I'm planning on putting a blue or splash Ameraucana rooster over a barred rock hen, which, if I understand correctly, will give me sex-linked offspring. However, what color will most of these Barred Easter Eggers lay? And is there a way to breed back to an Ameraucana, but still retain the sex-link characteristic in the second generation? I'd love to see photos of Barred Easter Eggers and their eggs. Thanks!
Quote:Yes, that cross will give you sex-linked offspring. I have a (BR roo) X (EE) hen who lays brownish green eggs (no pics, sorry). Once you are one generation out, you can't do sex-linked any more unless you bring in another roo (homozygous white to make RSL for example). This is because your 1st generation hens won't be barred anymore - with black sex-links, which is the cross you are discussing, the roosters are barred (with one copy of the barring gene instead of the previous two), and the hens are solid. You need barred hens to make the black sex-link work. Hope this helps! I do really like my BR X EE hen. Here's a picture of her tormenting her mother.
Thanks, Springchickens, that does help. And very cute photo! Guess what I should do then, is get a barred rock roo, and put him over a blue or splash Ameraucana hen to get barred girls, then could I breed them back to splash roos and get sex linked offspring? Anyone else have photos of birds and eggs??
