Quote:
I know so much of this can be so confusing. The sex link gene only works when using specific color combinations of the parents.I don't know all the specifics in chickens like so many here do.
It has to do with one parent being red such as New Hampshire and the other parent being silver based such as Barred Rock. If the parents to your chicks were not of this combo I don't think they will be sex linked as in able to tell the boys from the girls at hatch.
Let me explain sex linked in the terms I know and maybe it will help. Sometimes a different example helps with understanding terms.
Here's how sex linked works with cats: The
ONLY way you can get a red or cream female kitten is this:The father must be in the red family.
I could breed 100 female cats that are in the red family with a male that is black,blue,silver,etc. with or without white and I would
NEVER get a female kitten born cream or red.I would be able to get males of the red color family only.
It is because in cats the red color for females is
SEX LINKED. Kittens born from red family female cats that are born in the red family color will
ALWAYS be a male unless the father is of the red color family.
I hope this helps you. Sometimes the only way I can get an understanding of how something works is with a different example.
If you still don't understand your question will be answered by some of the
TRUE experts here.
Let me add I'm not the best at explaining things so just keep asking. People here love to answer questions like this.
I think get what youre saying:
I would need a rode island red rooster and lets say a Delaware hen to have true sex link chicks. This would produce buff colored female chicks and white/yellow males.
Maybe I don't have sex linked chickens like I thought. I believe my Roos and Hens are both mixed RIR and Delaware. So that would mean they aren't truly sex linked because they are both mixed, am I right? The chicks could come out any color and could be either male or female. Couldnt they?
So would this make wing feather sex checking harder or you can't check the wing feathers because of the mixed breed?
Please bear with me I'm trying to learn this so I won't have to ask it again. THANKS SO MUCH!!!
Don't worry about your questions here.This site is for learning about chickens. I just wish I could be specific in about which color for the male and which color for the female. You see I only know a little about a lot. Just enough to be dangerous. LOL
Anyway some ppl swear by feather sexing and some say that certain breeds feather out differently so it would not work in those breeds. See...I just know a little because I couldn't name the slow feathering breeds at all. Heck I laugh at my own bits and pieces of knowledge.
I do know that it is said that chicks that are born as sex linked will not breed true as in you can't breed two sex linked chicks and produce more sex linked chicks.
It's things like this that keeps it interesting.