Sex- linked Information

[Frooster]

Is the golden sex-link hen white or red?

 

[farmerChef]

Is the golden sex-link hen white or red?

a gold sexlink is a red sexlink, but using a buff rooster, so the hens are gold.

 

[donrae]

I'm foggy chemo brain again so perfectly willing to accept what you all are saying about recessive white. I didn't think recessive white would mask barring in the parent hen, though, I thought she'd exhibit some ghost barring at least. Am I way off there?

 

[Kev]

I'm foggy chemo brain again so perfectly willing to accept what you all are saying about recessive white. I didn't think recessive white would mask barring in the parent hen, though, I thought she'd exhibit some ghost barring at least. Am I way off there?

Here's hoping you get well, for once and all.

Recessive white masks colors and patterns just as well. It masks red/gold pigments much better than dominant white although occasionally they do leak but seemingly never as much as dominant white does.

The very few times I'd seen ghost barring was on some white leghorn crosses... can't remember ever seeing it on a recessive white- even in lines known to be barred.

Don't know the cause of ghost barring though.

 

[Old Rando]

A bird with two copies of recessive white eliminates all plumage pigment. Sex-link barring can only be expressed on plumage with pigment donrae. A white bird with barring is still white no ghost barring showing. Sex-link barring eliminates pigment too just in a barred pattern on each feather. If there is no pigment to start with then the barring pattern cannot show.

 

[Kev]

Quick search for ghost barring seems to confirm cases are typically on birds with dominant white, with some mentioning silver is also involved.

I don't think it's quite true for white feathers being unable to show pattern- the eye detail is fully present on peacock's tail feathers for example.

 

[donrae]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the education.

 

[Frooster]

Not really what I meant... Trying to sex my day-old chicks

 

[donrae]

Not really what I meant... Trying to sex my day-old chicks

A red/gold sex link hen is gold based, the males are silver based. Some great comparison pics on the first page of this thread.

 

[dheltzel]

Not really what I meant... Trying to sex my day-old chicks

As farmerchef stated, they are "red sex links" so the red or reddish chicks are pullets and the yellow chicks are cockerels. This is true for all red sex links, though the patterns and shades may vary depending on the parent breeds. There is no sex link cross where the males are red and the females yellow.