Rhode Island Red x White Leghorn

[eggdd]

I just hatched 6 chicks - - the roo is a rhode island red, and the hens are white leghorns. does this hybrid have a name? is this a sex link (?)? also, can you tell the differences between males and females? i read conflicting info.

thanks for the help, all! i enjoy this community. you all, the community members, have been a fantastic resource. not sure if you all are aware of how wonderful it is to do research here.

edit:

the chicks colors are:

1 yellow
1 black (with white on chest and wings)
1 red
and 3 blue/gray/light black (with some white (they are definitely a different color than the one black))

don't know if that helps.

i don't think i can post a picture.

 

[Zaxby's2]

I'm pretty sure those are the breeds used for making a red sexlink, also known as red star, golden comet, cinnamon queen, and a few other names. When they feather out hens will be red with a white tail, and roosters will be creamy white with tan and red feathers here and there. As for when they are chicks, I don't know.

Congrats on your hatch!

 

[farmerChef]

You don't have sexlinks.

You would only have red and white/yellow chicks. White Leghorns are not used for making sexlinks because 99.9% of the time, they have the dominate white gene, which will mask the colors and make sexlinking the chicks by color impossible.

 

[Fred's Hens]

It is actually a silver gene that is required, I believe. RIRxLeghorn equals a great egg laying hybrid or "mutt". Enjoy them.

 

[Liberty Nursery]

Did the offspring have Brown or white eggs? If the person who hatched these is no longer around anyone who has experience with this can answer.

 

[JMarch]

I hatched out some crosses- production red and white leghorn- They were beautiful birds- mostly white with a few random black feathers. Unfortunately the fox got them before they were old enough to start laying.

 

[kaptainkompost]

You don't have sexlinks.

You would only have red and white/yellow chicks. White Leghorns are not used for making sexlinks because 99.9% of the time, they have the dominate white gene, which will mask the colors and make sexlinking the chicks by color impossible.

You're right, these chicks would not be sex-linked, but not for the reason you said. In fact, a dominant gene in the female line is precisely what is need for sex-linked to work, since the cockerels of the cross will receive one copy of a dominant gene from the hen as well as the recessive from the rooster, and the pullets will receive one recessive from the rooster only, causing them to exhibit the recessive gene, while the cockerels exhibit the dominant. If I understand my genetics properly, you could sex these chicks easily by
1) performing this cross the other way around. This would cause the cockerels to be delayed-feathering, while the pullets will be fast-feathering, getting the recessive from the rooster.
2) using columbian leghorns instead of white. Columbian is a form of silver which is sex-linked, while dominant white is autosomal.

Hope this helps!

 

[Chris09]

• I would like to add to what kaptainkompost posted,The feather sex-link cross works best on non-hatchery stock, or pure stock if you will.
• Most hatcheries feather sex there chicks, once this cross is done you can not do this cross again just like with most sex links.

Here is a link to breeding sex-links
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information

 

[caychris]

It is actually a silver gene that is required, I believe. RIRxLeghorn equals a great egg laying hybrid or "mutt". Enjoy them.

Im hatching out this cross at the moment. The chicks are yellow/white with a few black flecks. They are big and active (bigger than hatchery pure white leghorn pullets which I bought as replacements for the original breeding stock) They are friendlier than the Leghorns of about the same age and seem to be feathering slighly slower than the Leghorn pullets. Ive hatched 2 so far but another 22 are in the bator right now.

Im doing some of the hatching and chick raising for Neal (@1zooman12 ) for a genetics project we are working on his RIR roos are very nice and quite big. The Leghorns were initially sold to him as a different breed (White Rock) which they are definitely not.

We will see how these gals lay Im pretty sure the boys are destined for Freezer camp.

 

[chiple22]

I'm pretty sure those are the breeds used for making a red sexlink, also known as red star, golden comet, cinnamon queen, and a few other names. When they feather out hens will be red with a white tail, and roosters will be creamy white with tan and red feathers here and there. As for when they are chicks, I don't know.

Congrats on your hatch!

I understood the cinnamon queen to be a cross of Rhode Island, red and Wyandotte