Black, white and red males and sexlinks

[JacinLarkwell]

So I know you can use black males with a barred female to get sexlinks. What about red or white malez? If I did a red male with a barred hen would the sons have red barring or normal black barring?

 

[halefamily_flock]

So I know you can use black males with a barred female to get sexlinks. What about red or white malez? If I did a red male with a barred hen would the sons have red barring or normal black barring?

You wouldn't be able to see barring on top of white, it would just look solid white, right? As for brown or red male, I think the answer is yes...at least sometimes.

This little guy came from a Golden Appenzeller Spitzhauben rooster x Dominique hen. He started off, like the other 2 males in the hatch, looking black barred. But now he's 11 weeks old and has gold colors coming through.

Here are his parents

Here is his full brother (I sold the other one, but the owner said he wasn't showing any feather colors, other than black & white). He is the only one of the 3 with what looks like it's going to be a sort of horned comb. The other 2 boys are rose-combed like their mama.

Here are their sisters, black sex-linked. I kept the 2 with most gold feathering. I sold the other 4, which were pretty much solid black.

 

[The Moonshiner]

When using a male without barring over a female with barring the genes will always be there to make the barred vs no barred sex links.
The key is whether it will show on the chicks or not. Some crosses doesn't work well for showing the head spot but will show the barring after a few weeks. Some won't show even the barring well.
Dominate white is about the worse choice. Recessive white works because its recessive and won't express with just one copy.
The hen doesn't have to be standard black barred but when it is it works best because the black usually shows when crossed with non black more recessive colors/patterns.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

When using a male without barring over a female with barring the genes will always be there to make the barred vs no barred sex links.
The key is whether it will show on the chicks or not. Some crosses doesn't work well for showing the head spot but will show the barring after a few weeks. Some won't show even the barring well.
Dominate white is about the worse choice. Recessive white works because its recessive and won't express with just one copy.
The hen doesn't have to be standard black barred but when it is it works best because the black usually shows when crossed with non black more recessive colors/patterns.

I'm using Cochins for the cross, so would a solid red male over a barred female still work and be visible? I want to be able to tell at hatch/ a day or two after hatch if they're male or female.

Honestly not sure why I added white, since I knew that it wouldn't show the spit on the head anyways

 

[The Moonshiner]

Both will work.
Cochin are recessive white.

 

[Compost King]

I have been told to avoid using a Buff Rooster for such a sex link experiment because sometimes they can be barred and those without experience can not see it. Whether that is true or not I can not confirm because I haven't run across it but the rumor sounded good enough for me to avoid using Buff Roosters. Red definitely works because Red birds are often used to make hatchery red sex links due to the RI reds rate of egg production. I use a bantam RI Red myself because I like the results of 3/4 sized birds because they tend to forage better and cuts down on the amount of feed I buy vs the amount of egg I get in return.

 

[NatJ]

I'm using Cochins for the cross, so would a solid red male over a barred female still work and be visible? I want to be able to tell at hatch/ a day or two after hatch if they're male or female.

Should be fine.

Commercial black sexlinks often have a Rhode Island Red father and a Barred Rock mother. The mother passes on black to all of her chicks, but barring to only the sons. All the chicks being black makes it easy to see the head spot (or not-spot, for females.)

 

[The Moonshiner]

Barring is hard to see on buff when birds are young for sure but a buff crossed with a black barred doesn't produce buff colored offspring.

 

[NatJ]

I have been told to avoid using a Buff Rooster for such a sex link experiment because sometimes they can be barred and those without experience can not see it. Whether that is true or not I can not confirm because I haven't run across it but the rumor sounded good enough for me to avoid using Buff Roosters.

That's an interesting point. If your "not-barred" rooster really has barring that you didn't notice, then instead of sexlinks, you would have barred chicks of both genders.

I imagine you'd figure it out after hatching a dozen or so barred chicks and no not-barred ones, but it would be quite frustrating

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Barring is hard to see on buff when birds are young for sure but a buff crossed with a black barred doesn't produce buff colored offspring.

It won't? Rats