I want a good layer like sexlinks but...

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I would say that my leghorn was more flighty when she was younger, but I'd say she's pretty mellow now; and she's still under a year. The only other 'flighty' birds she's with are the hamburgs, and even they aren't too bad.

It all depends on how much they were socialized as chicks.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Correct me if I am wrong other posters, but I am pretty sure that the sex link trait is only when they are initially bred.. and that after that I don't think you can reliably sex their offspring. Is this the case. Why is it that you want to sex them so early? (I can usually tell mine at about a 10 days). (Black Coppers)... I would think sex links would be long lived because they are sort of mutts. Mixed breeds.

Yes, sex-linking is a first generation trait.
No, sex-links do not tend to be long lived.
You're assuming traditional hybrid vigour, which is caused by two factors:
1) a lack of recessive disorders.
Humans have two copies of (almost) every gene, one inherited from each parent. Usually, a defective gene is masked by the non-defective one inherited from the other parent. But if both parents have the same defective gene, you're going to inherit two defective ones--and that won't go well for you. Outcrossing to a different population saves the offspring from this because it's highly unlikely that both populations contain the same defective gene.
2) Overdominance
What if one of the genes doesn't have a match from the other parent? In that case, it sometimes overexpresses itself because it isn't compensating for the other gene. (this happens most often in plants, which are a lot more complex, genetically, than we are.)

But what if the parent breeds were specifically bred for overdominance of one trait?

As an example, CornishX (Cornish-white Rock hybrids) are hybrids. But the parent breeds weren't bred to be great examples of either breed (Cornish or White Plymouth Rock) Instead, they were bred to augment each others' characteristics for the best meat bird. That optimal meat bird, even under the best of care, rarely makes it to a year of age, simply because it gains muscle too fast.

By one definition of the term, it has very good hybrid vigour--it's very muscular, it's fast-maturing, and it's thrifty (absorbs nutrition well) But that vigour comes with its downsides--such as growing so quickly that it's not able to move.

ISAs are, in my experience, similar to CornishX. We had a five-some that we purchased as pullets and they laid very large, very pretty eggs. When we butchered the year after, we decided to keep three of them--the ones that were laying best, and the really pretty one with the slightly golden tint to her feathers. Two died within six months from peritonitis, and the gold girl got a throat infection and died the next winter. We never had that problem with Leghorns, Australorps, Barred Rocks, Production Reds, or any other of the several chicken breeds we've owned.

The parent breeds were bred so that the offspring lay eggs continuously, no matter what it costs their bodies. Hybrid vigour assumes that the offspring expresses the better of the two genes inherited from the parents. But hatcheries breed the parent breeds so that the inherited genes only allow for one outcome--laying continuously.

Very Long Post. Sorry.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I really want sexlinks because they lay a lot and mainly because I want to tell the hens apart from the roosters they sounded great until I got to the part where they only live 2-3 years and my chickens are like my children and I want them to live a while also because we have a child in the house and they would be sad any advice?

It’s not that they live 2-3 it’s that they are spent at 4 years of age and many will die from reproductive issues asssociated with laying so many eggs. Get a couple varieties of leghorns they are great layers and will live long lives.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Leghorns. I don't consider them spazzy, they are bold and smart chickens and when handled a good amount they become annoyingly friendly.

So true. Try gardening with them around. They won’t stop pestering me for the worms I dug up.

 

[BantyChooks]

So true. Try gardening with them around. They won’t stop pestering me for the worms I dug up.

I end up squirting them with the hose because they won't go away.

 

[BantyChooks]

maybe isabrowns

ISA browns are sexlinks.

 

[lazy gardener]

Ok just to recap ,
White Leghorns are the BEST CHICKENS EVER

gary

Says one man. Not so much here in Maine!!!

 

[Little Chicken Girl]

I really want sexlinks because they lay a lot and mainly because I want to tell the hens apart from the roosters they sounded great until I got to the part where they only live 2-3 years and my chickens are like my children and I want them to live a while also because we have a child in the house and they would be sad any advice?

My sex links are healthy and happy at 4 years. They are still laying HUGE brown eggs like champs too.

 

[Beer can]

Leghorns aren't very personable though, 'flighty', little hyper.
The laying eggs life of most chickens is only a few yrs. I never heard sexlinks only live 2-3 yrs, yes they are a 'hybrid' but that just means they are a cross of two other breeds, typically rhode island red and barred rock, rir or new hampshire and white rock or delaware.
For kids I'd suggest Easter eggers, kids love those green eggs and they lay quite well.

 

[sumi]

I had white, brown and silver Leghorns and found the white one the most skittish. The silver ones were a bit shy, but the brown ones were very sweet and easy to handle. All of them were great layers.

RIR are lovely too, great layers, friendly and just all round lovely birds. Games (OEG, etc) are good layers, though they can be a handful, and they live long, productive lives. A friend of mine told me about one of his hens that still laid now and then aged about 10 years.