Red Sexlink... where does it come from??

[waynec]

We were told to cross RIR roo with Delaware hen or a White Rock hen, but will it work with other white hens also? Would like to try a cross with a white leghorn.

 

[FireTigeris]

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

start there and see if your question is already answered-

I'm not sure myself because there are two different types of white, Dominant and Recessive -they react differently in the presence of other color genes.

Also one type of white is the 'color (pigment) white' the other is the 'absence of the color black'

but I might have confused myself by now.

 

[Kavaji]

Red Sex-Links are the result of various crosses. White Rocks with the silver factor (the dominant white gene would produce all white offspring) are crossed with a New Hampshire male to produce the Golden Comet. Silver Laced Wyandotte crossed with New Hampshire gives the Cinnamon Queen. Two other crosses are obtained with Rhode Island White x Rhode Island Red, and Delaware x Production Red. These two crosses are simply called Red Sex-Links. Males hatch out white and, depending on the cross, feather out to pure white or with some black feathering. Females hatch out buff or red also depending on cross, and they feather out in one of three ways.

 

[Cowgirl71]

The link that FireTigris posted is the very best Sexlink page on the web!!!

White Leghorns very rarely have the proper genes for making sexlinks. RIR roo x White Leghorn hen will make all white chicks the vast majority of the time.

White Rocks are also not a very good choice. (copied from Tadkerson's sticky) "White Wyandottes and White Plymouth Rocks are not a good choice. They sometimes have the correct genotype to produce sex linked chicks and at other times, they do not have the correct genotype to produce sex linked chicks."

Great choices for the female of a red sexlink cross include (easy to find breeds I made bold): Rhode Island White, Salmon Faverolle, Light Sussex, Columbian Leghorn, Delaware, Light Brahma, Dark Brahma, Columbian Rock, Columbian Wyandotte, Silver Penciled Rock, Silver Penciled Wyandotte, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Silver Leghorn, and Silver Welsummer.

 

[waynec]

Thank you all for your replies. This info really helped.