Red Sex Links

[OverEasyAcresSC]

So I hear it's supposed to be the most obvious to sex a sex link chick, but now I'm stuck with all roosters, which were supposed to be hens....sexing sex links are sexed the same way as other breeds, right? Mine were sexed by looking at their wings. Can anyone clarify the difference in sexes by looking at the wings? Is looking at the wings the best way to sex these chicks?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

So I hear it's supposed to be the most obvious to sex a sex link chick, but now I'm stuck with all roosters, which were supposed to be hens....sexing sex links are sexed the same way as other breeds, right? Mine were sexed by looking at their wings. Can anyone clarify the difference in sexes by looking at the wings? Is looking at the wings the best way to sex these chicks?

Sex linking works in a couple of ways - with red/black sex links, it is color sexing - for reds the pullets hatch reddish and cockerels hatch white; for blacks pullets have solid black heads and cockerels have a white/yellow dot on the head. These birds are produced by crossing color genes - for RSLs it is a red cock over a silver hen, for black it is a red cock over barred hens.

Feather sex linking is different - it is a careful cross of a slow feathering breed and a fast feathering breed (the slow feathering is related to a gene on the Z chromosome) - females of a slow feathering breed crossed to a male of a fast feathering breed will produce chicks that at 1-3 days of age (no older) with examination of the primaries and coverts on the wings and are differentiated with males feathering slow (like the mother) and females feathering fast (like the father)

Your birds, being RSL, would be sexed by color, not feathering.

 

[BantamLover21]

Well, most Sex-links that I know of are color-sexable. The females are one color, and the males are another color. I think I've heard of wing-sexable sex-links, too, but don't know any examples of them. Basically, the male chicks feather slower, and the females feather faster. A sexer looks at each chick's wing when they are really young (day or so old), and figures out the sexes. I don't know how reliable that is...

I do know that it takes specific crosses of breeds to get sex linked chicks, whether they are wing or color sexable. Where did you get your sex-links from? If not from a recognized hatchery, you may have not gotten real sex-links.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

If you post a picture of the birds in question they can be easily sexed to give you peace of mind.

 

[Wyandottes7]

If you post a picture of the birds in question they can be easily sexed to give you peace of mind.

Agreed.

 

[Chris09]

So I hear it's supposed to be the most obvious to sex a sex link chick, but now I'm stuck with all roosters, which were supposed to be hens....sexing sex links are sexed the same way as other breeds, right? Mine were sexed by looking at their wings. Can anyone clarify the difference in sexes by looking at the wings? Is looking at the wings the best way to sex these chicks?

If the chicks were from a feather sex-link breeding then you can feather sex them at day one.

I see the picture problem isn't fixed. lol try this...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information

Heres the pic I was trying to post.

 

[donrae]

Agree the thread Chris linked has the best, basic yet comprehensive information on sex linkage I've seen. Read that--just the first page, don't get intimidated by the number of pages!

 

[OverEasyAcresSC]

Sex linking works in a couple of ways - with red/black sex links, it is color sexing - for reds the pullets hatch reddish and cockerels hatch white; for blacks pullets have solid black heads and cockerels have a white/yellow dot on the head. These birds are produced by crossing color genes - for RSLs it is a red cock over a silver hen, for black it is a red cock over barred hens.

Feather sex linking is different - it is a careful cross of a slow feathering breed and a fast feathering breed (the slow feathering is related to a gene on the Z chromosome) - females of a slow feathering breed crossed to a male of a fast feathering breed will produce chicks that at 1-3 days of age (no older) with examination of the primaries and coverts on the wings and are differentiated with males feathering slow (like the mother) and females feathering fast (like the father)

Your birds, being RSL, would be sexed by color, not feathering.

thank you for your advice! I'll be sure to feather sex them next time instead of goin by the wing method. Little too late to do anything about it now, that I'm stuck with all roosters haha but thanks again!