Sex- linked Information

[DuckBoy]

So a darl cornish rooster and a barred rock hen will produce the sex link?

 

[nicalandia]

So a darl cornish rooster and a barred rock hen will produce the sex link?

yes a dark cornish rooster over a barred rock hen will produce a sex link, boys with a headspot on the head, hens all black at hatch

 

[DuckBoy]

thanks

 

[Zootopia]

yes, Blue Laced Red Wyandotte over a barred rock hen/Delaware hen will give you sex linkes, the boys will be sex linked barred and the hens will not..

you can use a blue/splash maran roo over any BR/Delaware hen and get the same sex linked results

Yea! I have "meaty" roos and nice laying hens in the making then. I knew about the BLRW but not about the B/Sp Maran and I have two beefy boys I already knew I was going to use for spring meat pen. Its just a big bonus that they will be sex linked.

 

[farmerChef]

Yea! I have "meaty" roos and nice laying hens in the making then. I knew about the BLRW but not about the B/Sp Maran and I have two beefy boys I already knew I was going to use for spring meat pen. Its just a big bonus that they will be sex linked.

you could sell the female chicks as layers and keep the males for meat.

 

[aoxa]

you could sell the female chicks as layers and keep the males for meat.

Exactly what I do!




Here are some of the boys from my BR x Partridge/Buff Cochin cross.

Ready for the freezer.

 

[nicalandia]

Exactly what I do!




Here are some of the boys from my BR x Partridge/Buff Cochin cross.

Ready for the freezer.

Nice...

 

[aoxa]

Nice...

Thanks



You asked not too long ago to see my ghost barred pullet from a RSL x BR cross. Here is a younger pullet.



and we have a second generation of this cross (above girl x BR cockerel again) also turned out white with ghost barring.

Genetics are so interesting

 

[Arielle]

Yes, genetic are VERY interesting.

THe ghost girls are pretty.

 

[CarolynF]

I'm not sure what a "production black" is, but if they are barred and do breed true, then yes, a Speckled Sussex rooster over a Production Black hen will produce a black sex link. You can look at Tadkerson's first post in this thread to read about that. All it takes to make a black sex link is a barred hen, a non-barred rooster, and the color of down in the chick to be able to see the spot.
There are a lot of different genes that influence egg color, but most of those influence final shade. A simple way to look at it is that all eggs have a base of either blue or white. There is one pair of genes that control that. Blue is dominant, so if even one of the pair is the blue gene, the base color will be blue. But if both genes in that pair are white, the base shell color is white. You can open an egg and look at the inside of the shell to see the base color. Just peel off that membrane. So that is simple. Kind of look at it like painting. The primer color is either blue or white. There are genes that influence the actual tint of that white or blue, but the base is either white or blue.
But then you get the topcoat. There are a bunch of different genes that influence what, if any, brown topcoat goes on that base blue or white. How those several different genes interact determines what actual shade of blue, white, brown, or green the egg is. Roosters and hens both contribute these genes. Think of it this way.
Blue + no brown = blue
Blue + light brown = light green
Blue + dark brown = olive green
White + no brown = white
White + light brown = light brown
White + dark brown = dark brown
So both the brown and white egg layer will provide genes for the base white shell. The white egg layer will not produce any brown overcoat, but the brown egg layer will. It depends on what brown genes the brown egg layer contributes, but the odds are really high the egg will be brown, not white, and it will probably be a lighter brown than the parent brown egg layer would produce.

Hi Ridgerunner,
This is a great tutorial, thank you for taking the time to explain this so well.
I have another question or two as a follow-up. You said there is a pair of genes for the base egg shell color with blue being dominant, so I understand how that works. What are the genes that determine the top coat? I'm thinking specifically about using a Barnevelder roo (dark brown eggs) and trying to figure out which barred hen to use that will create sex link pullets that lay dark brown eggs. I know of one case of using the Barnie roo and BR hen that worked, but will it work every time, or was that just the luck of the draw?

Thanks so much for your help!