Breeding California Grey Chickens

[Ouwendyker]

I currently have a dozen white leghorn hens, thinkin about breeding them with a barred rock rooster to get california grey chicks. My question is, does it need to be a purebred barred rock rooster to get the autosexing trait, or can it be any rooster that has barring?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Your cross won't produce California grey chickens. CG are an actual breed. You'll just be producing a mix.
They also won't be sex linked. To produce what you're thinking it needs to be a barred hen and non barred rooster. Also its sex linked because of the barred male offspring being born with a head spot.
Your leghorns dominate white would be dominate and not allow the head spot to be visible even if your cross was the proper direction.

 

[Ouwendyker]

Your cross won't produce California grey chickens. CG are an actual breed. You'll just be producing a mix.
They also won't be sex linked. To produce what you're thinking it needs to be a barred hen and non barred rooster. Also its sex linked because of the barred male offspring being born with a head spot.
Your leghorns dominate white would be dominate and not allow the head spot to be visible even if your cross was the proper direction.

Thanks for the insight, however through the research i’ve done the california grey is a hybrid chicken, a cross between a male barred rock and a white leghorn hen. Are you saying this is incorrect?

 

[Ouwendyker]

I appologize, all this time I have misinterpreted the breed. The OFFSPRING of the barred rock rooster over the white leghorn hen creates the CG, and their offspring will be autosexing. Correct?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Those were the breeds used to create the California grey. It wasn't as simple as breeding the two together or breeding their offspring together.
It started there but took many more generations to establish them as a breed.
No your cross will not produce sex links nor will crossing those offspring produce them.

 

[Ouwendyker]

so what i’m understanding is if I get a BR rooster and put him with my WL hens, i’m not going to get a CG purebred? But it would still have the same traits mostly

 

[Chicken116]

so what i’m understanding is if I get a BR rooster and put him with my WL hens, i’m not going to get a CG purebred? But it would still have the same traits mostly

You would need to ask someone who has done that...both are nice breeds, but that cross won't give you a California Grey/Gray (I'm still unclear on the spelling) directly.

Developing the breed was a multigenerational effort begun by James Dryden who was a poultry scientist at what is now Oregon State. He developed the first 300 egg hen and utilized some crossing (which was apparently borderline breeding heresy and I saw a reference to threats to pull his funding). But he was after a good farm bird and production, not 'fluff and feathers' and breed standard looks). He even made it into the US Agricultural Hall of Fame for his work.

Once he left the University he ended up in California where he continued his work. He died in 1935 and his son Horace ended up selling the breed commercially into the 1940s at least. I'm still looking for some of the old sales listings from their farm in Modesto.

In any case the Drydens did the work to produce a breed, not a cross or hybrid, that happens to be derived from Barred Rocks and White Leghorns. But, they are a barred breed that lays white eggs, not a hybrid.

You might be thinking of the California White which IS a hybrid. Apparently that is the California Grey rooster with a White Leghorn Hen. You get a white bird with a few black specks, that is a truly prolific layer of white eggs.

 

[Tbraasch]

I have a question about my Rhode island reds new mom here they are almost 3 months old all but 1 have very thick necks in one a small neck any thoughts

 

[3KillerBs]

You would need to ask someone who has done that...both are nice breeds, but that cross won't give you a California Grey/Gray (I'm still unclear on the spelling) directly.

Developing the breed was a multigenerational effort begun by James Dryden who was a poultry scientist at what is now Oregon State. He developed the first 300 egg hen and utilized some crossing (which was apparently borderline breeding heresy and I saw a reference to threats to pull his funding). But he was after a good farm bird and production, not 'fluff and feathers' and breed standard looks). He even made it into the US Agricultural Hall of Fame for his work.

Once he left the University he ended up in California where he continued his work. He died in 1935 and his son Horace ended up selling the breed commercially into the 1940s at least. I'm still looking for some of the old sales listings from their farm in Modesto.

In any case the Drydens did the work to produce a breed, not a cross or hybrid, that happens to be derived from Barred Rocks and White Leghorns. But, they are a barred breed that lays white eggs, not a hybrid.

You might be thinking of the California White which IS a hybrid. Apparently that is the California Grey rooster with a White Leghorn Hen. You get a white bird with a few black specks, that is a truly prolific layer of white eggs.

Fascinating information. Thank you.