Golden Sex Link

We have 4 out of a flock of 10 birds total and really love ours - all four are very sweet and calm with the other chickens in the flock. We've never had pecking issues from any of our flock. We got ours from a friend that incubates/hatches eggs from his flock. I'm not sure what line his came from, but fortunately they are a good temperment!

i had a golden comet that looked just like the review pic

They are awesome layers. My current (Nugget) started to lay on September 1 and has laid everyday since. She is very friendly. Just like a dog. When she was younger... she hated me and ran away every time she saw me. Now that she is laying.... I trip over her. The only con that I have had with this breed is their short lifespan. For me, it has been 2-2.5 years. They seem to lay their bodies out. I hope that Nugget lives a long life. Even if it means less eggs for me.

My girls sneak in the back door at every opportunity- often assisted by our sweet yellow lab!
Love having 3 of these hens!

i have 4 golden sex links and they lay 4 eggs a day for 7 days a week and they haven't slowed down. once in a while we get a double yolker the only con I have noticed is that they seem to be mean to other breeds of chickens like the brown leghorns we had in with them got picked on a lot.

My red sex links lay daily. They are wonderful layers.

In my area those birds are called Golden Comets they look exactly alike and I would be surprised if they are NOT the same bird. My birds are senior citizens now when it comes to chickens and their production has fallen off dramatically now that they are in a heavy molt (maybe one egg every two days). The main reason I have chickens is for their manure I have a vegetable garden. The grand kids enjoy them as well. .I have a Barred Rock heritage bird that is currently trying to join the flock. She will start to lay in January. That hen is a bit more aloof than the rest of the flock but is a much heavier bird and I doubt will be as good a layer as the rest of the flock was in their prime.

Fun and informative. Thanks for the write-up!

I have 4 golden sex links that are 7 weeks old, I agree they are amazing chickens but my curious chicks peck at the freckles on my hands but leave my legs alone.

That was an interesting article. Thanks for posting. I never read anything negative before I got my golden comets. Wish I had done my homework a bit better.

Golden comets have been my favorite layers so far and make the best gardening companions
Mine were very reliable and would lay all though winter. Early morning layers.
Only downfall: aggressive towards new flock mates during integration. Definitely birds of a feather flock together kind of bird.

I have one gold sex link - the sweetest and least aggressive bird in my flock. So surprising you have this experience with yours but I know the Red Sex Links often have the Rhode Island Red heritage, which I have heard is a more assertive bird. My Gold Star is very non-competitive with food, perch space, everything. She loves to be held and pet.

really valuable and thoughtful - every one should consider this type of information with the bred for battery cage sexlinks...anyone can create sexlinks with heritage birds in their own flocks but the ones from hatcheries are HIGHLY selected by giant corporations who have been working on them for decades to get them to the state they are in. the worst part is that many of them do not forrage well and make bugs and weeds into eggs - which are the best eggs we can get. try california greys if you want satisfaction and longevity. they where bred to do just that.

I have 2 golden sex link hens in my flock, they are about 2 and a half years old. Both of them are very healthy and lay a beautiful, large egg pretty much every day. They are friendly sociable birds that don't mind being held when I go in the coop. On occasion I do get very large and slightly misshapen eggs. It sounds like your bird may be calcium deficient, if her eggs are paper thin, she probably needs more calcium in her diet. They need more than other chickens that aren't prolific layers. After I got mine I started reading up on them, and was scared about so many health problems being talked about. I thought...OMG what have I gotten myself into! But both of them have been beautiful, friendly and healthy birds, laying an egg every day for over 2 years. I have no regrets about buying them.

Tazbeaux - I'm happy you have good luck with your golden six link hens. As for mine being calcium deficient, I would say yes that is likely, however, consider I feed Purina Layena, supplement with both crushed shells and Oyster shells. I do not give the scratch until late in the day so the hens will eat their Layena all day and treats (green vegies - sparingly) are given later in day for same reason. I have 7 other hens of 5 other varieties who lay more eggs than Star does now and none of them have any problems with the shells being thin. Star has never seemed to have as big an appetite or be as highly motivated by food as the other chickens. As I mentioned, experience with one chicken is not conclusive. She is a very sweet, intelligent, charming chicken and I am very fond of her. I am actually glad she is not laying as much since it seems harmful to her. Her eggs are incredibly huge - the cartoons won't close - they're not good enough quality to sell or give as gifts.

what's missing from this thread is - what strain do you have - what hatchery did they come from and what year did you get them...then readers could put them on their 'try' or 'avoid' list. also, to be more helpful, it would be great if the cross was noted too...are they a 'rir over a riw' a 'red over a deleware' 'rir over silver factor wyndotte' or, or, or. (golden sexlink really doesnt mean anything otherwise)
i realize the hatcheries never say which mega corporation their breeding stock is from so accept for 'isa browns' we never know but the other information would help people to choose or not to choose.

if it is of any help. i found an obscure university study that tested foraging abilities of a wide variety of sexlinks - the only ones that foraged worth a darn where 'production reds' and 'red over deleware' which both took 40% of their intake from foraging under conditions which where not disclosed (of course) - all of the rest where pathetic. however they did not say where any of the lines came from...typical chicken communication. chicken keepers must all be mind readers, i'm not, i just want clear, simple, essential details and it's as if no one ever thinks of it.
it takes years and years to figure it all out - and when i do, i wonder what the big secrets are all about. it causes people a lot of frustration. (hatchery breed descriptions are probably the worst part of the whole industry.)

Thanks Ceceuu, I am also happy that my girls are holding up well. It sure seems that you are going above and beyond with supplying calcium for your girls. My flock usually gives me a lopsided egg or 2 every couple of days and one of my GSL's eggs are usually too large for the cartons also. Those are the eggs we eat ourselves, and I sell the pretty ones

@free burd, My GSL chickens came from Meyer Hatchery, probably around the summer of 2013, one baby was dead in the box, but all the others were strong and healthy and all are still doing well today.

There is sure a lot of contradicting information here!
Free Bird, I agree, it would be very helpful if people were giving info on what hatchery theirs are from, and exactly which sex-link breed cross theirs are.
I am now confused and concerned, and not sure what to do as I am planning to get some GSLs due to arrive at my local feed store tomorrow. While I've never had GSLs before, I have had, and known many others that have had, Red Sex links that are RIR rooster over Delaware hens. And have been very impressed all around, from laying performance, to health and vigor.

I've kept many kinds of chickens over 45+ years, most of that time heavy dual purpose 'heritage' breeds, to maintain farm flocks to supply meat and eggs for a large family. I usually hatched and raised my own after initial purchases of purebred. But recent years, my only interest is egg production. I've done very well with the RSLs, with none of the health problems people are mentioning here. Quite the opposite, I've enjoyed what I've attributed to "hybrid vigor" in the RSLs.

The only "problem" I've encountered in sex-link layers has been actually not in sex-links, the 1st generations crosses themselves, but with falsely represented so-called sex-link pullets and hens being sold by private small "breeders" that are actually results of crossing sex-links to sex-links. That seems to be something of a popular thing at least in this part of the country. They are hatching and raising their own out of F1 sex-link hens. Most I've encountered have been reds, but I'm presently myself stuck with 4 supposed black sex-link pullets that are laying small to barely medium eggs of various off-white and cream shades. I'm kicking myself, never again, NEVER again, will I buy from someone breeding their own, I will buy from a reputable hatchery, directly, or through a trusted feed store that orders from hatchery.