If you were looking to produce sex links...

[halo]

Ive got a couple of barred rock and cuckoo marans girls. Im not particularly interested in producing more of them, but I would like to produce some really good large brown egg layers that are sex linked. I have a lot of little projects going on, but Id like to also hatch out some chicks that will be great layers. I also want them sex linked, so Im not feeding a lot of roosters.

What would be a good choice for a roo? I dont want to use a RIR; I dont particularly like those roos, and I dont want a lot of solid black hens running around; I already have some.

Any good ideas out there?

 

[silkie33]

How about crossing them with a splash or blue rooster. Would'nt you get soild hens and barred roosters. When hatched the rooster will have a spot on their heads, hens will not. When mature the hens will be blue.

 

[silkie33]

Just checked the breed chart. You need a slpash rooster to get 100% blue hens. A blue rooster cross will give you 50% blue 50% black. They would still be sex links.

 

[sangel4you]

so this is a little off topic, but BR or anything crossed with them to be sex linked...as chicks the males have the white spot on their head and females do not?

 

[silkie33]

It has to be a barred hen. Cross them on any other color. The males will have the barring, the females will not. Yes the males will have a spot on their heads. I have done this with buff and red. I will be breeding blue sex links next year. "Blue Stars" as I call them.

 

[halo]

I do have a splash rooster, and have produced some gorgeous sex linked rocks with him. I was just looking for a rooster from more solid production lines to do this with.

 

[Promiselandfarm]

You guys are amazing. Please go on with what sex-links you have created. This is such a good read.

 

[ke_ben]

A red rooster (RIR, NHR, Production) over BR hens gives black pullets and barred cocks with red neck/tail feathers

 

[silkie33]

Sorry Halo I did'nt quite understans the question. Went back and read it agin. I used a New Hamp rooster or a Buff Orpie to get different colors. I liked the buff cross. I have'nt seen the hens as they have matured. A friend has them.But when they hatched they were kind of a light brown. Some will be black and some will be brown with lighter colored hackles. I would think these hen would be good egg produces.
Barred Plymouth Rock hen matings

Barred/cuckoo hen matings that result in female solid black sex link chickens are many and varied.

To achieve female black sex linked chickens you can mate her with roosters that are of any of the following colors...

• Double Gold Laced (e.g. Barnevelder)

• Solid Lavender (e.g. Australorp)

• Solid Black (e.g. Australorp)

• Black Patterned Silver Laced (e.g. Silver Laced Wyandotte)

• Black Mottled (e.g. Ancona)

• Black Patterned Red Columbian (e.g. Rhode Island Red)

• Silver Columbian (e.g. Sussex)

• Black Patterned Gold Columbian (e.g. New Hampshire)

Brown (e.g. Leghorn) roosters with cuckoo/barred hens will produce:



Cockerel chicks that have yellow beak, shanks and toes, and are black on top of body with a white spot. The pullet chicks have black/dark beak, shanks and toes, and are all black on top.



Buff (e.g. Buff Orpington) roosters with cuckoo/barred hens will produce:

Cuckoo/barred cockerel chicks (in brown or grey tones). The hens will be either solid brown or solid black sex link chickens.

Similarly, blue roosters (e.g. Blue Orpington or Australorp) mated with the same color hens will produce:

The usual grey tone cuckoo/barred roosters; The hens in this case will be either solid blue or solid black sex link chickens.

 

[sherrydeanne]

Random, but what about an Ameracauna? Would you get sex-linked possible olive-eggers?