Sex Link chickens: The perfect layers for any backyard

Breeds

Sep 11

If you’re new to chickens, and you’re just starting to look into what kinds of chickens you want to get, you probably haven’t been seeing Sex Links on all those top 10 lists you’ve been reading. But you should be.

Really, these birds should be on almost every top 10 list. These are incredible chickens who are way too often overlooked.

Sex Links are some of the best layers out there, with the sweetest temperaments, and hardy both in heat and cold. These chickens are hybrids, meaning they come from two different parent breeds. Their mixed genetics means they’re more vigorous than pure breeds. It’s called “heterosis”—although, you’ll more commonly hear the term “hybrid vigor.”

And the best part about Sex Links is that males look different from females at hatch—hence, the name “Sex Links.” So, if you don’t want roosters, or you’re not allowed to have them, these may be the best chickens for you. You are almost guaranteed not to get roosters when you order females.

But before you get your own Sex Link chickens, there are many things about these birds you need to know. In this article, I cover all of these things so you can decide if these are the right birds for your flock.

You’ll learn:

What Sex Links are
The many different kinds of Sex Link chickens
The top 9 reasons you want Sex Links
The 4 reasons Sex Link chickens may not be for you
My super important, #1 tip for ordering Sex Links online
Other breeds you may want instead of Sex Link chickens

This post contains affiliate links for my favorite products from Amazon. As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

What is a Sex Link chicken?

A Sex Link chicken is a chicken with two special characteristics:

Male and female chicks hatch with different down colors or patterns, so they may be sexed at birth.
They are bred from parents of two different breeds.

Are Sex Links a breed?

Sex Links chickens are not a breed. They are a crossbreed (also called a hybrid). In fact, they are several different crossbreeds as you can use many different breeds to create a Sex Link chicken—so, each variety is its own crossbreed.

This simply means that Sex Link chicks have parents of two different breeds, and the Sex Links themselves don’t breed true. That is, Sex Links don’t hatch Sex Link offspring—you cannot tell their offspring’s sex at birth.

There are, however, some breeds of chickens who can be sexed at birth based on plumage who are actually breeds. These chickens aren’t called Sex Links, though (even though they also have traits that are sex-linked). They are referred to instead as “autosexing breeds.” Autosexing chickens do breed true—their offspring can also be sexed at birth.

Examples of autosexing birds include Cream Legbars, Bielefelders, and California Grays.

Not all Sex Links are bred from known breeds.

Some Sex Link chickens come from parents that aren’t recognized “breeds.” Hatcheries or companies have mixed known breeds together over the years to create unrecognized breeds they use as parent stock for Sex Links.

One example of this kind of Sex Link is the Red Sex Link chicken known as the ISA Brown. These chickens likely have some Rhode Island Red, Rhode Island White, and White Leghorn heritage, and who knows what else.

Another example is the Amber Star chicken. I emailed one of the hatcheries to ask what breeds had been used to make this bird. They wouldn’t tell me, but they did say the chicken didn’t come from known heritage breeds. They have developed their own parent lines.

What kinds of chicken (cross)breeds are Sex Links?

So many different popular chicken crossbreeds are Sex Links. You’ve probably heard of a few and just not known that they’re Sex Links—Golden Comets or Cinnamon Queens? ISA Browns? Yep, all Sex Links.

But let’s start with the basics.

The two most common types of Sex Links are Black Sex Links and Red Sex Links. Almost all Sex Link crossbreeds fall under these two categories.

What are Black Sex Links?

Black Sex Links are crosses that come from a barred hen and a non-barred rooster. And the rooster must also not have the dominant white gene.

Barred hens that may be used in the cross include:

The most commonly used hen for these crosses is the Barred Plymouth Rock. And note that the Holland referred to here is an American breed that is not the same breed as the Holland breed in Europe. We call the European Holland a Hamburg here in the U.S.

Not all non-barred roosters can be used for the Black Sex Link cross, but many can be. You can see a full list of breeds that can be used here—it really is a lot!

However, the two rooster breeds that are by far the most commonly used to create Black Sex Links are:

If you cross a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster with a barred hen, the male chicks will be black with a white spot on their heads. Female chicks will be all black.

You can see what this looks like in the chicks featured in the video below:

Female Black Sex Links will grow to be black hens with some red or gold in their neck feathers, whereas the males will grow to be barred roosters with some red feathers.

