I've read that Golden Comets have a relatively short lifespan - is this true of all sex-links or is there one that lives longer..

[bayareapilot]

I have Cinnamon Queens which are almost the same breed. They started to die at 3 years of age. One went blind at 2 years. They free range the most and stay with Hamilton, my gentle roo. I know he is wondering what is up with his flock that has decreased by half the past year. I'm putting another flock together for him and just letting his ladies enjoy their lives.

Ugh that hardly seems like any time at all but like one other poster put it it is what it is. Just like us we don't live as long as some other animals. It's just the cards you come to the table with as with any creature

 

[Araucana Nest]

I never had golden comets before I have four of them it's like some of the people said I swear they're like little puppy dogs they're very very friendly they hop on my legs when I'm sitting in their run area. it's like with anything you just enjoy the time that you have with them. Who knows maybe I'll break a record

That's all we can do There are many breeds that are very friendly. Orpingtons come immediately to mind.

 

[bayareapilot]

That's all we can do There are many breeds that are very friendly. Orpingtons come immediately to mind.

And don't get me wrong my three Easter eggers especially the rooster (he's very nice and was an accidental rooster he was supposed to be a hen but we made it work out) are quite friendly but not to the degree of these golden comets who ride out of the gate so to speak , I became their best pal.

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

I am glad, I had a BO, a marvelous hen, went broody once a year and raised some fine chicks for me. She died at 4.5 years, but she was so stiff in the morning, not above yanking some feathers as she got older. Might be my climate.

I have a Buff Orp hen that is at least 8. She lays one to two eggs per week. I had a couple free range red sex links(comets) that were 5 and 6 when they died. But an owl got them. They were both still laying 3-4 eggs a week. So they can live longer.

 

[Parront]

I am interested in how long the sex-links live, too. I order sex-links to fill up the box when I get chicks from a hatchery. Beginner chicken keepers do not want a chance rooster, even though yours worked out. Kids will get attached to the male chicks every time! Too many city laws against roosters.
I wonder if a local breeder with heritage breeds might make a longer lived sex link than the hatchery produced birds. A heritage breed like a Bared Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Red cross is likely to have hybrid vigor and maybe a longer life, but probably not the excellent egg production of commercial sex-linked hybrids. It is a question that the more experienced breeders on here maybe could answer.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are two types of sex links we get from hatcheries. They are sold under various marketing names. If you can post the name of the hatchery you got them from we might be able to figure out which type you have.

One type is based on the commercial hybrid egg layers. These are the ones that have been bred to convert feed to eggs really efficiently. They typically lay a lot of Grade A Large eggs and have fairly small bodies. These are the ones that tend to have the medical problems. They are not bred for longevity. They are bred to lay a lot of eggs one or two laying seasons and then are replaced. Each is an individual. Not all develop those medical problems, you can get some that live and lay for several years but these tend to have more issues than dual purpose chickens.

The other type are made by crossing two dual purpose breeds. Different hatcheries use different dual purpose breeds. Many use Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire roosters over Rhode Island White, Delaware, Silver Laced Wyandotte, or White Rock hens to make Red Sex Links but I'm sure other breeds are also used. These tend to be like their parents. They tend to have bigger bodies and may lay more medium eggs instead of the larger eggs, though some do lay larger eggs.

Since their parents are hatchery chickens they are also not bred for longevity. I'm talking about the dual purpose parents. The business of a hatchery is to mass market chicks at a reasonable price so they tend to keep hens that lay a lot of eggs. Since productivity in egg laying dual purpose hens declines as they age they don't keep older hens or roosters. Older hens don't lay as well as younger ones. Older roosters are not as sexually active as younger roosters and they want fertile eggs to hatch. You can expect the sex links made from dual purpose crosses to live and lay a lot like their parents. They are not the egg laying specialists and don't tend to have the same degree of medical problems.

To sum up. Golden Comets is a marketing name, not a breed name. There are no breed standards. Yours may be based on the commercial hybrids or they may be crosses between dual purpose breeds. Either one of these will probably lay pretty well and either one may last a long time, but neither are bred for longevity. You tend to have fewer medical problems with the ones made from dual purpose parents but either may also develop problems.

 

[bayareapilot]

I am interested in how long the sex-links live, too. I order sex-links to fill up the box when I get chicks from a hatchery. Beginner chicken keepers do not want a chance rooster, even though yours worked out. Kids will get attached to the male chicks every time! Too many city laws against roosters.
I wonder if a local breeder with heritage breeds might make a longer lived sex link than the hatchery produced birds. A heritage breed like a Bared Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Red cross is likely to have hybrid vigor and maybe a longer life, but probably not the excellent egg production of commercial sex-linked hybrids. It is a question that the more experienced breeders on here maybe could answer.

That's kind of what I was wondering as well. For me a production is okay but it's not the primary reason I have them as they really are more like pets to me

 

[TillyPeeps]

Unfortunately, those hatchery sex-links are bred to lay maximum eggs, so they tend to have reproduction problems and then would die from these health issues. However, not all of them will die early, just a large percent. There are many autosexing and unpopular sexlink chickens will layer less eggs but have better chance to live a long happy live. Some heritage autosexing chickens include: Bielefelder (very calm and docile), legbar (blue eggs and lay good at an older age), Welbar (dark brown eggs), Rhodebar (Rhode Island Red with Baring), etc. Sexlinks can be created by cross certain color chickens and are not necessary being production type. Your local breeders may have some special sexlinks that they created to offer. Some hatcheries have them too. For example, Meyer has a blue sexlink bantam which is not a production type,

 

[Parront]

That's kind of what I was wondering as well. For me a production is okay but it's not the primary reason I have them as they really are more like pets to me

I was wondering if these Barred Hollands I have might make a white egg layer sex-link with a Brown Leghorn male. The charts say that boys will have a white dot, girls solid black.
Here are some Barred Hollands for your viewing pleasure!
Not all sex-links are as nice as your girls. The second photo is a Brown sex-link from Ideal hatchery. Their site said it was a white rock x RI red male. Not very friendly, even though handled a lot as a chick. The red sex-link is much sweeter. The little girl next-door (7 years old) named hers "Princess Lay-ah" and is always picking it up and holding it!

 

[TillyPeeps]

I was wondering if these Barred Hollands I have might make a white egg layer sex-link with a Brown Leghorn male. The charts say that boys will have a white dot, girls solid black.
Here are some Barred Hollands for your viewing pleasure!
Not all sex-links are as nice as your girls. The second photo is a Brown sex-link from Ideal hatchery. Their site said it was a white rock x RI red male. Not very friendly, even though handled a lot as a chick. The red sex-link is much sweeter. The little girl next-door (7 years old) named hers "Princess Lay-ah" and is always picking it up and holding it!

If you cross a black or brown male to Barred Holland females, you will get sexlinks. I had a sexlink girl is a Wheaten Ameraucana X California Grey. She is a wonderful layer of blue eggs and super kid friendly. She followed my toddler everywhere and let him pet her. Unfortunately, we had to give her away due to moving, but she is still laying good now at 5 year old.