Black Sex Links Gender Question

[bslchickens]

Hi everyone! I have 6 black sex links. Right now they are 3 weeks old. All are supposed to be female, but while 5 of them started growing in tail feathers last weekend, one of them does not have any tail feathers. I know they are sexed by whether they have a white dot on their head are not, but is there a possibility the one still covered in fluff is a roo? Thank you!

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Hi everyone! I have 6 black sex links. Right now they are 3 weeks old. All are supposed to be female, but while 5 of them started growing in tail feathers last weekend, one of them does not have any tail feathers. I know they are sexed by whether they have a white dot on their head are not, but is there a possibility the one still covered in fluff is a roo? Thank you!

While I can't answer for sure, I know that black Sexlink roosters grow in Barred feathers. So, all your chicks are girls, regardless of how fast their tail feathers come in.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It's not possible to have a black black sex link male. Nor would any male chicks not have a white dot on head.

 

[donrae]

They're all pullets. Black sex link males always have a white spot on the head and feather in like barred rocks.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

They all look like Black Sexlink females. Ditto on white head dot for all males, which will be barred.

I will assume that you purchased them from a feed store?

One is smaller probably because it is simply younger...the feed stores get chick shipments in all the time, so they often toss in a new shipment with those a few days older.

You likely have one that is just a little younger.

If it remains much, much smaller than the others, and fails to grow...then you may have an internal issue (kidney disease) or some other latent illness.

But much more likely...just a few days younger or came from a slightly different batch that matures just a little more slowly.

Lady of McCamley

 

[bbsnooks]

Hello..
I would like to cross some of my own black sex links..

are there some <simple?> rules for doing this..
I have Black JG's and what should / could i cross these with? are Marans a possibility?

My goal is to have the male's with the dot on top of head to id them early.



Thanks for your help.. < and for letting me butt in on your posts..>
Debra

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hello.. I would like to cross some of my own black sex links.. are there some rules for doing this.. I have Black JG's and what should / could i cross these with? are Marans a possibility Thanks for your help.. < and for letting me butt in on your posts..> Debra

You need a barred female and a non-barred roo to get a black sexlink. I think it is usually a gold based roo...but could be wrong there...as the black may interefer with the ability to see the sexes but I can't remeber if gold roo is a requirement. I do know the female determines the sex of the chicks so males take after the hen and females after the roo so you have to have the barring in the mom and the non-barring in the dad. With that in mind you might be able to use a cuckoo maran over your java...but cuckoo is cuckoo not barring so I suspicion your results might not be as good as using a Barred Rock. I do know you can't use a white dominant bird such as a leghorn as it skews the results of the males showing the barring. Hopefully othersbetter versed will enter in an answer. There is a good sexlink thres here on BYC for all that info. Put that in the BYC search to find it. Good luck making your sexlinks Lady of McCamley

 

[bbsnooks]

great thanks.. solid color male over barred hen .