Black Sex Links may also go by these names:

Black Stars
Black Rocks
Rock Reds

Black Rocks are not to be confused with Black Plymouth Rocks, which are an actual breed that is not sex-linked.

Below, you can see a video featuring Black Sex Links—these particular chickens go by the name “Black Stars.”

The actual genetics involved to make Black Sex Links are quite interesting, but fairly complex. If you want to learn the nitty gritty details, check out this article.

What are Red Sex Links?

Red Sex Links are crosses that come from a hen who carries the dominant silver gene and a rooster who carries gold/red genes. As with Black Sex Links, the genetics here are a bit too complex to dive into here, but if you want to learn about the genetic combinations, check out this article.

The hens who are most commonly used in the Red Sex Link cross are:

And the most commonly used roosters are:

If you’re wondering what a Production Red rooster is, join the club. The term “Production Red” is used differently by different hatcheries and breeders—it can mean a lot of different things. But it generally refers to red chickens who produce a whole lot of eggs. These tend to be special lines of Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, or Rhode Island Red-New Hampshire crosses.

For a long list of other breeds that are less commonly used to create Red Sex Links, check out this article—there are so many possibilities!

Most crosses resulting in Red Sex Links create male chicks that are white or yellow and female chicks that are red or buff in color.

You can see an example of this in the video below. These Sex Link chickens are the result of crossing Rhode Island Red roosters with Delaware hens.

Typically, the Red Sex Link male chicks will grow into roosters with white feathers, perhaps also with some red or black feathers. Female chicks will grow into hens with buff or red feathers.

Red Sex Links can go by any of these names:

Bovans Goldline
Brown Sex Link
Cinnamon Queen
Golden Comet
Gold Sex Link
Golden Buff
Golden Sex Link
Gold Star
ISA Brown
Red Star

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Hatcheries have so many names for these birds. But, basically, if you see a red- or buff-colored chicken that’s advertised as sex-linked, then the crossbreed is some type of Red Sex Link, no matter what the name.

Below, you can see an example of some Red Sex Link hens, here called Golden Sex Links. These particular hens were created by crossing Rhode Island Red roosters with Rhode Island White hens.

Sex-Links who come in different plumage colors

Although Red and Black Sex Links are the most common, you can find some sex-linked crossbreeds in other plumage colors.

Blue Sex Links

If you want a blue-colored sex-linked chicken, check out Blue Plymouth Rocks (sometimes called Plymouth Blue Rocks) or Sapphire Gems (sometimes called Sapphire Blues).

Blue Plymouth Rocks are a cross between a Blue Andalusian rooster and a Barred Plymouth Rock hen. Sapphire Gems cross the Blue Plymouth Rocks back to the Barred Plymouth Rocks. These birds are sweet, docile, good foragers, cold-hardy, and excellent brown egg layers. Sapphire Gems lay almost 300 brown eggs a year.

Another great blue-colored Sex Link is the Blue Carolina chicken. This is an Easter Egger chicken with adorable muffs and beards. They lay 150-250 green to dark green eggs.

White Sex Links

If you want a white-colored sex-linked chicken, you’ve got a couple of options.

Perhaps the most common is the California White chicken. This crossbreed comes from crossing a California Gray rooster to a White Leghorn hen. California White hens are mostly white-colored with a little black mottling. Some may even have a little barring. They lay 300+ white eggs a year.

Amber Star is another type of sex-linked chicken with white coloring. Many of these hens are mostly white, like the California Whites, but some are more a mixture of white and beige plumage. These hens lay 300+ brown eggs a year.

You can see a young Amber Star in the video below.

The top 9 reasons you need to have Sex Links in your backyard flock

Reason #1: If you don’t want roosters, you won’t get roosters.

Urban chicken keepers, take note! By far, the best part of getting sex-linked chickens is that female chicks are visibly different from male chicks.

If you’re new to chickens, you might not think that’s not a big deal, but here’s something the hatcheries don’t like to advertise:

When you order female chicks, you will commonly end up with one or more roosters.

What? It’s true. Most chicks’ sexes are determined by the vent-sexing method. This is when an expert looks inside the chicks’ vents to determine if the baby is male or female, but it’s only about 90% accurate.

So, it’s very, very common for you to end up with some male chicks. And if you live in an urban or suburban environment, you know that may be a real problem. Most places don’t allow roosters in the neighborhood.

