I've had 6 chickens officially for a year. They were mostly black and apparently siblings. Half became roos and half became hens. I don't know what kind of chickens are "black", there are probably a coupla dozen breeds that kick out black chickens. They've got pictures and posters and if you can get your chicken to sit still while you hold up some post office wanted poster of a matching chicken, you MIGHT be able to tell what it is. I bought every gadget and vitamin and chicken toy around. Most of my chickens died from not enough vitamins or playing with toys but the three left (2 black, 1 yellow) started laying eggs and fooling around about when they would be turning 7 months and I incubated 12, right about Halloween and ended up with 11 live chicks right after Thanksgiving. DO NOT INCUBATE EGGS IN THE WINTER IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A BARN OR GARAGE OR SOMEPLACE OTHER THAN YOUR LIVING ROOM TO RAISE THEM IN. Don't ask me how I know this, it should be obvious. I never found anyone but my sister who lives in WA who could tell me about chicken breeds, but you are really correct, why is it important? Unless you have those little clown chickens that are 6" high and don't lay eggs you can cook, I wouldn't worry. I have heard there is an official chicken hand shake, but nobody seems to really know about it. I could give you my sister's phone number but then she wouldn't answer my calls....by the way, I have no idea what red sex link pullets are, but they sound a little weird to me. My sister likes Orpingtons. Go with those. Good luck!
