The Dwarf Chickens in Sasso's Label Rouge Rangers - Implications?

[Sparklee]

Sasso, a company in France, supplies the birds for the Label Rouge birds that are 1/3 of the market over there (according to the Sasso web site).

They use dwarf females at times for breeding purposes. Quote: "The dwarf size reduces the cost of raising breeding flocks, in both feed and equipment terms.
This genetic characteristic is located in the sex chromosomes (Z in birds, ZZ in the male and Z- in the females). If you mate a dwarf hen with a normal size cock you will get a normal size broiler."
Source:
http://www.sasso.fr/breeder-hens-free-range.php?produit=breeders&lg=en

Colored Rangers (jmhatchery.com) seem to be from Label Rouge breeding stock. (at least that's what I get out of their web site)

So, are there any implications?

I had earlier thought to hold a few colored rangers back this year to use as a few replacement backyard layers. I think the colored rangers are pretty birds. But if random eggs from the flock are collected to put under a random broody hen, some of the offspring might be dwarves, right? Is that realy a possibility? Any implications? Health issues?

Is use of dwarf chickens a standard operating procedure in breeding of chickens?

How do the breeders get/find/make enough dwarf chickens for breeding?

 

[saladin]

The dwarfing gene dw is often used in commercial breeding flocks for the following reasons:
*More resistant to Marek's Disease
*Slight advantage for hatchability
*Better feed coversion during laying
*Improved heat tolerance
*Fewer abnormal eggs (ie. soft shell, double yolks)

This information is from Crawford's Poultry Breeding and Genetics, 1990.