What are golden sex links?

[Alex208]

I have 3 golden sex links that are older than a year old but I have questions

1.at what age do they start laying
2.When do they stop laying
3.how do you breed them
4.do they go broody
5.can I put baby chicks with my hens and will they act as there mother.
6.why are mine not laying eggs.
7.why don't they sleep on the rooster bar.
8.if I get a rooster will they breed.
9.can I put other breeds of chicken's with them.
10.give me advice plz I will send pics later

 

[LRH97]

1. Chickens generally begin laying at about 6-9 months old, depending on breed and the individual.
2. As a hen advances in age, her laying will decrease. Her first 2-3 years will be her most productive. After this, she will likely continue to lay, but at a decreased rate.
3. Sex-links of any kind are not a "true" breed. They're more of a variety of hybrid geared toward production. There are several ways to get sex-linked chickens. Though I am not familiar with many, I believe one way is to cross a Buff Orpington rooster with a Barred Rock Hen.
4. I have never had a red or gold sex-link go broody. I have had a black sex-link go broody and she was a very good mom. These birds are bred exclusively for egg production, so an effort has been made to breed out broodiness. However, in the case of my BSL, anything is possible. So the answer is maybe.
5. Only if one manages to go broody. Non-broody hens would probably either ignore the chicks completely or even act violently toward them.
6. This could be for a variety of reasons. If you just got them, they could be stressed from a move. Is it hot where you are? Egg production does slack off a bit when the weather is hot. Are you feeding an appropriate feed? A 16% protein feed optimizes egg production. If you know they are happy and healthy, egg production should resume.
7. I see this usually in younger birds who are not familiar with their coop. It's a chicken's natural instinct to roost off the ground. Try putting them up on the roost each night. They'll get it eventually.
8. Sure will. One rooster can comfortably cover 10-15 hens. Your eggs will then be fertile.
9. Of course!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Golden Sex Links
1.at what age do they start laying
As a commercial hybrid bred specifically for egg production, they mature more quickly. Often GSL are ready to lay anywhere from 18 to 22 weeks (4 1/2 to 5 1/2 months) if hatched in early spring and maturing during the lengthening daylight. If hatched in fall, it might not be until the spring time (so around 6 months of age) as the daylight may not be long enough to trigger initial laying. However, they are such productive layers that often they still will mature and start laying that first winter if they are at least 3 months of age by October.

2.When do they stop laying
Being a hybrid bred solely for early maturity and high production, typically, depending upon care, they are spent by 3 years of age. That doesn't mean they can't or won't lay after that, but their egg numbers drop dramatically by then. The highest production is the first year (to 18 months) with nearly an egg a day. Then they will molt. They come back with larger egg size, but slightly less production (by about 10%). After their second molt (at about 2 1/2 years of age), they slow more significantly by 30% or more. After this point many are spent and lay only an egg or two a week by 3 years of age. Others may still perform at 3 to 4 eggs per week. Each molt they take longer to come back to laying. There is very little meat left on a GSL hen after her laying days are finished.

3.how do you breed them
Each commercial hatchery has their own special formula, but the Gold Sex Link is typically a gold based Buff Orpington over a silver-based female such as a White Rock or Delaware.

The genetics of gender and color make it such that the gold-based color from the male passes to the female chicks (thus making them red-gold colored) while the silver based color of the mother (white looking but not dominant white) passes to the male chicks so the down is pale yellow/white. Females grow into the red-gold with white trim while males grow into white birds with some red/gold bleed through on their shoulders.

This only works the first generation as the chicks are hybrid (mixes). Breeding a GSL to a GSL only produces gold-red chicks of both genders.

You can create Red Sex Links by changing the formula to use a darker red male, such as a RIR or New Hampshire. I've created Sex Links using my brown based (darker red) Barnevelder rooster.

4.do they go broody
I too have never had a GSL go broody, although I've heard it happen, but it is rare. I too have had my Black Sex Links go broody. (BSL are actually the cross of a Barred Rock hen over a RIR or New Hampshire red based rooster. This again uses the color and sex genetics so that the female chicks are all black down while the male chicks are black but have a white head dot to represent the barred birds they will become. Again, this sex linking only lasts the first breeding.)

5.can I put baby chicks with my hens and will they act as there mother.
No. Only brooding hens typically will act like a mother to chicks. Some very docile hens have been known to be a nanny, my Cal Greys have snuggled in the nest with younger chicks but have not sat on really young chicks. That takes a brooding hen. You can't make a hen go broody. It has to be in her genetics. Most commercial lines breed out broodiness since the goal is production (laying). That's why most commercial line (hatchery) birds don't brood, especially the high production lines.

