what do you think of this cross? RIR/Buff Rock/Speckled Sussex

[bmiss]

if i were to get these 3 types of chickens and were to make hybrids....think this would be a good cross? any problems with this cross that u can think of?

im planning on using a speckled sussex rooster and getting 3 hens each of: RIR/SS/BR

they won't be for show....they are just gonna be sum country chickens that lay eggs and feed my family with their meet.

i just like variety and i plan on getting these and not introducing other chickens in (unless i completely start over one day). i hope to just keep evolving a rooster or two/8-9 hens from this setup.

i love the look of the speckled sussex....and i would love to see it mixed with the red of the RIR and the golden brown of the BR....

 

[bmiss]

anyone?

 

[Sparklee]

Quote:
Sounds like a good cross to me. I think they will be pretty. I think it will be next to impossible to keep the Buff Rocks' tail feathers Buff. I'm pretty sure you'll end up with chickens with tail feathers that are black-tipped (and fully black with a green sheen on rooster), but that wouldn't bother me. Some folks will think it's bad that the legs of the Speckled Sussex are white and the other two breeds' legs are yellow, but I don't see the problem if pretty chickens are the goal.

The Speckled Sussex rooster will not make speckled chicks the first year if I understand it correctly because the mottling gene is recessive. So first spring/summer you'll incubate the eggs and keep those hens to add to your laying flock. Then the following spring summer, you'll breed your newest hens back to their father and about 1/2 of those chicks will be speckled. (I know it sounds incestuous, but it's okay in chickens for a few generations. Brother and sister matings aren't so great if there's any chance of faults, though.) You probably already know that.

Um, will it matter if they're not broody breeds that you can always rely upon to go broody? My two and a half year old Speckled Sussex went broody for the first time this summer, but somehow she botched it. She found a place in an old shed, but somehow she lost the eggs. It's pretty simple to just incubate and brood a small batch yourself every year or every other year if none of the hens go broody. Or you could just buy 2 -3 hens of a reliably broody breed, maybe banties so that you can tell the eggs apart and not hatch any little eggs by accident.

Okay, I guess that's it. Take my comments with a grain of salt and try to get another source before you use anything I've written. It's taking me forever to figure out what's what with chickens.

But yes, that should be a really pretty mix of country chickens to see running around eating bugs on your place.

 

[bmiss]

thanks, Sparklee....

i've read alot in the last few weeks, but i guess i need to read even more. i didn't know about the yellow/white legs.

im just trying to find the best meat/egg bird combo and just go from there.... i think i was getting the buff rocks mixed with the buff orp....i was thinking they were good broody hens.

like i said, i know i just have alot more reading to do. i can only go by what i've read...i've never been around chickens.

 

[highpointfarm]

If you've never been around chickens, then i suggest that you just raise and care for a few chickens for a year or two before you start breeding...... just getting to know what chickens need, how they behave, etc...... i have a speckled sussex and a white rock that i want to breed not sure how that will turn out...... but i think that what you are planning will be a very nice egg laying beauty

 

[Ridgerunner]

For a general barnyard mix, those should meet your goals. I used a Speckeld Sussex rooster over Black Australorp, Delaware, and Buff Orpington hens to start my flock for about the same goals. That worked well.

I'll mention two possible issues, neither of which are probably going to matter to you a lot. Before the Cornish X was developed, most chicken breeds developed for meat were light colored, such as Delaware, New Hampshire, and White Rock. The reason is that if you pluck a dark colored chicken, you can see the pin feathers left on the carcass. They don't hurt anything and the light-colored chickens leave the same amount of pin feathers, but the carcass is not as pretty. If you feel you have to remove them, cleaning the chickens can take a lot longer. If you skin instead of pluck, it does not matter.

The RIR and BR are not know to go broody a lot. Any hen can, but some breeds are more likely to. With mine, the Black Australorps were the only ones that went broody, although the Buff Orp has a reputation of going broody. If you are going to try to raise enough to provide much meat, you'll probably need to invest in an incubator anyway.

I see no reason for you to wait to start breeding them. The best way to learn is to just do it. You will learn a lot and if you decide on a preferred way to go later, just eat yours and start over.