My Red Sex-Link Rant

[NYRIR]

I have 4 RSL's....love 'em,love 'em, love 'em! They do tend to always be underfoot as others have said. One of mine is so docile? We can pick her up one handed

Guess Freds Hens is right though, they are not a breed so it varies widely.Sorry yours are such a pain

 

[Zaxby's2]

Sorry if this has been mentioned before but is it true that a red sexlink can be a variety of different mixes involving RIR over leghorn, delaware, RIW, ect. If so then wouldn't it be possible that different crosses would have a tendency to have nicer layed back birds than others? Wouldn't a RIR over a delaware sexlink probably be easier to tame then a RIR over a leghorn sexlink based on the temperment of the breeds that created it? And if different hatcheries had different crosses as their red sexlinks then wouldn't depending on which hatchery and which cross you got your red stars from would determine they way they act and their temperment? Would that explain why different people have different experiences with this hybrid? Just a thought.

 

[Blooming chicks]

My RSLs are a cross between a RIR and White Rock. They are the sweetest chickens ever and are constantly following us around like dogs. They "play" with my son in the yard and sit on our laps. BUT...I have had 4 out of 10 so far, die from internal laying issues starting at about 2.5 years old. Mine are almost 5 years old now and give us 4 eggs a week/bird. We really like them, but have moved away from the breed because it breaks my heart to see them deteriorate so quickly and so young. Just my thoughts and experiences...have a great day.

 

[ChickMandy]

We are new to chickens, and the pics some have posted make me wonder if RSL and ISA Browns are the same bird. We have four ISA Browns. There's one that seems a little more dominant than the others, but all are good layers and good with our kids. We also have four BRs and four BSL chicks who are now in the coop with the hens, but secured in a brooding box.

Here are our birds. They come from Bonnie's Hatchery in Elmira Ontario Canada and are sold as ISA Browns:

So are RSLs and ISA Browns the same?

Mandy

 

[wingsofglory]

Yes, your birds look like red sex links, which is a description, not breed.

ISA Browns is from a patented line of birds, and the name "ISA Browns" is probably trademarked also. Famous name, top quality.

"Red sex links" is a descriptive name. Means the bird is half Rhode Island Red and carries the red color gene. The other parent can be any number of breeds carrying the silver color gene. Bred together, the female chicks are red, and the male chicks come out white.

So if I remember right, the mother is Rhode Island Red, and the father can be White Rock, Delaware, white Leghorn, Silver Lace Wyandotte or White Rhode Island. Because of genetics and where the color gene in this combination is carried linked to sex, it only happens if the hen is red, male silver, and not the other way around.

Typically, the chicks grow up into hens, mostly red with some white underfluff and some white tail feathers.

The big agribusiness companies have put big money into breeding their lines of Rhode Island Red into producing as many eggs as possible as soon as possible - beginning to lay at 18 to 20 weeks instead of 24 to 32 weeks like traditional breeds. And also have done extensive research and money for lines of silver-gened birds to cross them with to make red sex links. Each company gives their birds their trademarked name. ISA Browns are famous for being tops in quality. Other companies doing the same with their own line of birds gives them their own names like "Comets" (by Hubbard company, also famous for quality birds) "Indian River" "Syl-go-Links" "Cinnamon Queens" "Red Stars" 'Martis Rock Reds" (which may be black sex links).

Black Sex Links are also half Rhode Island Reds. the other half is Barred Rock and the chicks are sexable by color.

There are also now gold sex links, brown sex links. And all the new names make it very confusing to learn chicken breeds.

All the different crosses, all the different breeds that can be used for the silver gene, is why the temperaments and health vary so widely in red sex links, as previous poster noted. Another reason is the different lines of Rhode Island Red used vary widely in temperament and health.

European companies are now coming into the US market with their crosses and many new trademark names, like the Tetra Tints, and the Rouge birds from France called Freedom Rangers or Colored Rangers here. All are crosses that cannot duplicated by the consumer, insuring their market for their product.

 

[colby318]

Quote:
Wow, I think I have been backwards this whole time. For some reason, I thought color of the sire impressed on the daughter while the color of the dam impressed upon the son. Thanks for setting me straight.

 

[wingsofglory]

I might have it backwards. I didn't look it up to check if the sire must be silver or red. I know it only works one way too (hen one color and roo the other) and not the reverse for some reason, and only for certain colors.

I was just trying to explain all the different names for sexlinks are trademark names, and sexlink is not an old breed name like Barred Rock or Brahma.

I think it would be interesting to see what people thought "sexlink" meant before they read the threads on BYC! I've heard some funny ones!

 

[ChickMandy]

So if you're saying that ISA Browns are a specific strain of bird, and possibly TM'd, then not just any hatchery would sell them, would they? Does that mean the hatchery we got ours from is falsely advertising the pullets they are selling?

I knew the BSLs were a cross with RIRs, but I also thought an alternate name for them was Black Star. But it seems like both RSL and BSL are just "descriptions" of birds, and not actual breeds. Have I got that right?

This is more confusing than Cockapoos and Goldendoodles!! Which, by the way are not breeds, they are just crosses with Poodles

Mandy

 

[keesmom]

If you want to know how sex links are created tadkerson wrote a detailed and informative post on the subject. It is a sticky and located here

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261208

I have only had black sex links and I was happy with them. HUGE eggs every day, until they hit 4 or 5 years old. I have one left that is 8 years old now and this is the first year we haven't had any eggs from her. All were friendly with people and I even had some go broody on me.

 

[wingsofglory]

ChickMandy - your hatchery is not falsely advertising!!! The big agra/chickengenetic companies wholesale their birds to the hatchery retailers and all over the world! Thats how they make money.

I can tell from your photo your hens are their fine quality product! See those beautiful rounded lines of your hens? How nearly identical they are?

Hatcheries are retailers - some buy their eggs or the patented parent birds from wholesalers, some breed their own in their own barns, some arrange for surrounding farms to supply a schedule of eggs the hatchery hatches, some just handle orders and your shipment comes from their arranged supplier, one hatchery is a group of Amish farmers, some do all of this and whatever else works, it all depends.

Hatcheries have to have new parent birds every year or two. They can raise their own or buy the breed stock from wholesalers, pen them, collect and hatch the eggs to sell retail (to the public).

Someone else than me would probably be better at explaining the wholesale/retail levels of the chicken business.

Also info on the big agra companies making trademarked birds can be found by googling Tetra Tints, the French Rouge meatbirds, Hubbard, ISA Brown, etc.