Anyone know anything about Amberlinks/Amber Stars?

[alvectra123]

My amberlinks have just hatched some are light yellow some are darker amber with stripe down there back . i have looked at wing tip and the ones with twin fethers are the light yellow ones , is it right that these are hens and the darker ones cocks ?

 

[draye]

There would be several ways to make them.

Cackle crosses Delaware over New Hampshire hens and call them "Indian Rivers".
I saw where Mt. Healthy corsses White Rock rooster over Rhode Island Red hens and call the "Amber LInks">.

So I'd say yoou could take any Silver based rooster over any red hen and get them.

 

[Fred's Hens]

My amberlinks have just hatched some are light yellow some are darker amber with stripe down there back . i have looked at wing tip and the ones with twin fethers are the light yellow ones , is it right that these are hens and the darker ones cocks ?

The amberlink isn't sexed by color, sorry.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Most of these birds are DeKalb commercial stock or commercial stock from another producer. Many times these are 4 way crosses and there's no way of knowing what that parent stock really is, as the genetics companies keep this stuff tightly under the lid.

Other, smaller, retail hatcheries just "roll their own" or make them, kind of, sort of, using whatever parent stock they have available. The goal is hybrid vigor and egg laying, of course. Since everyone wants a cute name for the bird, even though they are hybird/mutts, the hatcheries call them something cute so the buyer feels good about their purchase.

 

[Peeper]

Just bought 18 chicks from TSC and they seem to be really healthy. 1st time with Amber links.

 

[all4him13309]

Amber links are a cross between a Rhode Island Red and a White Plymouh Rock.

 

[oesdog]

Amber links are a cross between a Rhode Island Red and a White Plymouh Rock.

Yes - I was looking at that because I am trying to figure if my wee chick is one! She was found on a rare breed farm but could be a cross breed as she was not in any of the pens and was just on the ground.

Here she is

 

[Phoenixwmn]

The lady I contacted last night during my search for Amber Stars says she breeds a RIR rooster and a RIW hen to get the Amber Stars. And then of course, you must breed the babies with another RIW or RIR or you'll get scary inbred critters ( if you get anything at all), you can't breed two hybrids with each other. So I'm starting to think the only way to get this "breed" is to develop them myself. This was SO not in my poultry game plan. *sigh*

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

The lady I contacted last night during my search for Amber Stars says she breeds a RIR rooster and a RIW hen to get the Amber Stars. And then of course, you must breed the babies with another RIW or RIR or you'll get scary inbred critters ( if you get anything at all), you can't breed two hybrids with each other. So I'm starting to think the only way to get this "breed" is to develop them myself. This was SO not in my poultry game plan. *sigh*

@Phoenixwmn;
I think you are a bit confused as to how hybrid chickens work. You can cross two hybrid chickens. You will not get that same hybrid, but it will be a regular chicken with similar traits to its parents. It will not be a "scary inbred critter" and you don't have to worry about them dying in the shell because their parents were hybrids. They will just be barnyard mutts, and if the parents were good layers, then the offspring will most likely be, too.

If you want to make your own, and breed an Amber Star (or whatever you feel like calling it) to one of the parents or a bird the same breed as one of the parents, the offspring won't be an Amber Star. Only the specific cross will make that specific hybrid. And with chickens, it's common to linebreed birds (breed offspring back to a parent). You don't get the inbreeding that you might get with mammals. Remember, chickens are not mammals and their genetics works a bit differently.

Think about it this way. A hybrid is just a planned mutt with a fancy name, just like a Labradoodle is a planned mutt dog with a fancy name. You can breed two Labradoodles together, or a Labradoodle and a poodle, or a Labradoodle and a Pit Bull, and in each case you'll get viable puppies with some of the characteristics of each of their parents. They won't be scary inbred things, they won't die in utero, they'll just be mutt dogs. Does that make sense?

 

[fuscia]

It involves a Rhodes Island White. Sex link which means the males are what culled? Yikes. Mine just passed after 3 years. And it was so upsetting, because she was a gentle and pleasant hen. She didn’t deserve how sick she got. I did done research into hybrids and found this
Hybrids and Health Issues
Ironically, she died last night and when I went to tractor supply today they had some Amberlinks for sale. I’m tempted to buy some. This is where I got her. But if they only live 3 years and then just get sick and die. I’m not sure. If they are like her, Ill get attached only to be heart broken again. I don’t care about egg laying quantity. I don’t care if they lay at all. I just liked her disposition. She was really nice. Independent, lead hen, but never mean, but stood her ground, self confident. She was pretty too, with beautiful white feathers. Her name was Zina, and yes she laid a lot of eggs, in the height of summer and the dead of winter, even while molting. It takes its toll If I could have stopped her laying to save her lifeI would have. Can you spay a hen?