Purpose of sex-links?

[BeardedLadyFarm]

I think we've all gotten surprise roos in our pullet orders, which is never a good surprise. You are correct that the second generation will not produce chicks that can be sexed by sight. They will however probably maintain the most of the laying abilities of their parents.

Unlike hybrid vegetables that can produce almost unusable second generations, sex-link chickens are based on good production breeds, and should continue to be "usable" for many generations.

 

[HBuehler]

Speaking of White Leghorns, has anyone here had good luck with them? I've heard good and bad about them. I wouldn't mind having a few, because I've heard that they're the best for feed-to-egg conversion, but I also heard that they're terrible as far as meat chickens go. I must admit, having grown up on a broiler farm, I find white chickens a bit boring. Now the Brown Leghorn looks right pretty...

We love our leghorns.They lay so well...lots and lots of eggs.They are not a dual purpose so if you plan to eat one make it the side dish

Would be like using a Cornish Rock for bacon and eggs every morning-just not going to happen. We have Leghorns in nearly every color they come in...white,red,black,Exechequer, Mille Fleur but somehow the browns have escaped us..I'm also getting buff.Even have a broody leghorn here

Oh we love our Sex-links as well and if your worried about what to call the second generation if you decide to breed them make up some strange exotic name when someone asks you what they are..they do it with dogs all the time so why not chickens..Laberdoodle(however they spell it), Cock A Poo? come on fancy name for a MUTT We love our mutt chickens.I do have a Sex link(BRxRIR)x RIR cross pullet that is the one out of a hundred here everyone asks what she is because she is beautiful.She has her own look and a super layer.She couldn't be sexed at birth but that's Ok here.​

 

[TimG]

I don't think it is really efficient to raise your own egg layers. First, you have to keep (feed) a rooster. Second, you have to find something to do with all the roosters you hatch (unless you can sex them at time of hatching and cull immediately). Most good egg laying breeds (like your RIR and BR) aren't really for eating even though they are considered dual purpose breeds.

There's nothing in the crossing/hybridization that should reduce fertility -- your mutts aren't going to be sterile.

 

[walkswithdog]

I raise my own egg layers, cycling birds out every two years or so, earlier if not to standard. Spare roos are eaten, traded or sold.

I had partridge rocks but switched primarily to Delawares - a bird much closer to dual purpose. If I grow them out the males sell very well and at a good price that means growing and vetting next generation improvement roos isn't as costly as it was in smaller birds.

They're excellent foragers and pest management birds - which also helps.

They lay well and are easy keepers. I haven't over wintered the delawares so won't know their winter lay rate until this spring but it looks favorable, there was little loss at all over molt.

I tinker with meat breed mixes, so I am adding some marans who are better meat than egg birds.

I don't think I'd keep an egg only, no roo flock. I find paying someone else for layers not something I would choose to do and you cannot improve stock if you do not breed to do so.

I have banties for broodies in case, and for amusement value LOL.

Right now my Delaware Roo will yield sex linked chicks over my remaining partridge rocks, but I will be growing out males for a comparison to other possible meat bird combinations, so I don't need the opportunity for an early cull.

Sex linking is handy for early cull, for setting yourself up with only laying hens, instead of raising roos.

If you want a purebred bird you can point at and say - yep that's a ______, that breeds true. You want a purebred, not the sex links produced for laying only.

People who want lay only birds, just sell off old birds and buy new every two years. That's how a layer only flock is managed.

If you breed from your sex links, you lose sex link, and you get scatter bred type that you have to cull HARD to what you want to look at, then generations of focus on your standard creates whatever you want to call them. That's a _______ (pick a name). But it won't be any purebred breed someone would recognize because you made the only flock in existence.

Some purebred breeds can be sexed at birth. That gives you a purebred and a choice for early cull of males. Always a nice option.

No choice is wrong. You have to chose for yourself, your set up, your temperament.

 

[Krys109uk]

why oh why haven´t they come up with a Sexable white egg layer?

The gold & silver Legbars (autosexing breed) lay white eggs.

Speaking of White Leghorns, has anyone here had good luck with them?

I used to breed lots of leghorns including whites. Very much enjoyed keeping them.​

 

[chickortreat]

Quote:
Hey walkswithdog, how many chickens do you keep in your flock? What ratio of roos-to-hens for dependable fertilization? And do you incubate or let the hens do it?

I have in mind to cycle out every two-three years as well. (Mind you I've yet to get my first egg.) I plan to start trying to incubate a few eggs as soon as mine start laying.

Is it feasable to band or otherwise mark your birds to keep track of who's who and how old they are and from what pedigree?

 

[wombat]

We have a hen that is from a golden comet hen and a RIR roo. She looks much like a Golden Comet with more red, and she's an egg-a-day layer.

If you breed hybrids, you can't be sure what you'll get, but as one of the other posters mentioned, you'll likely keep the egg laying characteristics, you just won't have a flock that will breed predictable results.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Quote:
In a way, there already is a sex-linked white egg-layer. Leghorns. The slow-feathering and fast-feathering genes.

 

[walkswithdog]

Quote:
Hey walkswithdog, how many chickens do you keep in your flock? What ratio of roos-to-hens for dependable fertilization? And do you incubate or let the hens do it?

I have in mind to cycle out every two-three years as well. (Mind you I've yet to get my first egg.) I plan to start trying to incubate a few eggs as soon as mine start laying.

Is it feasable to band or otherwise mark your birds to keep track of who's who and how old they are and from what pedigree?

I currently have one Delaware roo to 12 hens, all the eggs are fertile, but the wee loose sizzle bugger (a roo) accounts for a few of those. I don't segregate over summer. 1/2 sizzles are obvious... lol

I do band when I want to track groups, I use zip ties - it's easy. I let my hens incubate some and incubate some myself if I want chicks and broodies aren't available. If I want particular parents of certain eggs, then I coop those up separate. It's been simpler since I sorted to one main roo.

Some hens lay identifiable eggs and sometimes I'll track one hen's eggs for a season banding all her chicks. Kind of depends what I'm looking for.

 

[Krys109uk]

In a way, there already is a sex-linked white egg-layer. Leghorns. The slow-feathering and fast-feathering genes.

Not sure what you mean. Leghorns are usually supposed to have rapid feathering. Do you mean they have devloped certain strains with slow feathering in order to make rate of feather growth sexlinks?​