What's the best roo for me?

[duke23]

I have a golden sex link, a black sex link, a barred rock, and amerucana hens. I want to breed them but is there one breed of roo that will breed them all successfully and produce good chicks? Has anyone had experience breeding these hens with different roosters before?

 

[Ridgerunner]

What are your goals? What do you consider a good chick? What traits do you want?

Practically any rooster will mate any hen. Breed does not matter as far as getting fertile eggs. Don’t get hung up on breed as far as getting fertile eggs. It does not matter.

The chicks will inherit traits from both the father and the mother. Once you decide what traits you want, pick a rooster from a flock that has those traits.

 

[duke23]

I want them for laying hens, but I also have some friends that want me to breed for them but I don't want to breed an "odd" chicken if the 2 breeds don't match up well

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know what you would consider an “odd” chicken. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Something you consider odd I might consider beautiful. Have your friends told you what they might want?

I suggest you look through the different breeds in Henderson’s Breed Chart and look at the ones that are considered good egg layers. Then pick one that is available and you think looks OK. Don’t beat yourself up over this. Try to not overthink it. Since you want good egg layers, pick a rooster from a breed that is a good egg layer. You will be OK.

Henderson’s Breed Chart
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

 

[donrae]

Go for temperament above all else. You've got a mix of breeds, so your chicks are going to be mixed breed birds. There are several threads about mixed breed birds, you can take a look and see if they appeal to you or not. Personally, I like them as I like having birds that don't look just like everyone else's.

If you want offspring that lay colored eggs, go with an Easter egger rooster, you'll probably get pullets that lay green eggs, and a variety of feather colors. If you like the looks of barred Rocks, get a Rock rooster. He'll throw mostly black, all barred chicks on those hens. Or, get something like a nice buff Orpington just to shake things up. You're not going to get any weird mutant looking bird by mixing breeds, just a variety of colors.

 

[Winterwolfbane]

There is also a difference between breeds that are high egg producers. And ones that are called dual purpose. For meat and eggs. The breeds you have listed are all "dual purpose" breeds. And all pretty respectable egg layers and will brood and hatch their own or other eggs. Where a lot of the egg production breeds are high strung and non-sitters.

I have a mixed flock of Americana and mixes with Americana. They're a mix of Wyandotte, Marans, Welsummer and, Sussex. They're a mostly green and blue egg layers and every color of the rainbow. Feather color wise. They are usually the first flock to start laying in the spring without lights. And reliable as far as production when the pure blooded flocks I have aren't. I also like the pea combs because we have some really wicked winters in Pa. And that comb type is less likely to freeze.

Yeah, all depends what you are looking for. I prefer Wyandotte and Cochins. Just because they are usually gentle and good mothers.