So, what do you do when you end up with a rooster?

Well, you either kill it or you give it to someone else to kill it. That’s the harsh reality. Try as you might to “rehome” your roosters, there’s not a market for that (despite what other blogs may tell you). “Rehoming” means you give your roosters to someone else to kill.

What about rooster sanctuaries? Unfortunately, they’re so rare, they might as well be non-existent.

If you have no problem killing your roosters, then you have nothing to worry about. But, if you’re like me, and you get attached to your birds, this may be devastating for you. Do yourself a giant favor and get Sex Links.

How accurate is sexing a Sex Link bird? Close to 100%.

Reason #2: Sex Links are exceptional layers.

Egg color: Variable
Egg size: Large
Age of lay: 4-5 months
Eggs/week: 4-6+
Eggs/year: 200-300+ (depends on the strain)

Sex Link chickens are some of the best layers out there. If you ask a hatchery what their best egg-laying bird is, they will often tell you it’s one of their sex-linked crossbreeds.

So just how many eggs do they lay?

Many of the commercial Sex Link crossbreeds, such as Cinnamon Queens, Golden Comets, and ISA Browns lay between 250-320 eggs a year.

The Sex Link crossbreeds that come from heritage lines of chickens typically lay between 200 and 280 eggs a year.

Sex Link chickens also tend to lay earlier than most breeds. They’ll typically lay around 5 months, but many will lay as early as 4 months.

The majority of Sex Links lay brown eggs. However, there are rare Easter Egger crossbreeds who lay blue or green eggs, such as the sex-linked Carolina Blues. And California Whites lay white eggs.

Reason #3: Many Sex Links are amazing dual-purpose birds.

If you’re a homesteader and you want a good dual-purpose chicken—that is, one who produces both eggs and meat—don’t overlook Sex Links.

Many Red and Black Sex Links make excellent dual-purpose birds. This makes a lot of sense when you realize that they typically come from dual-purpose heritage parents, such as Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, Plymouth Rocks, Sussexes, and Wyandottes.

However, some of the more commercial strains of Sex Links have been breed so much for egg production that they have lost some of their size. If you want a dual-purpose bird, you’re better off buying a generic Red or Black Sex Link than you are a specialized hybrid, such as Cinnamon Queens or Golden Comets.

Here’s what you can expect as far as your birds’ sizes go:

Black or Red Sex Links

Roosters: 8-9 lbs
Hens: 6-7 lbs

Commercial hybrids (such as Golden Comets and Cinnamon Queens)

Roosters: 7-8 lbs
Hens: 5-6 lbs

Reason #4: Sex Link chickens are hardy.

Sex Link chickens have heritage breeds in their bloodlines to begin with, but then they also have “hybrid vigor.” Hybrid vigor is a result of getting very different genes from each parent—because each parent is a different breed. So, Sex Link chickens are in many ways hardier and healthier than their parents.

Sex Link chickens tend to tolerate hot summers and cold winters. You will still need to provide them with plenty of shade and an endless supply of cold water in the summer. And you will still need to provide them with a clean and dry coop in the winter.

The one problem Sex Links face in the winter is a tendency to get frostbite on their large single combs—more on this topic below.

Reason #5: Sex Link chickens are excellent free rangers.

Because most Sex Link chickens were born from good free-ranging parent breeds, they tend to be great free rangers too. Your Sex Link chickens will love to forage.

Additionally, most Sex Link chickens have good coloration that camouflages decently in most environments. Black Sex Links are black with minor gold or brown feathering and Red Sex Links are buff or red.

The exceptions to this rule are Amber Stars and California Whites. These chickens are mostly white, and, like all white chickens, will be much more vulnerable to predators.

Reason #6: Sex Links love backyards.

Even though Sex Links thrive in a free-range environment, they tend to thrive in enclosed runs and backyards too, as long as you don’t pack them in too tightly.

Reason #7: Sex Links tend not to go broody.

Because Sex Link chickens have been bred for high egg production, the broodiness genes have been mostly bred out of them. This means your Sex Links are unlikely to want to sit on their eggs and raise their babies.

This is excellent news for backyard chicken owners. When your birds go broody, they stop laying eggs and they lose body condition. If you don’t want your hens hatching and raising chicks, then you’re better off with a breed—or in this case, a crossbreed—that doesn’t tend to go broody.

