What might these crosses give?

[3riverschick]

Sylviethecochin,
In the" general breed discussions" forum. There are a lot more folk doing cross-breeding there then in this forum. I think you will find more experience to help you there. Just list the cross you wish to make as the title of a new thread and folk will flock to help you. You can title the thread by color names, breed names ,or even genetic formula names like : eWh Silver Columbian cock over eb brown laced hen.
Tho it is more for folk seeking answers on birds they have seen/own, the "What breed or gender is this?" Forum has a **lot** of people on it used to seeing different combinations of breeds and might be a real good place to get info on different breed pairings.
Oh, I forgot. If you are wondering how meat virtues might show forth in your crosses, try the "Meat Birds, ETC. " Forum. Maybe some good help there from folk cross-breeding for meat virtues.
There are 480,000 people on BYC. The more specific you are in your questions and placement of them , the better chance of getting just the answer you need.
Best,
Karen

 

[Sagey_7878]

I've been told my beautiful Wyandotte rooster whom I hatched and raised myself should be culled because he has a tiny feather line down his shank. That makes him "wrong" and apparently he should die for that. I find it ridiculous how if a chickens tail isn't the exact angle or it's legs aren't the right shade or If the comb is slightly bigger or smaller then normal then it deserves to die because it's "wrong". I think if you truly love chickens for what they are not what they look like then it doesn't matter to you if they are a little unique

I agree! But clearly people like Karen don’t!

 

[Sagey_7878]

Then a suggestion if you want to breed this cock. Place him where you can use him for breeding in season . Bring him in to your place to service your hens for a day or two. . They will lay fertile eggs by him for 2 weeks. Or you can take your hens to where he is living and let him service them for a day. You can keep your hens kenneled and just move him from cage to cage.. if you put some color egg dyes on the area where the. eggs come out on the chickens, you can keep track of which eggs are from which breeding in the incubator.
Best,
Karen

He has been already free ranging with my hens for a long time. And although he is only 19 weeks, he has already mated with all my hens in my backyard and I’ve already collected fertile eggs to hatch under my broody hen. There’s no need for them to be forced to bred, mine can decide in the backyard.

 

[3riverschick]

Tiana,
Just a quick question. Why do you think there is a pure Wyandotte breed kept such that your imperfect Wyandotte still is so correct in breed type that he gives you such delight as an owner?
Not trying to be argumentative. Just explain. Poultry are very difficult to breed correctly. Much more so than mammals. They have many more sex linked genes to consider and a much wider genetic base. In poultry it can take decades to form a high quality, stable gene pool ( depending on intricacy of plumage patterning) which will reliably reproduce itself from one generation to the next.
In every breed there are passionate breeders who keep the flame of exquisitely pure , proper breed type alive. It is such intricate, demanding work. They do it for the love of the breed.
Maybe 5 percent of folk who get into poultry breeding get there. I am a breed purist, but not one of them.
Don't you see? Those who choose to hold absolute purity and correctness of breed as a motto help keep the breed so pure that imperfect birds are still a delight to their owners. In poultry, imperfect breeding is a quick slide down hill to an uninteresting, grimy colored, poor producing barnyard mutt chicken.
So the root stock of a breed must be carefully maintained so folk beginning to breed have enough quality to work with until they get a feel for how breeding that breed should be done.
That is why folk on this forum tend to point out faults and virtues in someone's birds. They are either sounding a breeding alarm needing consideration in mating ...or approving a virtue for the same reason.
No one is saying you can't love your bird. Or enjoy it. However, this Genetics and SOP forum was created because BYC folk wanted a serious forum where they could talk serious breeding. So coming here one is going to get serious helpful criticism and help.
I didn't leave the OP without help but pointed the way to find experienced cross-breeders ( which I am not) so OP could get the intricate help needed for the breeding project. If I can help more with lit and references, I am glad too.
At the same time I feel the need to point out criticism of the cock as it deviates from proper breed type. As that may impact his breeding program results.
Best,
Karen




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[3riverschick]

