Who to keep for breeding next spring?

[redinator]

I've reached a point where I'm deciding which chicks to keep for breeding next spring. In a month when my RIR turn 12 weeks I'll be deciding who goes to freezer camp. I'm rehoming as many of the males as possible, but the odds aren't looking good. They've been listed on various sites for over 2 weeks and no takers as of yet.

The males are:

Kettle a 16 week old barnyard mix.

Taz a 16 week old barnyard mix (possible EE?)

Rehomed: Skillet a 9 week old barnyard mix (as far as I can tell).

A whole mess of RIR males they are from a straight run batch of 16 chicks that is heavy on the males. There are at least 7 males, but only 8 weeks old, so there maybe more. I seriously hope not!

Time for the ladies:

Buffy a 9 week old Buff Orpington (Pure/Mix?) she came with the batch of RIR . .I'm so glad she's a pullet since I hear they tend to go broody more often than other breeds

Pot a 16 week old Copper Marans mix

Sweety a 16 week old EE, or so I'm told.

And some RIR pullets they're 8 weeks so I'm still not certain on the number of girls in the batch.

I have the space to setup two flocks:

One flock would consist of a RIR male and all (most) the pullets from the batch of 16 RIR to have some pure breeds to sell.

The second flock would have all my mixes and one offs, maybe a few RIR pullets depending on the number of girls after the boys finish showing themselves.

I recently realized my black chicks tend to suffer (panting, wings spread etc.) in the heat and humidity here and I was told black is a dominant feather gene, so I'm seriously considering rehoming as many of the black chicks as possible, two cockerels and one pullet, any thoughts on that?

If I kept Pot, the black pullet, and breed her with Taz (the little colored cockerel) would the chicks be mostly black?

If anyone is interested in the RIR cockerels or black cockerels please let me know.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The second flock would have all my mixes and one offs, maybe a few RIR pullets depending on the number of girls after the boys finish showing themselves.

What are your goals for this group? What traits do you want them to have? It is easier for me to make decisions if I know what I want.

I tend to keep my cockerels around long enough (23 weeks) to assess how they grow. That's still kind of young to determine much about behaviors though some have disqualified themselves by behaviors. I keep my pullets long enough to analyze how they lay before making final decisions. You don't plan to do that but I suggest you look them over well for defects. Crooked toes, cross beaks, things like that.

You say a lot of them are mixes. Do you know what they are mixed with? If it is a color other than black then about half of the black ones' chicks will inherit black and half that other color. If both parents are half black and half red, then about 3/4 of the chicks will be mostly black and 1/4 red. If one parent is red and one is half black/half red then half the chicks will be black and half will be red.

If I kept Pot, the black pullet, and breed her with Taz (the little colored cockerel) would the chicks be mostly black?

What is she mixed with? If she is mixed with another black then you will get black chicks. If she is mixed with something other than black you will get about half black chicks.

Taz a 16 week old barnyard mix (possible EE?)

Why do you think Taz is an EE? There is something weird going on up on top of his head but that's not what I'd expect from an EE.

 

[redinator]

What are your goals for this group? What traits do you want them to have?

Primarily I'll be breeding for health and temperament, anything like egg color or adult plumage would be secondary. I'm asking about the chicks with black feathers since I realized they are having more trouble with the heat here. I wouldn't want to hatch a whole mess of black chicks that are just going to suffer in the summers, which are long.

I suggest you look them over well for defects. Crooked toes, cross beaks, things like that.

I keep my pullets long enough to analyze how they lay before making final decisions.

Good things to take into account.

You say a lot of them are mixes. Do you know what they are mixed with?

I have no idea of the parentage of any of the mixes. I got them from a batch of hatching eggs I ordered on Amazon.

Why do you think Taz is an EE?

It's was what many guessed when I posted him on the breed/gender thread, so I went with it, lol. I know there's no way to really know with mixes, especially males. He has a crest and a very floppy single comb, here's a better picture of him.