Elevating My Breeding Game: Embracing Speckled Eggs and Bloomed Hens

Breeding chickens is a journey full of surprises and rewards. Right now, the focus is on making everything speckled and heavily bloomed, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with the next generation of Silverudd chickens. These birds all hatched from beautiful eggs, and the excitement is building as the flock grows and evolves.

Growing the Next Generation of Silverudd

The Silverudd breed is known for its unique egg colors and feather patterns. This season, the goal is to enhance those traits, focusing on speckled eggs and hens with heavy bloom. Bloom refers to the soft, powdery coating on feathers that gives them a velvety look and feel. It’s a sign of good health and strong genetics.

The current batch of Silverudd chicks all came from eggs that showed promising speckling and color. Watching them grow confirms that the breeding choices are on track. These young hens will soon start laying, and their eggs will be a key part of future preorders.

Introducing Marans and BC Olives Under a Purple Crosshatch Roo

To add diversity and new traits, Marans and BC Olive hens are being bred under a Purple Crosshatch rooster. This rooster brings a striking bloom that complements the hens egg colors in their offspring.

Adding some pullets from this pairing, along with birds from Opry Hill, will strengthen the flock’s genetic pool. This mix aims to produce hens with rich colors and speckled eggs that stand out with their beautiful bloom.

Achieving the Perfect Blue Laying Hens

The true blue hens in the flock have turned out exactly as hoped. Their eggs are matching what I envisioned with this breeding pairing. These blues are a highlight for summer/fall preorders, especially because the young hens are now mature enough to lay sizable eggs and often displaying speckles/blooms.

The eggs from these blue hens will offer variety and appeal to anyone interested in unique egg colors. This is a great example of how careful selection and patience pay off in breeding.

Managing Frizzles with a Homozygous ICB Rooster

Frizzle chickens will be moved to a homozygous ICB rooster this summer, after Spring orders are completed. This pairing ensures that the frizzle trait is consistent and healthy.

I think the end goal with my frizzles is a nice shade of blue/green with speckling and feel sure that moving them under the ICB rooster will provide exactly that.

Exploring New Egg Colors with Silverudd Crosses

The breeding program has already produced some lovely speckled green eggs from Silverudd crossed with Welsummer hens. The next step is crossing Welsummer with ICB, which will create new F1 shades of green eggs. These eggs will be part of the summer orders and offer a fresh option for those who appreciate unique egg colors.

This approach shows how crossing different breeds can expand the palette of egg colors and patterns, making the flock more interesting and valuable.

What to Expect in Summer Preorders

Summer preorders will feature a variety of eggs from the newer hens as well as many of what you are used to seeing.

• Speckled eggs from Frizzle and Blue hens

• Green shades and speckles from Welsummer x ICB crosses

• Consistent quality from Marans and BC Olive crosses - a gain in heavy blooms

• Frizzle chicks that lay pretty speckled eggs from the homozygous ICB rooster pairing

  
  

These eggs represent months of careful breeding and selection, offering customers a chance to raise birds with unique traits and beautiful eggs.

Breeding chickens is a learning process, and sharing the journey helps build a community of enthusiasts. Questions are always welcome, whether about breeding choices, egg colors, or flock management. This openness supports better understanding and success for everyone involved.

Breeding for speckled vibrant eggs takes patience, planning, and attention to detail. The progress with Silverudd, Marans, BC Olives, and frizzles shows how combining genetics thoughtfully can produce stunning results. Summer preorders will showcase these efforts, offering a range of unique eggs and healthy chicks.