hybrids running around our friends' farm visiting their chickens. Theirs all free-ranged so that's why some were mixes.

I didn't know most breeders do play around with introducing new traits from a different breed into their breed they are working on.

I guess you can't always wait for some mutation or new color to show up on it's own in the breed.

For now, we'll stick with keeping each breed in their own isolated pen.

Some breeds have so much color variation, you have enough to play with within the breed (like the Ameraucanas). We can't wait to see how beautiful the feather patterns will be from these already beautiful hens. They aren't the accepted standard colors though. My son wants to introduce a new named color into the standard for Ameraucanas. It's good for him to have some kind of goal at 12 yrs. old !

 

[Oregon Blues]

Sure, hybrids have their place. You can't beat the Cornish Cross for efficient meat production.

If you want to raise mutts, you can't show them. If you don't want to show and don't care what your chickens grow up to be, then go ahead and breed mongrels. You won't be hurting anybody, unless you lie and try to sell them as a specific breed of chicken.

 

[jettgirl24]

I've got several mixed breeds... I bred them for fun just to see what I would get. So far they've been great fun and beautiful too. I have a blue sexlink from my BR girl and my Blue Copper Marans roo who is just gorgeous. I have a black sexlink hen from the same pair. I have a little BO/Blue Copper roo who is also beautiful... Gorgeous slate blue on his back and buff face and belly. Just love that one

The other cross I have is an Ameracauna/Wyandotte that I got from an egg swap. She is just adorable - dark, dark blue with cute little puffy cheeks

I think I'm mostly done with my experimenting for the moment and I'm trying to put together a really nice purebred flock of Silkies but I wouldn't be surprised if I hatch a few more mixed breeds in the future. They're really fun to play with and you can get some really nice, interesting birds if you pair carefully

 

[centrarchid]

Hybrids can be a valuable route by which new genes can be introduced into breed that has sufferred through many generations of inbreeding and genetic bottlenecking. The first generation of cross may be uniform but subsequent generations tend to be more variable. Fun is selecting back towards standard while keeping the fresh genes derived from original cross.

I will also use them as teaching tool demonstrating various obvious disqualifications for show. I fully intend to take my crosses to show so imperfections can be documented and competition can be frightened by fact that each year / generation my mutts get closer and closer to standard.

 

[karimw]

I'm fairly new to chickens but not new to breeding so I understand the push to "breed the best to the best and hope for the best". I have several pure breeds but I enjoy the variety from the "layer flock" too, So here you go EM Squared, can you name the breeds involved in these crosses? I can tell you the parents are pure bred:

From left to right 1 and 2 are the same cross and 3 is different.

here's another with the same parentage as 1 and 2.

 

[cackleberrycoop]

Here's a mix-breed. Her name is "Thing." she layed her first egg yesterday. It's the second the the left;. The eggs photo might help with guessing her pedigree.

 

[cackleberrycoop]

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Wow. WOW.

That boy is stunning.

 

[EM Squared Farms]

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I have a Copper Blue Maran rooster too. I would love to see pics of a hybrid cross of him.

Right now I'm enjoying the 3 blue babies we got out of the Copper Black Maran Hen and the Copper Blue Splash rooster.

BTW, since my genius chicken expert son is not here to explain any chicken terms to me....what is a BR girl ? Brown red ? (which is copper black ?)
Sex-linked is another breed of chicken right (red sex-linked (I think I have 2, aka golden comets) and black sex-linked) ?

Blue sound interesting for a sex-linked !

Black sex-linked are a breed, right ?

What's a BO in the BO/Copper Blue roo ?

I don't think we're ever going to mix breeds since my son in into showing. So I'll have to enjoy the pics you guys post.

Someone really should start a thread about mixed chickens. I bet it might lead someday to a new accepted breed into the standard depending what is most popular among the masses ! Someone should look into this (they could have a chicken breed named after them someday).

I'm always impressed to hear that someone got a new color of a breed into the standard. That's impressive, isn't it ? Especially when you've never heard of that color for the breed.

Thanks and please put up a pic for me !

 

[EM Squared Farms]

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That sounds kind of complicated.

Is that how they try and change a breed ? You look for a baby that has that trait and then cross it back to the original ?

I think I'll leave it up to you guys. But I am curious to see.

Are you at any shows in FL ? I wish you were so I could look for you and these "sample" chickens. Sounds fascinating (to study their genetics based on their phenotypes alone).

Thanks !