General breeding info for North American and English Light Sussex
_---------------------------
The Sussex should settle its carcass down upon its legs and have a medium station. Not as low as the Dorking and not as high as the Leghorn.
Why do we care about length of neck? Because the neck balances the body in the same way the tail balances the body of a cat. So proper "moderate length" of neck in a Sussex is a consideration.
Length of back is a valuable virtue. The Sussex should have a long , level back.
Depth of body should extend from front to back.
Sussex is a meat bird tweaked to lay eggs so fullness of breast is an important virtue.
Why do we care about proper size and set of tail?
The tail should be the right size and positioned at the proper angle in relation to the body. A huge fantail of a tail would bespeak perhaps foreign blood up close in the pedigree, like a cross to Leghorns. A tail that is set high in relation to the level of the back is associated with a short back. (Not good in Sussex) . A meat breed should have a long , level back .
The scales on the legs should be fine scales laying close to the leg. ( Sometimes dirt under the scales makes them look rough.
A common thing cocks get). The scales on the legs should be fine in texture as should the skin on the comb and wattles. This is because this fineness of texture is indicates the fineness of the skin all over the bird.
Why do we care about "fineness"? Because fine textured skin stretches and does not build up fat underneath it like rough textured skin. Fat does not stretch.
We want the skin to stretch when the reproductive organs swell at start of the laying season. If it doesn't, the hen will be a poorer layer.
The head Hallmarks of the hen are extremely important. A good layer has a definite kind of head...as does a poor layer. How to discern the difference between the two is explained in the book, "The Call of the Hen" by Hogan. And "Breeding and Culling by Head Points" by Steup. Do not breed "crow headed" ( see books) hens to your cocks or your rate of egg lay will suffer. Go to Hathitrust Digital Library to read these books for free online (texts are keyword searchable).
Sussex legs should be moderate in length and not too close together so as to support the body of the bird. The body should be level on back ; wide ; deep; and long in body ,as a meat breed should be.

Best,
Karen in PA, USA

 

[3riverschick]

Oh this is just adorable!! Over on www.mashable.com under "culture" section.
( Just scroll down the main page)
There's a video of Frog the rooster running out to the bus stop every day to greet his owner as she gets off the school bus.
Awh,
Karen

 

[Sagey_7878]

Ok so let's take a closer look at the Light Sussex rooster. I so wish Sagey had a Light Sussex hen instead because not going to get gold or red sex links with the rooster as sire.
The color on this boy is very good. The comb and wattles nice size. The bird is high stationed for the breed and the neck looks longer than needed. The bird should settle its carcass down upon its legs more. But this could be because the pic was taken as it was stretching to crow. Why do we care about length of neck? Because the neck balances the body in the same way the tail balances the body of a cat. So proper "moderate length" of neck in a Sussex is a consideration.
Length of back is good, a valuable virtue. Depth of body ok, would like to see depth extend further from front to back. Looks a bit shallow in the breast. Sussex is a meat bird tweaked to lay eggs so fullness of breast is an important virtue.
Tail is truly nice. Why do we care?
This tail is the right size and positioned at the proper angle in relation to the body. A huge fantail of a tail would bespeak perhaps foreign blood up close in the pedigree, like a cross to Leghorns. A tail that is set high in relation to the level of the back is associated with a short back. (Not good in Sussex) . A meat breed should have a long level back like this rooster. This boy's tail is proper color ,size, and angle.
The scales on the legs look rough in the pic. They should be fine scales laying close to the leg. ( Maybe there is dirt under them? A common thing cocks get). The scales on the legs should be fine in texture as should the skin on the comb and wattles. This is because this fineness of texture is indicates the fineness of the skin all over the bird.
Why do we care? Because fine textured skin stretches and does not build up fat underneath it like rough textured skin. Fat does not stretch.
We want the skin to stretch when the reproductive organs swell at start of the laying season. If it doesn't, the hen will be a poorer layer.
The head Hallmarks of the hen are extremely important. A good layer has a definite kind of head...as does a poor layer. How to discern the difference between the two is explained in the book, "The call Of the hen" by Hogan. And "breeding and culling by head points" by Steup. Do not breed "crow headed" ( see books) hens to your cocks or your rate of egg lay will suffer. Go to Hathitrust Digital Library to read these books for free online (texts are keyword searchable).
Sussex legs should be moderate in length and not too close together (width looks ok in pic) so as to support the body of the bird. The body should be level on back (yup) wide ( cannot see width in this pic), deep ( ok, not great) and long in body (better than most) as a meat breed.
I hope this helps Sagey with helping determine body and production virtues in his cross-breeding project.
Best,
Karen

At his new home, he is now in quarantine and his new owner has put 2 Light Sussex hens with him. He’ll breed with them and she’ll hatch chicks, but he’ll also get to breed with other breeds, but she won’t hatch them. She said she wants to keep him forever cause his so beautiful and she couldn’t believe his only 4 and a half months old as his so big!

 

[RodNTN]

I am glad that you found him a good home!

 

[3riverschick]

That's great Sagey. Is he from Australian heritage? That strain tends to get real big, real early.
Best,
Karen

 

[Sagey_7878]

That's great Sagey. Is he from Australian heritage? That strain tends to get real big, real early.
Best,
Karen

Yes, his an Australian heritage, we live in Australia.