Leghorn silkie cross chicks - sex link?

[HeritageHome]

Hey all! I'm new here, so I apologize if my question has been answered in days past.

I have a mixed flock, and this spring added 8 leghorn hens to the bunch. Quite by surprise; one of them went broody last month and hatched two little chicks. My sole rooster is a mammoth white non-bearded silkie (quite a lovely fellow), so I was eager to see what these chicks would look like.

Someone told me I'd lucked out and created sex link chicks. Evidently I should be able to tell whether I have pullets or Roos based on the color of their skin and legs. Dark for ladies, light for fellas.

I'm not so confident in my assessment, here. They have light skin, but the legs don't fall to either extreme. The legs are a bit mottled in color. A sort of zombie flesh pinky grey, with darker grey at the web of the toes and a bit of yellow on the back of the legs. Certainly not the buttery yellow all-over color the leghorn chicks displayed, but not the rich charcoal shade of th silkies either.

Anyone have insight?

 

[Michael OShay]

Unless you were lucky enough to get silver gene White Leghorns your offspring will not be sex linked. Even if your Leghorns are White Leghorns, they are very unlikely to have the silver factor necessary for producing Red Sex Links.

 

[popsicle]

Some BYC posts regarding sex-linked skin pigment:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/483189/silkie-x-leghorn-crosses/30#post_7057045
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/130172/black-skin-genetics#post_1570731
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...expectedly-in-silkie-mixes-pics#post_12641220

Non-BYC:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/IdentifyingSilkieCrossChicks.html

Have fun!

 

[donrae]

I'd been all excited about a similar cross from reading some of the above threads, and similar posts mostly by a user nicalandia. I've not found it to bear out in my small scale of hatching, though. I don't know if my parent stock wasn't "correct", but it didn't work for me.

 

[HeritageHome]

I'd been all excited about a similar cross from reading some of the above threads, and similar posts mostly by a user nicalandia. I've not found it to bear out in my small scale of hatching, though. I don't know if my parent stock wasn't "correct", but it didn't work for me.

It's always possible there are muddled genetics in the roo or the leghorn's. The rooster is easily twice the size of any other silkie rooster I've brought up (weighs in at 7lbs and some change). The leghorn's I bought from a commercial hatchery as day olds. They look like the genuine article to me - but I'm no leghorn expert
Both chicks are darling. One has feathered legs, the other does not. Their chipper and feathering out nicely at only 3 weeks. Skittish as can be, but darling to watch. I was hoping I'd end up with at least one pullet out of the pair - but it looks like I'll just have to wait a few months to know anything conclusively. My rooster is an alpha and alienates other Roos pretty early on, so he might let me know before the chicks do.

 

[drumstick diva]

There are large fowl Silkies - generally in UK, etc maybe some made it over here - where the typical silkie is a bantam. You boy does look BIG

 

[drumstick diva]

Just noticed your silkie roo doesn't have the correct walnut comb. Is he a hatchery bird or possible mix?

 

[HeritageHome]

Just noticed your silkie roo doesn't have the  correct walnut comb.   Is he a hatchery bird or possible mix?

He's the youngest roo out of my oldest silkie hen (who I've had for 4 years). She came from a feed store during one of those spring chick sales. His daddy (now deceased, thanks to a wandering homeless dog) was a silkie I acquired from a friend who moved and couldn't take her chickens along. The other birds from the same clutch are all typical size for the breed standard. Can't explain why he's such a giant. At 4 weeks post hatch he was notably bigger than the others and that trend continued.