What would make the best egg layer ?

[Gavinthechickenman]

The hens I have are buff Orpington,black stars

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

For sure not Cochin, they have very low egg production. I think Black Sex-links have slightly better egg production than the Starlight Eggers and the Sapphire Gem have, but I don't think you could go wrong with them though.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree about the Cochin, not famous for their egg laying so probably not the best choice for your goals. Starlight Eggers and Sapphire Gems are not breeds but are crosses that should lay pretty well. You do not get guarantees with any breed for what one individual hen will do but if you have enough for averages to mean much you will probably be happy with either.

There are two types of black sex links sold by the hatcheries we use. One type is the commercial egg layers. These are going to lay a lot of decent sized eggs. They can be prone to medical issues, especially of you over feed them. But they lay a lot of eggs.

The other type is simply a cross between two regular breeds that give the right feather patterns so they can be sexed at hatch. Maybe a RIR rooster over a Barred Rock hen but other breeds are used. Since their parents are hatchery quality stock they will probably lay really well. If you know which hatchery they come from we may be able to help you with what type you have.

 

[Gavinthechickenman]

I agree about the Cochin, not famous for their egg laying so probably not the best choice for your goals. Starlight Eggers and Sapphire Gems are not breeds but are crosses that should lay pretty well. You do not get guarantees with any breed for what one individual hen will do but if you have enough for averages to mean much you will probably be happy with either.

There are two types of black sex links sold by the hatcheries we use. One type is the commercial egg layers. These are going to lay a lot of decent sized eggs. They can be prone to medical issues, especially of you over feed them. But they lay a lot of eggs.

The other type is simply a cross between two regular breeds that give the right feather patterns so they can be sexed at hatch. Maybe a RIR rooster over a Barred Rock hen but other breeds are used. Since their parents are hatchery quality stock they will probably lay really well. If you know which hatchery they come from we may be able to help you with what type you have.

I agree about the Cochin, not famous for their egg laying so probably not the best choice for your goals. Starlight Eggers and Sapphire Gems are not breeds but are crosses that should lay pretty well. You do not get guarantees with any breed for what one individual hen will do but if you have enough for averages to mean much you will probably be happy with either.

There are two types of black sex links sold by the hatcheries we use. One type is the commercial egg layers. These are going to lay a lot of decent sized eggs. They can be prone to medical issues, especially of you over feed them. But they lay a lot of eggs.

The other type is simply a cross between two regular breeds that give the right feather patterns so they can be sexed at hatch. Maybe a RIR rooster over a Barred Rock hen but other breeds are used. Since their parents are hatchery quality stock they will probably lay really well. If you know which hatchery they come from we may be able to help you with what type you have.

Other than the Cochin rooster all the other ones came from hover and all the hens from murrymcmurry

 

[Ridgerunner]

So you have Starlet Egger, Sapphire Gem, Black Cochin, and Black Sex Link roosters and Buff Orp and Black Star hens. Your interest is purely egg laying, nothing else. Your Black Sex Link rooster is a cross between a Hoover RIR Rooster and a Hoover BR hen.

As far as egg laying goes I think any rooster other than the Cochin would be good.

Based on their weights I think your Black Star hens from McMurray are a cross between two regular breeds. I think either hen would go with any of those three roosters very well.

 

[Gavinthechickenman]

So you have Starlet Egger, Sapphire Gem, Black Cochin, and Black Sex Link roosters and Buff Orp and Black Star hens. Your interest is purely egg laying, nothing else. Your Black Sex Link rooster is a cross between a Hoover RIR Rooster and a Hoover BR hen.

As far as egg laying goes I think any rooster other than the Cochin would be good.

Based on their weights I think your Black Star hens from McMurray are a cross between two regular breeds. I think either hen would go with any of those three roosters very well.

What do you think would look cool and lay well ?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Roosters

Starlet Egger - A hybrid so I don't know what genetics go into them but they are reddish brown, not that strong a color genetically. They should have the blue egg gene so most of their daughters should lay blue or green eggs. The chickens are relatively small.

Sapphire Gem - Conflicting information online, not sure what they are genetically. They should be black based but with either lavender or blue modifiers. They should have brown egg genes.

Black Cochin - Disqualify because of laying.

Black Sex Link - Yours is a cross between RIR and Barred Rock. It should have one barred gene so half its offspring will be barred. It has half black genetics and half red so its chicks can vary in color. Has brown eggshell genetics.

Hens

Buff Orp hen - Yellow feathers. Goes broody a lot. Brown eggs.

With a Starlet Egger rooster - he is a hybrid so you could get some variation but I'd expect different shades of reddish or orangish colored chicks. Most pullets should lay blue or green eggs.

With a Sapphire Gem rooster - Mostly black chicks though you might get some gray. Not sure. The buff from the hen with the black can cause interesting coloring. Random feathers may have yellow or orange on them, sometimes single feathers but often in blotches. Brown eggs.

Black Sex Link rooster - Half of the chicks should have shades or red or orange while half have the black, possibly yellow or orange blotches. Brown eggs.

Black Star hen - I do not know the genetics of this cross. She might be half red/half black or she could be all black based. McMurray's description does not help since they describe two different possibilities. There are too many possibilities and not enough information.

With the Sapphire Gem rooster you should get some variety of black chicks. With the other two you might get all black or some red or black.

This used to be a lot simpler. We used to deal with actual breeds with set genetics, specific hybrids that we understood, or just barnyards mutts where we did not know anything for sure. Now that chickens are trendy hatcheries are coming up with designer chickens with mixed and often secret genetics so you are not sure what you are working with.

What do you think would look cool and lay well ?

Lay well? Any of them. Look cool? That depends on the eye of the beholder. I don't know what you think is "cool". I'd suggest using hens from both the Buff Orps and Black Stars and try one of the roosters. Any of the three. You'll probably like the results.

Good luck!










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