Pants Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 Hi anyone out there help to identify these hens, they were given to me by someone who was moving house, they lay large sky blue eggs and are Sussex size birds mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 She must be a cross breed or a hybrid, she isn't a pure breed with those eggs. Not many hens lay blue eggs, and most have some araucana/cream legbar somewhere in their heritage, whereas your girl looks a lot chunkier, more like a bluebell, but they lay tinted eggs and have slate colour legs as far as I know. Someone may be along who is more clued up on hybrids than me; I think you are lucky to have her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Posted October 22, 2021 Author Share Posted October 22, 2021 Hi thanks for your reply I have 4 hens like this someone said they might be cream legbar x white leghorns but I have tried this cross and young hens nothing like them, originally I thought they were bluebells but as you said they lay tinted eggs not large sky blue like these, as you’ve said they must be a hybrid but for this person to have 4,I don’t think it was a hatching that they done I’m sure it would have been a few birds they purchased Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Posted October 22, 2021 Author Share Posted October 22, 2021 Hi the reason I think they were purchased is along with these 4 they gave me 4 white leghorns 1 barred rock 1 Sussex 1 wellsummer 1 copper maran 2 ex commercial hens, no cockerels all hens that makes me think they weren’t hatched out by them unless they disposed of the cockerels but they didn’t seem to be people that would hatch chicks then dispose of the males Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Well you certainly have a nice bunch of birds there, plenty of eggs and size/shape/colour variation amongst the hens. Could you ask the person where they got them? I wonder if a small backyard breeder made the cross? If so it would be interesting to know what it was, and/or if it could be replicated as I feel sure there would be a market for a blue hen which is a blue egg layer. Its not something I have ever looked into, breeding for egg colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Posted October 22, 2021 Author Share Posted October 22, 2021 Hi Dont know where they moved to, think it was up north,he was passing my place saw a field with hens free ranging and called in asked if I wanted some hens then dropped them off, I wouldn’t think their that old the legs are still clean not scaled yet, two did go broody this year so even though they are hybrids they still have it in them so might be first cross, one hen has started laying again after a moult hoping the other start after their moult so they are winter layers aswell which makes it even more confusing as to their breeding maybe someone on here might have either had these or knows of the cross to produce these birds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 A round of Google suggest it might be a cross they call Prairie Bluebell Egger in America. Some websites give an idea what certain crosses will produce from a cockerel: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 Hi are these Prairie bluebell cockerels available in uk as I’ve not heard of them before mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaCoop Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 I have a hen of this colouring. She was classed as a Sussex Blue when I bought her. She lays a light brown egg, so wonder as mentioned they are crossed with something to get the blue? She is the chunkier of all of my hens! In fact she is a big gal! But clumsy 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 On 10/24/2021 at 10:33 AM, Pants said: Hi are these Prairie bluebell cockerels available in uk as I’ve not heard of them before mike I have no clue. I don’t live in the UK or America for that matter. I just googled your hen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 Thanks to all who have commented on my inquiries about these hens, I think I’ll have to try different crosses which will take time to get this hybrid reproduced again 🤞as I’m sure this cross would be a popular back garden chicken, calm, goes broody, large sky blue eggs, and to top it a nice looking hen, I will have to spend a considerable amount of time trying to replicate this hybrid if at all mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 As you say @Pants, it's not a case of breeding but cross breeding to get what you want. So they don't breed true, with a cock ands hens producing more cocks and hens with the same attributes. Whoever is producing these has two or more different breed pens and crosses them in large quantities to get the hens on the market at the right price as you describe. Perhaps a life mission? Perhaps just buy some Cream Legbars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 Hi yeah you’re right could take years to find the cross and cream legbars ( which I have) do lay coloured eggs but not the size/ colour I’m after, I have EE/BCM/Barred rock/ Barnevelder/RIR/white leghorns/Wellsummer so I’ve got a wide choice of crosses that I’ve tried but failed to find colour/size I’m after, I’ll persevere with it just in case I come across the right pairing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 If you are serious about it then I would look into egg colour genetics (I am presuming there is such a thing!) I spent time looking at breeding for colour/type but I have never looked at egg colour. Because a large blue egg is so rare I would have thought that is the thing you have to get right first. What's so odd (and good) about your girls is that they are big and chunky, nothing like the usual blue eggers. Purely on looks you would think something like a australorp/orp/cochin was involved, particularly the australorp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 Hi a local poultry farm near me did mention an Australorp cockerel might be the cross 👍 that might be next springs experiment with cross breeding thank for the memory jog 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheChickenMan Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Hi if of interested I have barred chickens with a rose comb that the breeder called Marsbars. They lay blue eggs and are large they lay over 200 a year. I am in Northern Ireland. Here is link to breeders http://www.johnstonspoultry.com/skyline.html You will notice they have a diamond skyline as well which lays blue eggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
