Sex- linked Information

[A roo or two]

Did you check on the first post of the thread?

yes, I did, the CS is not listed on the chart. However, what I was reading about the CS is that is "like" the light Sussex, just grey in color instead of black. But I cannot find anything to show if they will still create a sex-link.

 

[ronott1]

yes, I did, the CS is not listed on the chart. However, what I was reading about the CS is that is "like" the light Sussex, just grey in color instead of black. But I cannot find anything to show if they will still create a sex-link.

I think they will work. Often the difference is just a name for a different pattern. As long as they had the correct black they will work. Blue, black and splash is the same thing for making sexlinks.

 

[A roo or two]

I think they will work. Often the difference is just a name for a different pattern. As long as they had the correct black they will work. Blue, black and splash is the same thing for making sexlinks.

hmm, I wish you were 100% certain LOL I can only have so many chickens and I hate to get them and they don't work. Well I shouldn't say I would hate it, I love my chickens regardless, but hubby likes the idea of having sex links to sell to help cover the feed bill. We intend to hold back the roos for our own use.

 

[tommysgirl]

hmm, I wish you were 100% certain LOL I can only have so many chickens and I hate to get them and they don't work. Well I shouldn't say I would hate it, I love my chickens regardless, but hubby likes the idea of having sex links to sell to help cover the feed bill. We intend to hold back the roos for our own use.

There are a lot of mixes not on the chart. it would easy enough to figure out though. Do a test hatch of a dozen eggs and see what happens. I have done that with several different birds crossed to a New Hampshire Rooster. Good Luck!

 

[A roo or two]

I don't actually own the CS yet. and I don't really have the grow out apace to see if the colors show true to gender. Or it is automatic if red/buff female yellow/silver male.

 

[jerryse]

hmm, I wish you were 100% certain LOL I can only have so many chickens and I hate to get them and they don't work. Well I shouldn't say I would hate it, I love my chickens regardless, but hubby likes the idea of having sex links to sell to help cover the feed bill. We intend to hold back the roos for our own use.

Coronation Sussex is a light Sussex with 2 lavender genes . So a 100% certain that it will behave like a light Sussex in a cross . With only 1 copy of lavender they will be light Sussex split for recessive lavender .

 

[A roo or two]

Coronation Sussex is a light Sussex with 2 lavender genes . So a 100% certain that it will behave like a light Sussex in a cross . With only 1 copy of lavender they will be light Sussex split for recessive lavender . 

Yay! Awesome. Thank you!!

 

[vpatt]

I have a red sex-link......I was told she would start laying about Thanksgiving......so I am waiting and watching. I am guessing she might wait for longer days...not sure. I wondered how many kinds of sex-links there are. Red, black and what else. Do they typically lay thru the winter? Or is there another thread I should check out? Thnx

 

[Ridgerunner]

The fact that she is a sex link has nothing to do with her egg laying ability, whether she will go broody, or anything else. A sex link is simply a chick that can be sexed at hatch. There is no genetic link to them being a sex link and productivity.

A sex link will produce a lot like their parents. If their parents come from flocks that normally lay well, then they will normally lay well. If you mate a Rhode Island Red rooster with a Delaware hen from flocks that normally lay well, you will get chickens that are red sex links and the pullets will normally lay well. If you mate a Delaware rooster with a RIR hen from the same flocks, the offspring will not be sex links but the pullets will have the same laying traits. There is nothing magical about them being sex links other than you can sex them at hatch.

Some sex links you get from hatcheries are not the result of breeding different breeds but are based on the commercial egg laying hybrids. These are sexable at hatch and have been bred to really lay well. They are normally smaller than the sex links made from crossing specific breeds so they are more efficient at converting feed to eggs. If your sex links came from a hatchery and are about the size of a leghorn they are probably based on a commercial hybrid. If they are larger and about the same size as a dual purpose chicken, they are probably based on two dual purpose breeds. The sex link hatcheries make from dual purpose breeds normally lay really well too because that is the type of flocks hatcheries normally use to make sex links.

Regardless of which type you have, there are many different things that affect when she will start to lay. Heredity plays a big part, but so do lighting and what you are feeding them. A higher protein feed can help get them started laying. How cold it is can have an effect on some of them too. I’ve had pullets start to lay at 16 weeks; some start at nine months. I’ve had pullets start to lay early December with the shortest days of the year and still getting a bit shorter. I’ve had some wait until spring to lay.

Something else. You have to have enough chickens for averages to mean anything. Each chicken is an individual. You only have one sex link. By tendency of what most hatcheries use for sex links she should start to lay earlier rather than later, but with just one there are no guarantees.

There are two requirements to make sex links. The parents have to be set up properly genetically for it to work. For example, to make a red sex link the father needs to be pure for gold and the hen has to have silver. But you also need to be able to see the trait in the offspring. A New Hampshire rooster will have the gold and a Black Australorp should have the silver, but because the down is black you won’t be able to see the effects of the yellow or red.

The three commercial ways to make sex links are covered in the first post in this thread, red sex links, black sex links, and feather sexing. There are others. Some breeds are self-sexing. For example the spot on a male barred rock chick will be bigger than the spot than the spot on a female barred rock, but interpreting that can be a bit tricky. It’s not always real clear-cut. There are other ways too. Some people can use leg color to create sex links for example, but these are not traits normally used commercially so not much is written about them.

 

[cmom]

Over the years I have experimented with different breeds to create Sex-Links. With the Delaware females crossed with a Pure Rhode Island Red male. The females grew out to look like Rhode Island Reds and the males more like the Delaware females. Here is a picture of some of the females from the Del/RIR cross. They did not have white on them like other Sex-Links. I don't have the Dels anymore so I can't repeat this experiment again. I was surprised as they grew out. I did this experiment a few years ago. Also I was surprised as I had more females than males. Can't find the picture of the males right now but will look some more.