Reason #8: Most Sex Link chickens are docile or at least friendly.

Many Sex Link chickens are lap pets. So many strains of these birds have been bred to have a docile nature and sweet temperament.

You may find some strains that aren’t necessarily docile, but are friendly. That means they like to be around you, but they may not like to be handled. If this is a problem for you, be sure to ask your hatchery what kind of temperament you can expect from their birds.

Reason #9: Black Sex Links are somewhat quieter chickens.

Black Sex Links tend to be quieter than a lot of other types of chickens. The key words here are “tend to” as noise level really does vary a lot among individuals.

And, if you’re new to chickens, you really need to know there aren’t any truly quiet breeds (or crossbreeds). Hens tend to be very vocal during their egg-laying time. And roosters—well, they live to crow.

Some breeds, however, are known to be especially loud—constantly squawking and chatting. Black Sex Links aren’t one of these. So, if you live in a neighborhood and you’re looking for chickens who are the normal level of chicken loud (rather than extra loud), Black Sex Links are a good choice.

4 reasons Sex Links aren’t for you

Reason #1: You want to breed your own chickens.

Sex Link chickens don’t breed true. This means that if you breed two Sex Links, you don’t really know what they’re offspring are going to be like.

Their offspring won’t be sex-linked, so you won’t be able to tell males from females just by looking at them. You also don’t know what they’ll look like, how they’ll lay, or how big they’ll get. And if you want to sell them, well, most people won’t be interested.

If you’re interested in breeding, you may want to use an actual breed (not a crossbreed) of chickens, so you can hatch chickens who have the traits you want.

#2 You’re looking for a broiler chicken.

Although some Sex Links make a good dual-purpose bird, they don’t make good broilers. If you want a fast-growing meat bird, look elsewhere.

#3 Sex Link chickens with single combs are prone to frostbite.

In most ways, Sex Link chickens are very cold hardy. However, as with all chickens with medium- to large-size single combs, their combs are prone to frostbite. Frostbite is an incredibly painful condition for chickens, just as it would be for you.

You can combat this condition by installing Sweeter Heaters over your roosting bars. These are very safe radiant heaters that don’t heat the whole coop, but do prevent your chickens’ combs from freezing (and keep them much more comfortable on those freezing winter nights).

You can find small Sweeter Heaters here on Amazon, medium Sweeter Heaters here, and large Sweeter Heaters here.

#4 Some strains of Red Sex Links can be noisy.

Many chicken keepers have reported that their Red Sex Links are noisier than your average breed. They like to talk and they like to squawk. And, just like the Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire chickens that make up their heritage, Red Sex Link chickens can be extra noisy before, during, and after their egg-laying activities.

So, if you’re worried about chickens being too loud for your neighbors, you’ll need to think twice about Red Sex Links. Be sure to ask your hatchery what kind of noise levels you can expect from their birds. Different strains do behave differently.

My #1 tip for ordering Sex Links

If you order Sex Links, here’s something you need to know. And actually, this is true for anybody who only wants female chicks, no matter what kinds of chickens you order.

Make sure you tell your hatchery not to send roosters. Many mail-order hatcheries include roosters as “packing peanuts”—that is, to add warmth for the hens. As a backyard keeper, you may be surprised and disappointed to open your box of chicks to find roosters have been included.

And if you order Sex Link chickens, you might be especially disappointed. That is, after all, probably the main reason why you went with Sex Links in the first place. Just make sure that when you order you let your hatchery know you don’t want any extra roosters added.

If you pick up your chickens from an actual store, this isn’t something you typically have to worry about—it’s more a mail-order problem. And additionally, your local hatchery shows you your chicks in their box before you leave so you can see they are all healthy. If you haven’t ordered a lot of chicks, you can easily see if any extras have been included (and if they are a different color).

Other breeds you may want instead of Sex Link chickens

Maybe Sex Links just aren’t quite what you’re looking for.

If you’re more interested in a cuddly lap chicken, consider the fluffy Silkie or the crested Polish. Or, if you want a sweet chicken who’s also good for meat and eggs, look into Sussexes and Orpingtons. Maybe you want a tough but docile bird who’s a real head-turner? Brahmas may be the chickens for you.

For more on these breeds, check out my articles below:

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Sex Link Sources

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