Are black Sex Links friendly / docile?

[cabincrazyone]

I'm a newbie in a city in NE Minnesota and can have only 5 hens. My needs are dual purpose, good layers, not broody, cold hardy, and friendly with folks and other breeds. Best fits in my order of preference is RIR, Barred Rock, Ameraucanas or EEs (mostly for the blue eggs), and orpingtons. My choice is looking like 2 RIR, 2BR, and 2 EEs (2+2+2=5

). I'm planning on ordering them from the local feed store which means an order of all pullets will be 4 roos and 2 pullets. lol.

Therefore I'm intrigued by the thought of getting 6 black sex links instead of the above. What I want to know is how friendly are they? I've seen positive and negative remarks about that.

 

[tobin123]

I find the red sex link to be better in so many ways.We had black for a few year and they where docile just the reds where way better for us.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I have Black Sex Link or Black Stars or whatever the hatchery chooses to call them

They are much larger than a Red Star (red sex link) eat much more because they weigh a pound or two more. They are simply heavier framed birds. They lay well, but not as well as the Red Star type hen.

Mine are docile, but not as people oriented. Business like. Mind their own business. I have to believe if you are looking for a good meat bird at the end of lay, this is a better choice. But if you are looking to save feed costs and have maximum egg production, then look at the Reds.

Disclaimer: Because there are hundreds of breeders and hatcheries, no two birds is likely to alike.

 

[Wisher1000]

I have five BSL hens and LOVE them! They are my favorites in my whole flock (of 27 birds.) They are laying machines, I get 3-5 large beautiful brown eggs a day (bear in mind this is winter.) They are very friendly to me and my family, I can pick mine up and hold them and they have never pecked me. They never go broody, but I can't speak to how well they dress out as I am so attached to mine that I could not eat them. I also can't speak to how cold hardy they are but they have done fine this winter and there have been some nights in the low teens. They are bossy, like most any old biddies, but no more so than other breeds. I have read that RIR are not as hardy and that Orps tend to be broody (I'm getting some for that reason!) I think barred rocks are good, too but have not had any of those. Do they lay white eggs? I am getting more EE's soon as I, too, want blue eggs and have only EE roos (never buy straight runs again) just keep in mind that the EE's from a hatchery will be more likely to lay greenish or pinkish eggs than the "robin's egg blue" ones we dream about. Tobin123 - I have no experience with the reds, in what ways are they better? I could be up for some of those as well...

BTW love the chicken math (2+2+2=5)!

My suggestion : 3 BSL's and 3 EE's and 3 BR [3+(3-2 roos)+(3-2 roos) =5]

 

[mychookschick]

Hey!

I'm not sure if you are allowed to have roosters or not but I have had only 1 BSL that was a rooster. And he was the meanest thing ever! I don't know if it was just his breeding (as almost all BSL's are different) or what.... He was believed to be a RIR X BR.

 

[averytds]

As long as a feed store employee hasn't put the Assorted Bantams or Fryers/CX in the wrong bin (easy enough to tell anyways) I haven't ever gotten a cockerel out of a pullet only bin.

I don't think I'm particularly lucky, actually far from it. Assorted Bantams and Straight Run bins I only get about 1 pullet out of every 50 chicks. Those I would avoid like the plague if I didn't want to bother with roos. RIR, BR and EE "Pullet" only bins have all been exactly that.


As to the sexlinks, I've only had experience with blacks and they are from our own birds Brahma/BR. Pretty birds, reasonably friendly, but so are their parents.

 

[woodmort]

Mine are. The biggest problem I have with them is to keep from tripping over them when I go into the coop.

 

[cabincrazyone]

Thanks much everyone!!

 

[jaboo81]

I think the blacks r good, to me the reds lay just alittle better. The gold r by far the sweetest of them all, they r the smallest and do not lay r eat as well but they do want to love when u go into the coop r pen. Hope this helps

 

[cabincrazyone]

Quote:
In what ways do you think they're better? I'm wondering if they'd be a better choice for me.