They cant all be cockrels!! Really?

[reneelynn78]

I posted 5 of my sex links a few weeks back and had one person respond and tell me all cockrels. I know one definetly is because he crows now and it's so cute. But all?

Here they are:::








I honestly thought that the 1,3,4 were pullets and #2 a cockrel.

 

[donrae]

The problem is, they're not really sex links. Sex linkage is a one time deal, when you put a red/gold rooster over a silver hen. The female chicks are then red/gold, and the male chicks are silver/white. Were that the case, all your birds would be female. But, it looks like you have second generation sex links. When you breed two sex links together, you lost the traits that link the sex to the color, and wind up with a lot of multi-colored birds, regardless of gender.

How old are they? Who is crowing, that second bird? I"m leaning toward them all being cockerel, pending age.

 

[reneelynn78]

14-16 weeks old. I didn't post a picture of the one that is crowing because I know he is a rooster. #2 in these pics I call Roo He is bold and assertive and can get nippy sometimes. The other 3 are very skittish. And also get picked on by both Roo and my known Cockerel named Biscuit. Biscuit my rooster is more white than red.

 

[ADuckOnQuack]

The first one might well be a pullet but looking all rooster unfortunately

 

[DuckGirl77]

All look like roos

 

[junebuggena]

All of them have very visible male saddle feathers. All are male.
And they aren't really red sexlinks. This is why you should only purchase sexlinks from breeders who know what they are doing or from a hatchery. Not everybody understands the genetics behind what makes the sexlinking work. And most don't realize that the sexlinking only works for the first generation cross breeding. Subsequent generations will just be random mixed breeds.

 

[drumstick diva]

agree with donrae and junebuggena

 

[red egghead]

if these are true sex links, they are auto sexing. the roosters should be yellow, the pullets should be a sort of amber color, as day old chicks. the yellow (males) should grow to have some white feathers. the colored (pullets) should grow to be solid color that is if they are true sex links. looks like you were given mostly males. bet you didn't hatch these yourself. it happens often with all sex linked birds. they let the tiny roos go, and keep the pullets, simply because one can tell from day old chickens. the pullets are nearly always preferred. that being said. most, but not all true sex links are F1 hybrids and won't reproduce truly. mostly the only way to get the sex link phenomenon is to cross birds like the parents. although some breeds like the cream leg bar are auto sexing and are a true, or (pure) breed. their are others too. poulterers use sex linked birds to select very early the pullets. they don't spend money feeding birds that won't lay eggs. most sellers won't let you pick the birds, if so, you could also pick pullets with this type of chick.