Breeding Sex Links - third generation

[cmom]

I love my sex links too. I do sell my eggs but I only make enough to feed them. I will never re-coup all of the money spent on the coops, feeders, etc. I live in Florida and we had wicked heat last summer too but there were parts of the country that were worse off than we were. I put a couple of sprinklers in my pens. The water wets the ground and they loved scratching in the cool wet dirt. I do have shade for the birds.

 

[Fred's Hens]

When we split out the White birds, we found that they carried the super laying DNA. Now, mind you, this is not scientific, only observational, but our F3 White birds laid absolutely as well in both numbers and quality as their ISA Brown grandmothers did. We found the temperament of the F3 Whites to be some of the best hens we've ever had, and that is saying a lot!!!!




I'm all for SOP, standard bred birds, mind you, but these White hens are very precious to me. I've hatched out an incubator full of F4 chicks last week. The hens had just come out of moult as 2 year olds, so I was anxious to get their DNA passed forward. I really would have preferred to put a White Rock over them, as that is the direction I'd like to take them. I used my heritage Rhode Island Red cockerel, simply because he was on hand.

If I can come across a quality WR cock bird this spring, I'd still like to make that infusion.

 

[cmom]

My whites from my original ISA Browns are super layers just like the ISA Browns are. When I crossed one of my RIR boys to my white girls, the girls came out looking like the ISA females and the boys like the ISA boys. One difference was many of the females had white ticking on the neck more so than my original ISA's.

 

[cmom]

When we split out the White birds, we found that they carried the super laying DNA. Now, mind you, this is not scientific, only observational, but our F3 White birds laid absolutely as well in both numbers and quality as their ISA Brown grandmothers did. We found the temperament of the F3 Whites to be some of the best hens we've ever had, and that is saying a lot!!!!




I'm all for SOP, standard bred birds, mind you, but these White hens are very precious to me. I've hatched out an incubator full of F4 chicks last week. The hens had just come out of moult as 2 year olds, so I was anxious to get their DNA passed forward. I really would have preferred to put a White Rock over them, as that is the direction I'd like to take them. I used my heritage Rhode Island Red cockerel, simply because he was on hand.

If I can come across a quality WR cock bird this spring, I'd still like to make that infusion.

I can't wait to hear how your match hatches out with your HRIR boy.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Yup. The chicks look to be sex linked. I think once you've clearly established the White bird for a generation or two, then you can sex link them again. That's what I suspected all along.
Of course, we are NOT breeding what ISA breeds. They have 4 grandparent lines they merge. We don't. But, nonetheless. I'll take some photos when they feather out in a couple of weeks. Right now, they are just reddish fuzz and yellowish fuzz.

 

[tobylowe1]

I have not thought about sprinklers. I was going to put a big bucket in the deep freeze everyday and freeze it and put it in their coop. I have a massive, very nice freezer. Fred's 4th generation? white sex links are BEAUTIFUL and I would love to have a big beautiful white bird like that, that would lay so very well. Too bad Fred is so very far away. lol The only thing that comes close is my white leghorn and she is a terribly skittish, flighty, foolish bird. I think she is appealing to the eye but that's where it ends. I think they were used for so long as battery hens that it's hard to get one that has a pleasant demeanor no matter how one raises them. I imagine she will be pretty safe free ranging though. I'm an urban farmer and can't have roo's. I'd really enjoy the process of incubation and or just having a hen set on eggs. I may buy some fertilized eggs and an incubator and hatch them out. They would sell super well here in Alabama and I could easily give the roo's away. I'd like to just have the experience and be able to repopulate my flock myself. We have more than normal acreage for our city so I'm allowed a few more birds, plus....with my fences and off the road location, who's going to count? I still won't take the chance with a roo. Wish I could have a roo "debarked" like a dog. I'm kidding to an extent. I'd never pay for such a thing with a chicken and think it's very cruel in dogs unless it comes down to losing your dog. I'm 33 and I'm going to enter the fair with a couple of hens this year for the first time. They are my only hobby really. I overdosed a baby black Star yesterday. Quite ashamed of myself. I crumbled up what I though was a plain rice cake as a treat for my three chicks. When I found the chick dead I put two and two together and had grabbed the super sugary green apple. The first three ingredients were, sugar, high furtose corn syrup and then brown sugar. The regular has no added sugar. It killed the smallest, sweetest of the three. Quite a bummer for she was my fav. The other two seem to be alright for now. I guess we all make mistakes. Too bad mine was fatal. Tiny bodies and just such a massive amount of sugar. Not to mention somehow I forgot to feed that day. I am usually so precise but we had company and all my chickens get a daily treat and I fed all three coops outside, cleaned the brooder, put in fresh water and gave them their deadly treat. The next day she was a goner. Is there truly no where to buy Rhode Island White that you approve of, Fred?? Thanks to you both and have a wonderful day. I really enjoy this converstaion we have going and I think you for your time fred and everyone else.

 

[cmom]

I put some eggs in the incubator around a couple of months ago of my Heritage RIR eggs and some eggs of a friend. About half the eggs turned out not fertile. I had one chick die before it completely hatched and 4 of my eggs hatched. I'm pretty sure they are all boys... I need to build a new coop so I can sort out my breeding coops.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

any thing new?

 

[draye]

Fred's Hens:
Have you bred these 3rd generation on to the Rhode Island Red you had with them?
Would love to see some pictures.
I have two solid white ones that I hatched from Red Sexlink to Red Sexlink from Mt. Healthy hatchery via TSC. They have just started laying fairly good sized egg to be so young. I'm thinking of crossing them to a Naked Neck rooster, but haven't fully decided. I have two (NN) young cockerals (11 weeks old) that are Red Barred (their daddy was a Golden Comet from Cackle Hatchery) and the two hens that I hatched them from were either a Red NN or Salmon (NN), the NN mommas dad was barred aso I figure that was where the barring came from.

 

[cmom]

It was an accidental breeding of my RC RIW boy to a couple of RSL girls that kept hoping the fence to get into that pen. When I collected eggs I couldn't tell so hatched them out and got several different colors and patterns, some with Single Combs and some with Rose Combs. Some are really quite pretty. Some people who have come over to see the birds have remarked on how pretty they are.