What useful crosses can I make?

[shsesc]

I have a croad Langshan female, Dominique females, red females uncertain lineage(came in a mixed heavy breed box from cackle) , white rock females, welsummer females, Easter egger females(light green eggs) , a French black copper Marans rooster, a white rock rooster, an Easter egger rooster (dark gray)

What can I get as crosses and which might be "best" for anything or particularly useful? Is the white rooster useful for sex links with the dominiques? I know the ee and the Marans could be olive eggs.
If I could add one male what should it be to get useful crosses? Rhode island or new Hampshire red male maybe?

Thanks.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Well, as you mentioned Black Copper Marans or Welsummer x Easter Egger will get you an Olive Egger. But did you know Olive Egger x Olive Egger will could get almost any color 'egger?

Croad Langshans give a plum-colored egg, but I don't think there is any go-to crosses for them. All I know is that a Marans cross gives you a darker version of the other parents egg.

Sex-linked crossbreeding can be fun. Most used are either Silver x Gold or Barred x Non-Barred.
Now, Gold x Silver ONLY works with a gold male and a silver female. Welsummers are gold, but yours are hens, so that won't work. Also, 'silver' does not mean white. Your EE roo might be such, but again: wrong gender.

So if you were going to get another roo, get a gold one, such as a Welsummer, a Brown Leghorn, or even more rust-colored types like New Hampshire Red or Rhode Island Red! Just a generic brown chicken should work. The silver is really more important, since the genes are different between 'silver' and white.

And you can only have non-barred males over barred females i.e. Dominiques. So you can do this. Pick whichever roo you want!

Want bearded chicks? Go with the EE. Want producers? Go with the white rock. Want darkish eggs and feathered legs? Go with the Marans.

The roos of this cross should have spots on their heads.

Have fun!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

What are your goals?

If you want egg color...hands down breed the BCM roo with the EE hens.
That's really easy to set only the right color of eggs (deeper blue/green). From that pairing you get 50/50 chance that the single blue gene from the EE passes down to the daughters. Those that get the blue gene will then get some covering of dark brown wash from the BCM rooster for olive shades. (ETA: You can get olive eggers from the EE rooster over the Welsummer hens...ONLY IF the EE rooster has a blue gene, but you won't know that until testing, and with the statistics of 50/50 anyway, you've got a lot of possible test breeding to finally figure out if you can get an olive out of that pairing...so back to the BCM/EE...much easier).

If you want to recapture the blue shell genes, then breed the EE rooster to the EE hens. If he has a blue gene, you'll get 100% blue layers, varying shades, as you recapture the 2 blue genes. Keep that line, breeding the best, and you'll have a pure blue shell layer line. If he doesn't, then your back to 50/50 chances of blue/green or plain jane brown/tan or even white/cream.

If you want to go sex linking...get the New Hampshire rooster (RIR roosters, unless good breeder quality, are usually pretty snotty)...then set the NH rooster over your White Rock females. White Rocks can be silver based, or dominant white, but there is no way knowing until you test them. If they are not dominant white, you will create Red Sex Links, first gen (meaning you have to rebreed from NH and WR each time for the RSL).

If you place the New Hampshire rooster over those Dominque hens, you'll get black sex links, first gen (meaning you will have to breed NH and Dom each time for BSL).

Barring is dominant, so you want that on the female so that the barring passes only to the males....otherwise, any barred rooster will produce all barred off spring.

Silver is only dominant over red, so you have to use red rooster with silver female to get sex linking (foxy red girls, white boys).

Dominant White is simply dominant...all genders get painted white, covering a lot of genes, barring, and what not. If you keep breeding those mix breeds eventually stuff filters out, but you get unpredictable results.

If you want meat/dual, then the Croad Langshan over heavier types, will capture that. What color of egg does the Langshan lay? They were historically dark layers and used to develop the Marans. Breed that CL with a Marans, you may see a nice body type and some good egg color developing in the brown tones...but depends if the Croad has color left. Often, the Croad will have a bloom tint that will even get you to plums.

My immediate thoughts.
LofMc

 

[shsesc]

Thanks ! I was wondering if what I assumed were white rocks were actually rhode island white and if they are would that make a difference in white vs silver? I got the white male and females all in a mixed heavy females box from cackle (who sells rhode island white). The red females came in that box as well. Some of the red females have black tail feathers and some don't. There were supposed to be at least three types in the box.

I bought mixed heavy breeds because I wanted dual purpose, mostly eggs, but I ate the first white male. The second is more 'active' he is the most frequent breeder. Even more than the BCM who is the dominant male of the flock. The BCM will often chase the white male off mid act but not often does he do it himself.

