The Poultry Keeper

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3540 Location: Monmouthshire

I had 16 eggs in the hatcher, 3 dead in shell, 13 hatched of which 9 were male. So...I have 2 cream legbar and 2 Welbar pullets and nothing due to hatch until Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Last weeks hatchlings are under a broody.

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2671 Location: South Cumbria

not a good result Sad

hopefully the 4 will be fit and healthy though to make up for the high percentage of males

JC · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 1116 Location: Sussex

ah well atleast you got some girls.

On the topic of auto sexing breeds, could anyone tell me which breeds are auto-sexing at day old? Smile

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3540 Location: Monmouthshire

All autosexing breeds end in -bar: Legbar, Welbar, Wybar, Rhodebar etc.
the exception is the so-called Old Cotswold Legbar, which is neither old nor legbar, but a hybrid and NOT autosexing. Sex linkage is useful if you don't want pure breeds and only works for one generation. Gold cock (RIR etc) to Silver hen (Light Sussex etc) will give you silver male and gold female chicks. Unbarred cock to barred hen will give you black female and black with white headspot male chicks. You can also do it with leg colour, but I can't remember who has to have which colour!

chickens rock your sox · Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Posts: 131 Location: Kildare-Ireland

In the book ''a guide to hatching and rearing'' by katie thear, there is 2 or 3 pages on male and female leg,eye colour and the feather colour when you cross different breeds!!It's a great buy I think!!

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

Thats a good book to have.