What varieties of coturnix quail will produce sex-linked chicks

[FloorCandy]

Thank you. I'm just getting started with quail. I've been breeding Crested Cream Legbars for years and did not know about auto-sexing of quail. This was the only thread I'd seen on it here.

I can’t find it but someone made an older thread about it that’s really helpful. But any roux colored male bird over a non roux female will produce sex links in Quail. I put scarlet tux males over Tibetan tux hens, because why waste sex links on feather sexables, it’s a tool best used on range pattern and tuxes since you can’t sex them until maturity. Some colors combine with roux, like silver, and make sex links hard to gender, so stay away from silvers in sex links, but other people have used the trait in different combos, I think someone has a charcoal sex link project they wrote about on this site.

 

[badflash]

why waste sex links on feather sexables, it’s a tool best used on range pattern and tuxes since you can’t sex them until maturity.

If you are selling chicks as food for reptiles and not to grow out, it makes sense. Sell the males right away and just grow out the females. Your point is a good one though.

 

[FloorCandy]

If you are selling chicks as food for reptiles and not to grow out, it makes sense. Sell the males right away and just grow out the females. Your point is a good one though.

I sell my males as snake/reptile food, and I sell or keep the females.

 

[Adalimbi]

the roux color is a recessive sex-linked, meaning only the males will express it but you won't be able to tell by looking at the females if they carry it.

This is incorrect, you have it around the wrong way. Males need 2 copies to express and can carry 1 copy, females only need one copy to express it and never be able to carry. It is linked to the Z chromosome and males are ZZ, females are ZW

 

[Adalimbi]

I know this is an old thread but someone may be looking for the answer. to expand on what FloorCandy posted above. Sex Linked colours are used so you can tell the sex of the chick at hatch by the colour of the Down. Hens have ZW chromosomes and cocks have ZZ. Sex linked genes are on the Z chromosome. Cocks need 2 copies to show the colour and can carry it, hen only need 1 copy to show the colour and can not carry it as they only have one Z chromosome. So if you breed a cock with 2 copies of the gene to a hen with no copies of the genn then all chicks will have 1 copy of the gene and hens will show the colour and cocks will be carriers and not show the colour. If you want to have your own sex linked line, put a carrier cock to a visual he and keep a cock that is visual for the colour and then breed him to non coloured hens.