What are chickens crosses, classification and description of the best breeds
Some owners of summer cottages or villagers decide to seriously start raising poultry. However, before you do this, you need to familiarize yourself with the crosses of chickens and choose a suitable breed for further breeding and rearing.
What are cross chickens
Before starting to grow, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of such birds. Cross is called a hybrid variety of chickens, which was bred using several breeds. They are distinguished by their meatiness and a high level of productivity. Therefore, they are most often grown in order to get a lot of meat in the future for personal consumption or further sale.
How do you get
To understand in more detail what crosses are, you need to familiarize yourself with the process of their breeding. When creating such breeds, special livestock specialists are involved. First you need to choose one rooster. At the same time, birds of highly productive breeds are used. They interbreed with hens of other equally productive breeds. As a result, the resulting hybrids are re-crossed, but with a third breed of birds.
Advantages and disadvantages
Such birds have a number of advantages and disadvantages that must be dealt with in advance. The main advantages of such chickens include the following:
- high strength of planting eggs due to the compactness of chickens;
- unpretentiousness in care and maintenance;
- high level of productivity for hatching meat and eggs;
- calm temperament in chickens, thanks to which it is possible to avoid fights in the chicken coop.
The main disadvantage of crosses is that after a month of cultivation, they will have to be limited in food.
Which is better, breed or cross?
People who first started raising poultry do not know what is better to start. If the chickens will be raised only for meat, it is better to buy crosses. They are considered the most meaty ones. For breeding and obtaining eggs, it is better to use simple breeds..
Classification
The classification has three main varieties of chickens that are grown in the agricultural sector.
Egg
Egg birds are bred as a result of crossing the Island genus with other breeds of layers. In hens of the egg production direction, the eggshell is white with a slight brownish tint. Such birds have many advantages, among which they distinguish resistance to high temperatures and stress. Therefore, they are suitable for growing in chicken coops, which are often hot.
Meat
People who want a lot of meat should raise meat chickens. On average, more than 1500 grams of meat can be obtained for two kilograms of feed. It is necessary to keep meat birds on the floor in special cages. This is done so that they move less and constantly gain mass. It is necessary to raise such chickens for forty days. During this time, the weight of one bird will increase to 2-3 kilograms.
Universal
Popular are versatile birds that can be raised for both meat and eggs. In addition to versatility, the advantages of chickens include their unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention. They can be grown in hot and cool chicken coops.
The main thing is that there is no high level of humidity and strong drafts in the room.
Best crosses
There are eleven varieties of crosses that are grown by many farmers.
Golosheynaya
This is an exotic variety of chickens that look like turkeys. They have few feathers, but despite this, they survive even under harsh conditions. A distinctive feature from other chickens is the absence of feathering on the neck. The tail of such birds is not very long, but at the same time it is voluminous. The beak has a curved shape, its surface is colored scarlet. The wings of the naked chickens are adjacent to the body.
Wyandot
These are calm and hardy hens that can have a variety of plumage. However, most often there are individuals with black and white feathers. The body of adult birds is compact and has a rounded shape. Lobes with a scallop on the head are colored bright red. The tail is small, covered with large feathers. Among the merits of the Wyandotts, they highlight the fact that they carry well and constantly take care of new offspring.
Bressgal
Lovers of tender meat should consider raising Bressgal chickens. They are grown within a month and a half. During this time, they increase their mass to 3-5 kilograms. Also, such crosses can be classified as laying hens, as they are capable of laying large eggs. The birds have snow-white plumage, the scallop is colored red.
Lohman Brown
These chickens cannot be called meat chickens, as they grow slowly. At the same time, adult birds have a compact body and low weight. Many farmers breed Loman Brown for their eggs.
Females have dense plumage, feathers are painted in white or ash colors. The wings are small, the legs are elongated and feathered.
The eggs obtained from the Loman Brown rearing process have a dense shell.
Bielefelder
These are common productive chickens that were bred in Germany. The distinctive features of Bielefelders include their resistance to frost, egg production and calm temperament. Chickens have an unusual coloration, as their feathers can be dyed gold and black at the same time. The red color is most common among roosters. This breed is egg-laying and therefore is rarely raised for meat.
Kuchinskaya
This breed is considered the most meaty, and therefore it is better to breed it to get meat. The plumage of the Kuchin birds is gray, sometimes reddish dots are visible on the feathers. In females, the wings are light and stand out against the background of the body, while in roosters they are darker. Also Kuchin chickens lay well, 200-250 eggs throughout the year. At the same time, they begin to rush early, in the sixth month of life.
Master Gray
This is a French breed of chickens, which belongs to the versatile varieties of crosses. Bird feathers are grayish with a white tint. Most often, these birds are raised on small farms for eggs and meat. Their body is large, with fluffy plumage. The feathers located on the wings sometimes have small patterns.The main disadvantage of Master Gray is that it will not work to get new offspring at home.
Legbar
This is a rare breed of chickens, which is not found in agriculture as often as the rest. These birds look very funny, they have small legs and a rounded body. Their crest and comb are painted bright red. The feathers on the body are thick and dense. Most often they are painted in an ashy color with a cream shade.
Legbar is grown for meat. Each adult weighs at least three kilograms.
Hungarian giant
This breed got its name because of the rapid growth of birds. Also, the characteristics of these chickens include tasty meat, ease of growing and the ability to lay many eggs. The birds have an elongated and elongated neck with a small head. There is a red comb on the top of the head. The plumage of chickens is lush, feathers are available not only on the body, but also on the legs.
Brown Nick
People who are interested in egg-laying crosses can breed this breed of birds in the chicken coop. They can be fed with almost any food, as they are omnivorous. It starts at the age of five months and ends after a year and a half. They can be grown both in spacious chicken coops and in compact cages. They do not need special conditions of detention, they tolerate heat and low temperatures well..
Conclusion
Many aspiring farmers want to grow crosses. Before breeding such birds in a hen house, you need to familiarize yourself with their classification, advantages, disadvantages, as well as with the characteristics of their breeds.
