Red Sex Links-hens?

[Cdr621]

These are our 12 week old red sex links. We are a first chicken family and from their appearance I would think Roo and Hen but the hubby says that's impossible because of their breed. Any additional info would be appreciated!

 

[BorderBrigade]

Think you have a pair. Are you sure they aren't rhode islands?

 

[Veer67]

They are not Red Sex Links, sex links can be sexed early on as chicks. For RSL's, the males should be silver colored and pullets are reddish orange. Here's a comparison of Red Sex Link as adults:

Your chickens are a production mix (such as Production Red, Cherry Eggers, "hatchery RIR"). The one on the left is your cockerel and the chicken on the right is your pullet.

 

[Samjoe]

They look just like my red-sex links.Except for that huge comb. I have various size combs within birds of the same group,all the same age. They are both hens....I think lol

 

[Samjoe]

Wait what? Veer,aren't the breeds you mentioned Red sex links. Not questioning you ,I mean I must be mis informed. Can you get me straight on this?

 

[JodyJo]

RSL? Those do not look like RSL....



this is one of my RSL hens....yours resemble Rhode Island Reds, or maybe even Production Reds...


This is my Production Red hen.....

BTW, the 1st pic is a rooster...no doubt on that....I would not think they are RSL though, they can be sexed at birth...there would be no mistake...

 

[Cdr621]

We purchased them at MJ Hatcheries in Marietta, Ga as a production red referred to as the GA Rose where both chicks were sexed as pullets. As they grew I started having concerns, as you can plainly see why. Just wanted some other opinions. Thank you all for your input!

 

[Veer67]

Wait what? Veer,aren't the breeds you mentioned Red sex links. Not questioning you ,I mean I must be mis informed. Can you get me straight on this?

You mean the Production Reds? A sex-linked chicken's gender can identified by color as a baby chicks (males are silver/white and females are red) , Production Reds are not sex linked so from a baby chick to adult, their colors will still be the same rooster or hen. An example would be Cdr621's cockerel and pullet. As you can see, both genders have the same coloration and as chicks, you would not be able to tell their genders (by appearance) until they were a couple of weeks old.

A male and female RSL, the male is silverfish while the pullet is reddish.

 

[donrae]

Production reds and red sex links are not the same thing, that's a common source of confusion. Production reds are generic red birds with a varied genetic background, bred to be red birds that lay a ton of eggs. Both genders are red, so they're not sexable by color.

Sex links are a one time cross of a red rooster over a silver hen. Most hatchery red sex links have the white tips and tails. The sex is linked to the gender, so they're easy to sex at hatch by sight. Females are gold, males are silver.

Agree you have a pair of some production red birds.

 

[Cdr621]

We were obviously douped by two local licensed Hatcheries who assured us that our pair of GA Roses and Barred Rocks were sexed as pullets. I will be messaging both today looking for explainations.