6.why are mine not laying eggs.
For that we'd need more information.
It may be they are too young, too old, or may have stress or illness such as overgrowth of worms or parasites. New stresses, heat, molting, etc. There are many causes of reduced production.

7.why don't they sleep on the rooster bar.
They can be stubborn that way as all birds can. Check to make sure your bar is at a good height (about 24 to 36 inch) and width (about 2 to 4 inches) for chickens. chickens don't grasp like a bird perching. They actually prefer to sit flat on the bar resting over their feet. If necessary, block off the nest boxes at night until they get used to perching on the roost. It also could be you have red roost mites in the coop which is discouraging them from roosting (and might be a reason they are not laying).

8.if I get a rooster will they breed.
If the rooster is healthy, and the hens are healthy, he will mate with your hens.

9.can I put other breeds of chicken's with them.
My GSL over the years have been generally good with other breeds. I do not suggest mixing bantams and large fowl though. Usually the bantams (such as Silkies and Cochins) get picked on by the bigger birds. But my GSL have not been the major culprits over the years to any hazing. They have been middle of the flock...not at the bottom, not at the top.

Overall, I have found GSL to be excellent layers with good temperaments. I also find they lay a nice terra cotta colored egg, a deep rich clay pot color. (Which actually genetically carried forward as I bred my Barnevelder rooster over my GSL, and their daughters lay a nice colored egg...however that did not produce sex links. My Barney over my barred Cal Grey hens did produce black sex links).

You typically have to refresh the flock of GSL every 3 years if you want to keep egg production up, since most are spent by age 3. That means you've got some in grow out, some freshly laying, some after the first molt and laying larger eggs, and some ready to rehome, since imho they aren't very good for anything other than broth (and I personally don't prefer the rather gamey taste of a spent hen...though many use spent hens for broth.) I find that birds under 3 years of age are easy to re-home on Craigslist or through a social network as they still have another decent year left in them.

HTH
LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Ah just caught they are older than a year...are they molting? (Losing feathers?). They usually have a pretty heavy lay period that first season and will molt by 1 1/2 years of age wherein they stop laying until their reserves rebuild since they've been cranking out pretty much an egg a day for 6 to 8 months.

Otherwise, look at illness, parasites, heat, stress, or leaving eggs elsewhere.

LofMc

 

[wolfinator]

Some of my sexlinks started laying at 15 weeks, others up to 18 weeks - now a year old. Some just molted and egg production was down 30%, now between slightly warmer temps and no molting, I'm getting 16-21 eggs daily from 21 standard hens, most my bantams are over 3 so they lay whenever. I have (hens)13 Sexlinks, 2 Black Australorps, 1 RIR, 2 possible Delaware's, and 3 not sure of breeds in just one coop. I have 4 coops/runs with 29 total hens (7 banty hens), a 6 month old pullet, 12 roosters (2 banty) (5 standard in own pen - no hens), 6 ducks and as of posting 10 chicks (in shed brooder) - 58 feathered babies so far. My new chicks were sold at TSC as Golden Sexlinks so they may lay mid-Aug to early Sept.

 

[TX Hen]

I have 3 golden sex links that are older than a year old but I have questions

1.at what age do they start laying
2.When do they stop laying
3.how do you breed them
4.do they go broody
5.can I put baby chicks with my hens and will they act as there mother.
6.why are mine not laying eggs.
7.why don't they sleep on the rooster bar.
8.if I get a rooster will they breed.
9.can I put other breeds of chicken's with them.
10.give me advice plz I will send pics later

Hi -
I can’t speak for anyone’s experience but my own, but here are my two cents:
1: Good question! But they will start! I’d expect around 4-6 months. Of course, the eggs will be really small at first, then quickly getting larger.
2: mine are two years and are still laying almost every day.
3: Put a rooster in with them. Let nature take its course.
4: Ours try, but they leave to go get food then forget about it. Hope yours do better.
5: NO!! Neither my GSLs nor my Rhode Island’s are nice to newcomers. They’ll kill strange chicks, given half a chance.
6: How old are they? Give ‘em until abt 6 mos. They shouldn’t need that long, but they might. Also, has it been cold? Are there stressors that might discourage them? Do they have a quiet, private place?
7: Why doesn’t my cat use the cat tree I gave him? Why do little kids like the box better than the present? Personally, I think hens just prefer being in a laying box or on a flat, solid surface.
8: Over and over again! Not that the hen goes looking for it. But the rooster wants it all the time. Her wants don’t count.
9: Sure! Chickens aren’t racist. Some even do well running with other species. Mine did alright with our guineas, but our geese HATE chickens. So the hens know to keep their distance.
10: Have fun! We spend hours just watching our flock. Great entertainment value! Beat of luck to you!