Golden Sex Links

[oceansunset73]

my mother in law has two golden sex link chicks, she has had them since they were two days old. They are currently now 5 weeks old.

These girls are so active, they are jumping on top of their waterer and food container, knocking over their food container all the time, trying to perch on the brooder edge whenever she takes the lid off to clean, etc. and today, the second she lifted the lid they both flew out. They are both ok, she got them back in. The brooder is low on the ground so there wasn’t a large drop. But OMG.

Does anyone else have golden sexlinks ,is this just their personality? I had no idea they were this mischievous. I have RIRs and mine never did anything like this.

 

[chrissynemetz]

How big is the brooder? Maybe they just want something to do? Being kids you know My golden sex link chicks are a little more adventurous than some of the others for sure. We call one wild child because she flies out of the brooder at any and every opportunity

 

[BlessedmamaAELE]

my mother in law has two golden sex link chicks, she has had them since they were two days old. They are currently now 5 weeks old.

These girls are so active, they are jumping on top of their waterer and food container, knocking over their food container all the time, trying to perch on the brooder edge whenever she takes the lid off to clean, etc. and today, the second she lifted the lid they both flew out. They are both ok, she got them back in. The brooder is low on the ground so there wasn’t a large drop. But OMG.

Does anyone else have golden sexlinks ,is this just their personality? I had no idea they were this mischievous. I have RIRs and mine never did anything like this.

Yes both my GSL Pullets were super active and the first exploring and doing new things! But they are also the sweetest!!! And so pretty!

 

[danceswithronin]

They sound too old to be in the brooder and like they are getting anxious for space. I'd move them to a coop and run. I have never kept chicks in a brooder past four weeks old - not only does the brooder start to get really gross/cramped at that age, the chicks start to get impatient to have some room to run around and test their wings in. They can take that impatience out on each other if they don't get alternative activities to keep them occupied.

Don't know if it's a gold sex link thing or not but I have a Speckled Sussex who is like this and is super active, she was SO ready to leave the brooder she could barely stand it.

 

[oceansunset73]

Thank you. The brooder is actually pretty large, we added some large rocks and they love standing on them. We also added a mirror. They love it.

I suggested to her that it might be time to get them into their coup though. I’ll be heading over there this weekend to help her with that.

Glad to hear others have had similar experiences with them as well. They are beautiful girls but boy are they active. I had no idea. Did yours tend to fly when they got older as well? That could be an issue, she lives in the city. I’m hoping they settle down with age?

 

[danceswithronin]

Did yours tend to fly when they got older as well?

Yes they do, which is why my chicken run has a net over it and not just netted sides (afraid they will fly out and the dogs will eat them).

You can actually clip a chicken's wing on one side once they have their adult feathers and this will render them unable to fly - at least, unable to flutter more than a few feet at a time, so they can't go over any fences or anything. But clipping wings has to be done a certain way to avoid clipping blood feathers, and has to be maintained in order to be effective - if you let the feathers grow back out, the chickens will be able to fly again. And clipping their wings also means if something attacks them, they can't fly to safety either.

Some breeds are less flighty than others. My Speckled Sussex flies a LOT compared to my other birds. She's not skittish, just likes to fly from place to place. My Orps are lazy and do not fly. My Polish is SUPER nervous and will fly away from you if you approach her wrong. When I had all silkies in my flock, they did not fly at all (I really miss that honestly).

They will definitely settle down with age though, and will not be able to fly as well the heavier they get. In my experience teenaged chicks fly much better than a lot of adult chickens. Once they start getting bottom-heavy lots of them start losing skill in flying.

 

[oceansunset73]

Yes they do, which is why my chicken run has a net over it and not just netted sides (afraid they will fly out and the dogs will eat them).

You can actually clip a chicken's wing on one side once they have their adult feathers and this will render them unable to fly - at least, unable to flutter more than a few feet at a time, so they can't go over any fences or anything. But clipping wings has to be done a certain way to avoid clipping blood feathers, and has to be maintained in order to be effective - if you let the feathers grow back out, the chickens will be able to fly again. And clipping their wings also means if something attacks them, they can't fly to safety either.

Some breeds are less flighty than others. My Speckled Sussex flies a LOT compared to my other birds. She's not skittish, just likes to fly from place to place. My Orps are lazy and do not fly. My Polish is SUPER nervous and will fly away from you if you approach her wrong. When I had all silkies in my flock, they did not fly at all (I really miss that honestly).

They will definitely settle down with age though, and will not be able to fly as well the heavier they get. In my experience teenaged chicks fly much better than a lot of adult chickens. Once they start getting bottom-heavy lots of them start losing skill in flying.

Thank you so much for the info, I appreciate it. This was very helpful.