Spring Hatching - Breed Together

[BeccaRecca13]

Hi There!

If you had this list of chickens, with two roosters (a bantam calico cochin and a black copper marans) what breeds would you cross and/or hatch from? Who would you cross? I know the BCM with any blue egg layer will be an olive Egger - we have done that one last year and it was GREAT! But seeing if there is anything else out there.
Here’s the LONG LIST!

Blue cochin LF
Black cochin LF
Buff cochin LF
White Cochin LF
Partridge cochin LF
Calico Cochin Bantam
Mille Fleur Cochin Bantam
Black Star
Red Star
Buff Laced Polish
Bielefelder
Ameracauna
Whiting true blue
Whiting true green
Golden Laced Sebright
Lakenvelder
Saphhire Gem Olive Egger
Black copper Marans
Salmon Faverolle
Pumpkin Moss Egger (project breed from another breeder)
Lavender Orpington
Black Orpington
Frizzle Easter Egger
Dark brahma
Cream legbar
White sultan


Added a few photos of my flock.

 

[sourland]

What do you want to accomplish with your matings?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I tossed two eggs from Blue Copper Maran hen and Salmon Faverolle Rooster in the incubator this year not sure what to expect. However, I am very impressed with the pullet and cockerel that hatched out! The cockerel is HUGE much larger than his dad was, very docile, great with the hens and absolutely gorgeous. The pullet is also on the larger side with a very meaty wide chest like her brother, also docile and lays beautiful dark brown speckled eggs daily. Out of the spring pullets from last year she has been my best and most consistent layer. I would definitely recommend tossing some eggs in the incubator from your faverolle hen crossed with you bcm rooster.

Edit: I also wanted to add that while they are docile they are not completely aloof like some Faverolles are known for. The cockerel especially has been very good with staying alert, watching the hens and herding them into the barn at night.

 

[3KillerBs]

What do you want to accomplish with your matings?

Yes, this.

Offhand, I'm not a bantam person so I'd stick to the LF rooster and the LF ladies.

If you're just enhancing your own flock and don't plan on selling chicks/started pullets you could just pair the chosen rooster with whichever hens you like best for whatever reason you happen to like them.

If you are selling chicks/started pullets, making pure BCMs and Olive Eggers is probably the winning strategy.

 

[BeccaRecca13]

Yes, this.

Offhand, I'm not a bantam person so I'd stick to the LF rooster and the LF ladies.

If you're just enhancing your own flock and don't plan on selling chicks/started pullets you could just pair the chosen rooster with whichever hens you like best for whatever reason you happen to like them.

If you are selling chicks/started pullets, making pure BCMs and Olive Eggers is probably the winning strategy.

I wanted to sell some chicks. I did a hatch last year with my BCM to BCM and sold those - 100% hatch rate, came out great. Then I did olive eggers which was another great hatch with 8 out of 9 hatching, which also all sold.
Someone said that BCM with Barred hens create a sexlink? But haven’t heard of that before, I thought it needed to be a RIR Rooster.

I have a bantam cochin coop that has 8 bantam cochin hens with the 1 bantam rooster, so they are separated from the LF ladies
I am planning a hatch of their eggs in the next month or so.

I would like to also get some deeper greens, darker blues, and some darker marans for my own flock for selling eggs. Someone mentioned hatching eggs too, which I’m thinking would probably be best to focus on the BCM and Olive - that seems to be the only options with a BCM rooster besides creating barnyard mixes all around.

 

[3KillerBs]

Someone said that BCM with Barred hens create a sexlink? But haven’t heard of that before, I thought it needed to be a RIR Rooster.

Yes, any non-barred male crossed with a barred hen will create sexlinks. All male chicks will be barred (and have a headspot), and females not barred (and have no headspot).

My experience with selling POL pullets in my area is that I can get $5 more per bird for purebreds/desired breeds than for my mixes and that while *sometimes* I can sell purebred males I can only very rarely sell the crossbred males.