Sex-linked Silkie Cross?

[ObeyTheYeri]

I have a Silkie rooster and I was wondering with what breeds of hens I would need to use for sex-links. Any info would be appreciated thanks. And maybe the experts can explain to me why the sex-linking works?

 

[Michael OShay]

As long as your Silkie rooster is not white, you can cross it with a barred hen to produce Black Sex Link chicks that can be sexed by color at hatching. Male chicks will have a white spot on top of their heads; female chicks will lack the white spot on top of their heads. There are two important genes that must be a part of a black sex-linked cross; the E locus allele called extended black (E) and the sex-linked barring gene (B). Barred breeds carry both E and B and both genes are used as the female side in Black Sex Link. With Black Sex Link crosses the female must be barred, the male cannot be barred, one of the birds must be homozygous for extended black or carry two extended black genes and neither of the birds can be a white bird (technically you can use a white male for Black Sex Links, but you will not be able to see the white spot on the head of the male chick. However when the chicks feather out only the males will be barred so you would be able to sex them at that point by color). In a Black Sex Link, the female will only contribute the barring gene to the male offspring. So the adult males will be black and barred. The female offspring will receive their sex linked trait from the father; in this case, the recessive gene for no barring. So the females will not be barred as adults.