Golden Sex Link

That was really nice of you Captain Awesome. Mine are always eating eating eating. Who knew that a baby chick could eat so much. I really think they are wasting much of it because I have pine in their breeder and cant't tell. Ill have to get a Special feeder when they go in the coop. It's Alabama here. I'm going to try and put them in the cook at 5 weeks during the day and bring them in at dusk and then put them out there full time at 7 weeks. That will be a happy day. They complain like crazy when I have to lower the temp 5 degrees. lol I'm getting four more on the 6th. My brooder is large. Any thoughts on mixing the ages after a couple of days with the young ones being isolated. They are coming from the same hatchery. The only change is that the next four will be all female and a combination of brown egg layers and I won't know what they are. That will be fun figuring that out. They only sale like 8 brown egg layers so I bet with help I can get it narrowed down. Ill get better pics this weekend. Thanks to you all

Love your photos and I love my Red Stars or Red, Sex Links! They are just like you described them. The eggs are huge and so dark brown. When I got some Copper Maran eggs, I could barely tell the difference- in fact my broodie sat on two extra eggs as I couldn't garantee that the eggs weren't the CM eggs I had bought.

I know i need to gets somemore i love them!

I'd like to get some more too. Anyone have any in Huntsville, AL or driving distance???
I could trade doe a couple of Jersey Giants, although I love their laid back personality and my Rooster is so good with them - I've never had a rooster before, but he is so cool - very big though! But he rushes around if the flock seperates, which it does, with all the breeds that are not black! Poor boy must be worn out!

How are brown eggs a "con?"

Good point Branumdragon. To me it is a bonus. However just like some people prefer GM over Ford The same applies to white eggs over brown. I have know some people to prefer supper market eggs over free range because of the vibrant egg yolk colour which is foreign to them.
Go Figure!

Ditto! Mine are the same age right now. They are by far the sweetest of the bunch. Easygoing, curious, and happy. I have two Barred Rocks as well and they are more finicky and off-standish.

They are the best Chickens ever. I have one thats a year old and she is the friendliest chicken ever. She will fallow you every where. Plus she lays one large light brown egg ever day.

they sound alot better than my black sex links! thos things thought they were roosters and would crow all the time, however they were great layers! im glad you are happy!

Awesome! I just bought a red sex link and two cinnamon queens, which are practically the same thing.... (adding to my flock) and I live in Alaska! I have a black sex link who has always been a great layer, and started laying early but she is not the friendliest and has been attacking my buff orpington....hopefully these will get along with my barred rocks and buff o's.

Thank you Haveandtohold. I am a relative newby and I don't approve of the way the world treats most animals. Thus after reading the article you gave the link to I am not into production hens although to start with we didn't know any of this. My husband just brought home a "yellow buff" as the co-op guy called them, a Rhode Island Red, and two Dominique chicks, although one of the Dom's has a bumpy ridge on her beak and the other does not so I am inclined to think one is a rooster. So l am dissapointed to see the "yellow buff" which I think is actually from what I have read on this site a Buff Orpington may be the same as the Golden Buff listed in the article as a high producer. I am 60 years old, far far too tenderhearted and broke. So I don't need to be having chickens that tend to get sick. I hope that having a location here where they will be in an unlighted coop at night and a tractor when not raining, a covered run when raining and tender loving care will make up for her unfortunate breeding. I don't know what else to do other than return her to the seller but I don't know if they take returns. These 4 chicks are to add to the two we got last year to learn on, when they are big enough so we will have enough eggs to share with the extended family. Those two are what I think is a black australope and a white leghorn I am relieved to see are not on the list.

I learned about the health problems they suffer after adopting mine 3 years ago and I've racked up $500 worth of vet bills just for her emergency care! She better start laying golden eggs! If your hens really are Buff Orpingtons I imagine you'll be fine. It's just sort of a roll of the dice, like adopting from a puppy mill if you get one of the hybrid hens. I say keep your girls and give them the best life you can. Compared to the life they'd have if raised commercially they'll live like queens XD. Next time you're ready to adopt some chicks though, protect that tender heart of yours and go for a slightly less productive but far hardier heritage breed. You can sell their eggs for more anyway!

They are now about 13 weeks old ( in June the midlde of june or somewhere around june theyll be 16, can't keep up) but they ARE AMAZING! They always look at me when I talk to them, it's kind of funny!

Just update this--as she got a bit older she did get more and more aggressive with the other chickens. We ended up rehoming her because she was being a stinker, but she still was an amazing layer. I have 4 more now and their temperament is about the same. Bossy, but so far not aggressive or mean, but I can see it going that direction as time wears on...so the older they get, the crabbier they get lol

I have 6 Golden Comets, got them at local tractor supply store when they were chicks. Mine too started laying at 17 to 18 weeks but not all of them. I am only getting maybe 2 a day and they are small. Will they get bigger as time goes on. They are about 20 weeks old now and I am feeding them layer food with oyster shells.. I love them, they have their own personalities but what kind of health problems are people talking about. Mine seem to be real healthy.. Any info on the egg size and health issue would help... Thanks..

So far I have had 8...they often will lay doubles the first month or so, and their eggs start to get bigger and bigger. Takes a little while, but mine lay the biggest eggs in my flock. Also they lay daily really well..I have had them start anywhere from 16 weeks to 22 weeks, and it just takes a week or two to get going, then they lay super! No health problems with any of mine in 3 years.I rehome them at about 24-28 months because I have heard they burn out, but they have been going strong at that point still. I get 2-4 every six months and just keep rotating them. I love this breed, very very predictably the best layers in my flock of 60 birds.

Thank you. I guess that I am just impatient.

they aren't flighty either they are the best companion birds!

Glad I read your post. I couldn't figure out why my golden sexlinks were the ONLY chickens getting sick in my flock. Over the last five years I have four gold sexlinks Three of them died before they were 2 yrs. old. the one I have now is a little over 2 1/2 yrs. but I don't think she is going to make it through the weekend. she has not laid in over 6 months. They get sick and just stand around. When I know there is NO hope for them I put them down. don't want to see them suffer . I do have 2 more that are about 10-11 months old that are laying. but they will be my last sexlinks. You get so attached to them because they are so sweet and very calm birds. it breaks my heart to see them waste a way. They are GREAT layers for 1 1/2 yrs.

Thanks for your comment RonB. I thought I'd add to this that it is now just over 12 months since my original review and we now only have 1 girl of our original 6 left.
Of the two I've lost since the time of my original review we lost 1 to a mystery illness where she just stopped eating and nothing we did helped. She was the one who had the hormone implant to attempt to prevent egg peritonitis which did change her personality in a noticeable way and though she didn't lay any more eggs and didn't get egg peritonitis I don't think the cost was worth it in the end. The other we lost also to egg peritonitis. She went through 3 scares where she came good again, but the 4th time she suffered from it we had to take her to the vet to be euthanised. Terribly sad to lose them.
Our last sex link girl is one that is a very fussy eater and was always a poor egg layer for a sex link. We got her two cross breeds (an Orpington/New Hampshire and a Barnevelder/New Hampshire) to boss around and hope for better luck with them. We got my new birds at 5 weeks old and have handled them a huge amount so they're very affectionate.