Blue Sex-Links?

[MeeMa Brown]

How does a buyer know blue gene...or any genes for sure? It all seems very complicated

 

[junebuggena]

How does a buyer know blue gene...or any genes for sure? It all seems very complicated

Are you asking how to tell a blue chick from a black or splash chick?

 

[donrae]

This is a splash bird. Basically the color is a light smoke/misty grey, with flecks of darker grey or black.

Blue birds are darker, and a uniform shade. The "good" blue birds are laced, meaning each feather has an outline of a darker shade of blue. I've not had good lacing with most of my blue birds, but it's not something I've been able to breed for. They're very striking when you get it right, though.

 

[Amy King Hanson]

My way is to breed a splash rooster to a black barred hen. Splash x black = blue, and the solid roo over barred hen makes sex link chicks. Here's babies with surrogate momma, female on the left, male on the right. Here they are a little older, female in the front. It's kind of hard to see the barring on the blue male as he feathers out, but it gets clearer as they mature.

I want to thank you! Because of this post I experimented with Blue Sexlinks. I have a Blue Copper Marans rooster over a Barred Rock. I was super excited how easy it was to see the dot on the blue down. Wet/just hatched

Dry

 

[donrae]

Amy, I'm glad you got a good, identifiable head spot. I had problems with that when I hatched more birds. The blue down and the light spot made it unreliable over a large batch of chicks as a sure means of sexing young. A few other folks here had the same issues, I think we all pretty much took a break from this project. I know MPC still sells a blue sex link, I'm not sure how easy the spot is to see on their chicks. I keep turning it over in my mind and plan to re-visit this as a breeding program at some point.

Bummer is, the spot means it's a little cockerel

 

[Amy King Hanson]

@donrae I'm actually happy it was a boy. I'm looking to stock my freezer, lol!

I have set up two coops that will yield 5 different kinds of Sexlinks/auto sexing birds.

Blue Copper Marans rooster over Barred Rock for Blue/Black Sexlinks that lay a brown egg.

Blue Copper Marans rooster over Cream Legbar for Sexlink Olive Eggers.

Cream Legbars are auto sexing and lay blue eggs.

Cream Legbar rooster over Silver Laced Wyandotte results in a Golden Laced Sexlink that lays green eggs.

Cream Legbar rooster over Delaware results in Buff Columbian Sexlink that lays green eggs.

Now I want 55 Flowering breed because they are an auto sexing breed that lays white eggs.

I'll let you know if my Blue Sexlinks continue to be identifiable. I was impatient to fill the incubator and only got a few in and I'm having humidity troubles. Next batch goes in next week.

 

[hoff0079]

Any thoughts on whether this is a blue sex link? She has a beautiful blue sheen in the light. I'm pretty sure that's what I was told she is - no idea what else she could be! Very small compared to my other chickens considering she's about 6 months old (and I believe she just laid an egg - a miniature one!).

 

[junebuggena]

Any thoughts on whether this is a blue sex link? She has a beautiful blue sheen in the light. I'm pretty sure that's what I was told she is - no idea what else she could be! Very small compared to my other chickens considering she's about 6 months old (and I believe she just laid an egg - a miniature one!).

That appears to be a bantam Dark Cornish.

 

[Entropy Eggs]

Thanks. I'm hoping to really get my breeding project off the ground later this summer once my health permits. My goal is blue hens that lay blue eggs

I have my first gen hens from a Blue Splash Roo and Barred Rock hens...every chick was born blue, and the hens should lay blue eggs. If you watch my page I should be attaining results within 2 months
@EntropyEggs on FB

 

[nicalandia]

I have my first gen hens from a Blue Splash Roo and Barred Rock hens...every chick was born blue, and the hens should lay blue eggs. If you watch my page I should be attaining results within 2 months
@EntropyEggs on FB

Since the dame of that cross is a Barred Rock, then I am afraid that the Blue sexlinked hens from that cross will not lay "Blue" eggs, but shades of green...

For a True Blue Sexlinks that lay blue eggs, You can cross Splash Ameraucana x Cream Created Legbars..