Our EE females lay light green.

I forgot we also have a speckled Sussex female of whom I can easily identify the eggs.

 

[shsesc]

All three males plus some females.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Thanks ! I was wondering if what I assumed were white rocks were actually rhode island white and if they are would that make a difference in white vs silver? I got the white male and females all in a mixed heavy females box from cackle (who sells rhode island white). The red females came in that box as well. Some of the red females have black tail feathers and some don't. There were supposed to be at least three types in the box.

I bought mixed heavy breeds because I wanted dual purpose, mostly eggs, but I ate the first white male. The second is more 'active' he is the most frequent breeder. Even more than the BCM who is the dominant male of the flock. The BCM will often chase the white male off mid act but not often does he do it himself.

Our EE females lay light green.

I forgot we also have a speckled Sussex female of whom I can easily identify the eggs.

Your BCM is being a gentleman. He is protecting his hens from excessive breeding, and stress. Don't worry, he's getting business done, it's just never when you're there. I was worried about the same thing myself, but almost every egg in his pen was fertile.

As for the silver or white gene, I'll have to locate my book. Hang on.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Okay, your white birds are Rhode Island White. This is because they have red earlobes and lay brown eggs.

 

[Mazhar Awan]

What are your goals?

If you want egg color...hands down breed the BCM roo with the EE hens.
That's really easy to set only the right color of eggs (deeper blue/green). From that pairing you get 50/50 chance that the single blue gene from the EE passes down to the daughters. Those that get the blue gene will then get some covering of dark brown wash from the BCM rooster for olive shades. (ETA: You can get olive eggers from the EE rooster over the Welsummer hens...ONLY IF the EE rooster has a blue gene, but you won't know that until testing, and with the statistics of 50/50 anyway, you've got a lot of possible test breeding to finally figure out if you can get an olive out of that pairing...so back to the BCM/EE...much easier).

If you want to recapture the blue shell genes, then breed the EE rooster to the EE hens. If he has a blue gene, you'll get 100% blue layers, varying shades, as you recapture the 2 blue genes. Keep that line, breeding the best, and you'll have a pure blue shell layer line. If he doesn't, then your back to 50/50 chances of blue/green or plain jane brown/tan or even white/cream.

If you want to go sex linking...get the New Hampshire rooster (RIR roosters, unless good breeder quality, are usually pretty snotty)...then set the NH rooster over your White Rock females. White Rocks can be silver based, or dominant white, but there is no way knowing until you test them. If they are not dominant white, you will create Red Sex Links, first gen (meaning you have to rebreed from NH and WR each time for the RSL).

If you place the New Hampshire rooster over those Dominque hens, you'll get black sex links, first gen (meaning you will have to breed NH and Dom each time for BSL).

Barring is dominant, so you want that on the female so that the barring passes only to the males....otherwise, any barred rooster will produce all barred off spring.

Silver is only dominant over red, so you have to use red rooster with silver female to get sex linking (foxy red girls, white boys).

Dominant White is simply dominant...all genders get painted white, covering a lot of genes, barring, and what not. If you keep breeding those mix breeds eventually stuff filters out, but you get unpredictable results.

If you want meat/dual, then the Croad Langshan over heavier types, will capture that. What color of egg does the Langshan lay? They were historically dark layers and used to develop the Marans. Breed that CL with a Marans, you may see a nice body type and some good egg color developing in the brown tones...but depends if the Croad has color left. Often, the Croad will have a bloom tint that will even get you to plums.

My immediate thoughts.
LofMc

which bread is this mam, if i cross the male of this bread with female of grey silver female, would the offspring be able to fly, the male of the mentioned bread have flying ability

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

And I found my book. I'm afraid pure white does not work. Here is a list of color patterns that are Silver.

• Birchen/Grey
• Light/Columbian
• Silver Duckwing
• Salmon
• Silver Laced
• Silver Pencilled
• Silver Spangled

I think, as of right now, you would have to go with the barred x non-barred cross.
When you decide you want to start hatching, separate your chosen hens and roo into their own pen, and leave no room for error. Don't let the hens out with another roo, and don't let another roo fly into their pen. Again, you can pick your favorite roo in this crossing. I would suggest selecting a non-aggressive one

 

[The Moonshiner]

Okay, your white birds are Rhode Island White. This is because they have red earlobes and lay brown eggs.

Don't white rocks also have red earlobe and lay brown eggs?