[Deano27]

afternoon all, can people shed light on some of the hybrid breeds of chicken.  there's a lot out there but essentially it seems that many just have different names.  i'm curious about which breeds they have all been crossed from.

for example:

is the black rock = bovans nera = black star
is bovan goldline = meadowsweet ranger = mendelsham ranger

the others i have seen are various names for bluebelles, sussex stars, amber stars, white stars, speckled stars, all with various names.

anyway, i'm more curious than anything, just wondering if people had any thoughts?

[Bodger]

You maybe right but they are trade names and the blend of breeds and strains that goes to putting them together, tends to be a trade secret. You can make an educated guess as to what they are of course, but you can never be sure.

[Deano27]

I did wonder really as most hybrid sellers seem to sell almost identical breeds but with different names.  i guess we'll never know for sure!

[Bodger]

What you tend to find is that these hybrids never breed true. This is because the breeders tend to keep two totally different breeds of parent birds and  what you are actually purchasing, is a straight cross between the two flocks.
This guarentees hybrid vigour, which is what usually gives the off spring the advantage in laying and fattening ability over pure strains.