Are these Black Sex Links?

[house1917]

@NatJ is there a genetics explanation of how these two could be so different from the prototype black sex-link?

The flock is kind of like a paint swatch progressing from mostly black with a little red to just the opposite.

Would love to learn if this is possible with the traditional RIR Roo X Barred Rock Hen, or if there's some mixed genetics that still allowed for sex-linked chicks.

Pretty birds regardless, and all pullets- so that's a huge win.

 

[NatJ]

@NatJ is there a genetics explanation of how these two could be so different from the prototype black sex-link?

The flock is kind of like a paint swatch progressing from mostly black with a little red to just the opposite.

Would love to learn if this is possible with the traditional RIR Roo X Barred Rock Hen, or if there's some mixed genetics that still allowed for sex-linked chicks.

Pretty birds regardless, and all pullets- so that's a huge win.

I don't know for sure.

To my eyes, the brown chicks, and the hens with the most gold, do not look right for the usual "Black Sexlinks" that have a Barred Rock mother.

The barring gene can be used for sexing on almost any color of chicken, as long as the chick is dark enough for the white to be obvious. So the hatchery might be breeding sexlinks that use the barring gene, but without the usual black base color on some of them.

They hatchery might be trying to breed Black Sexlinks, but ended up with some wrong genes in the Barred Rock hen line. If the chicks hatched out a bit wrong, they might ship them off anyway (sexing them by color if possible, or vent-sexing any that could not be done by color.)

The hatchery could have substituted some other kind of chick, if they were low on Black Sexlinks. The "other kind" could be another version of sexlink, or could be vent-sexed. (The spectrum of colors from dark to light, but all somewhat similar, makes that rather unlikely, but substitutes are always one possibility when a hatchery sends chicks that look different than expected.)

 

[RADK]

I don't know for sure.

To my eyes, the brown chicks, and the hens with the most gold, do not look right for the usual "Black Sexlinks" that have a Barred Rock mother.

The barring gene can be used for sexing on almost any color of chicken, as long as the chick is dark enough for the white to be obvious. So the hatchery might be breeding sexlinks that use the barring gene, but without the usual black base color on some of them.

They hatchery might be trying to breed Black Sexlinks, but ended up with some wrong genes in the Barred Rock hen line. If the chicks hatched out a bit wrong, they might ship them off anyway (sexing them by color if possible, or vent-sexing any that could not be done by color.)

The hatchery could have substituted some other kind of chick, if they were low on Black Sexlinks. The "other kind" could be another version of sexlink, or could be vent-sexed. (The spectrum of colors from dark to light, but all somewhat similar, makes that rather unlikely, but substitutes are always one possibility when a hatchery sends chicks that look different than expected.)

Thank you!

I did email the hatchery (Bergs Hatchery, Manitoba) about the colouring. The response I got was: Barred Rock hen x RIR rooster = what was sold to me. But who knows.


If it is the case that they are not “traditional”BSL as you stated above, would egg production be less than that of standard BSL?

 

[NatJ]

I did email the hatchery (Bergs Hatchery, Manitoba) about the colouring. The response I got was: Barred Rock hen x RIR rooster = what was sold to me. But who knows.


If it is the case that they are not “traditional”BSL as you stated above, would egg production be less than that of standard BSL?

Color has nothing to do with how many eggs a hen lays. So the egg production will depend on the laying abilities of the parent stock the hatchery is using-- it may be the same as any other Black Sexlink, or it might be lower or higher.

If the hatchery says they will lay very well, then they probably will.