If you are a beginning backyard chicken owner, you have heard of plenty of chicken heritage breeds. But we are going to talk about an excellent chicken today, the Golden Sex Link chickens.
What are Golden Sex Link chickens?
They are a rigid hybrid chicken first created in 1950. The Golden Sex Link is a cross between a Rhode Island Red rooster and a Rhode Island White female. The results are cute little chicks that you can tell the sex of the chicks on the day of hatching. Males are adorable yellow chicks with no reds. Female chicks can be different colors and may vary between all red and yellow with splotches of red. Roosters commonly have red feathers and hens are a mix of red and white feathers.
Popular Sex-Linked Chickens
- Golden Comets
- Red Stars
- Cinnamon Queen
- Red Sex links
- Golden Buff
- Black Sex-links
- Isa Brown
So what are the Golden Sex-Link chickens pros and cons? Let’s find out!
Pros Of Golden Sex Link Chickens
First, on our list of Golden Sex Link chickens – pros and cons are the positive sides. Here are a few Golden Sex Link chickens facts that will blow your mind. After reading this, you will want to go out and buy them all.
Gender Guarantee
The biggest and most obvious pro to Golden Sex Links is their gender identifiers. When you are a beginner chicken owner, an accidental rooster can throw off a flocks balance. If you are a hobby chicken owner, you likely don’t want a rooster to prevent breeding. Or you might live in a city where roosters are illegal.
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Getting a sex link chicken guarantees from the day they hatch what gender they are. Knowing this saves you the heartache of rehoming a bird or getting fined.
Beginners
Another fantastic quality of the Golden Sex Link is that they are super easy. Even a beginner can care for these birds without any issue. They don’t require any special care to get their delicious eggs.
Egg Production
How many eggs do Golden Sex Link chickens lay? You can expect about 250-300 eggs a year for the first two years. That means you can expect 5-6 beautiful large eggs every week. And who doesn’t love a hen that earns her keep?
Golden Sex Link chickens egg color is gorgeous large brown eggs. And when we say these eggs are large, we mean it! The average egg size is 2.5 oz! These chickens are perfect for anyone who is on the search for a generous layer.
Winter Eggs
Since the Golden Sex Link is a hybrid of two Rhode Island chickens and are sometimes referred to as a golden comet chicken or red sex-links) They are very cold-hardy. Your Golden will keep laying those beautiful eggs throughout winter. They will likely slow some but never completely stop.
Early Layers
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When looking at Golden Sex Link chickens-pros and cons, you have to consider laying age. Most chickens start laying their eggs around 20 weeks old. But your Golden will begin much earlier. Golden Sex Links start laying around 16 weeks, which means your hen will lay for a month longer than other breeds.
Love Affection
It isn’t uncommon for a Golden Sex Link chicken to hop up into your lap for love. They generally accept and welcome any form of attention. Golden Sex Links aren’t picky about who is giving them attention either. If a stranger walks up, they come running to see who has food.
Friendly Temperaments
Golden Sex Link chickens friendly temperament makes them easy to tame. They have some of the most docile characters of any chicken breeds and don’t cause quarrels in the flock.
These sweet birds don’t fight for the top of the pecking order, but they aren’t pushovers either. Your Golden Sex Link usually sits in the middle of the hierarchy. So that makes them ideal for mixed flocks of all kinds.
Pets
The Golden Sex Link might not lay eggs for many years, but they make perfect pets. You’re going to want to keep these hens around for years to come because of their calming effect. They might even demand to become inside chickens if allowed to. Like a kitten that curls up in your lap, your Golden Sex Link will find comfort there.
Kid-Friendly
Golden Sex Link Chickens hen are perfect for families. Your kids won’t have to worry about that nasty chicken that always chases them. Your hens might even “mother” the human kids.
Great Mothers
Since we are on the subject of great mothers, these hens are superb mothers. They love their chicks and look after them well. Most egger breeds don’t go broody, and you have to incubate their eggs. But the Golden Sex Link sits on her eggs without any problems if you should breed her.
Availability
Golden Sex Links are available in almost any hatchery and feed store across America. This wide availability makes them easy to get and at a lower cost. If your ideal hen is a Golden Sex Link chicken, you won’t have to go far to find them.
Easy To Breed
If you are interested in genetics, the Golden Sex Link is an easy hen to breed. Crossing a Rhode Island Red to a Rhode Island White is an effortless cross. They don’t take much coaxing or work to hatch the eggs. You could have a whole backyard flock of them within months. And on a larger scale, you could become a local breeder to sell the chicks to make a little extra money.
Attractive Coloring
And our last pro is the Golden Sex Link color. These beautiful hens add a nice color pop to any mixed flock. Roosters are a striking light white and gold with dark markings. And hens are a rich red that shines just right in the sun. Adding these to your flock will give you a beautiful contrast to your hens.
Cons Of Golden Sex Link Chickens
While the Golden Sex Link is a beautiful bird, they do have their downside. They might not be the best option for you, and that’s ok. Here are a few things to consider before adding them to your flock.
Short Laying Period
300 eggs a year is impressive! But unfortunately, it doesn’t last forever. A side effect of your hen maturing at an earlier age, they also stop laying sooner. Most Golden Sex Link chickens slow down after two years.
But they don’t just slow their laying rate. The eggs start to get smaller as well. By the time your Golden is three, they virtually don’t lay anymore.
Lifespan
If you guessed that a short laying period equals a short lifespan, you are right. The average lifespan of a Golden Sex Link is 4-5 years. Even if you keep your chickens as pets, they won’t live as long as other breeds.
Go Broody Often
Most beginning chicken owners don’t have the intention of breeding their hens. In that case, you don’t want a hen to go broody often. Golden Sex Link chickens go broody a lot more than other breeds. They also have a more challenging time breaking broodiness, which can lead to other health issues.
Medical Conditions
No chicken is immune to health conditions. You will likely find that every breed you own gets sick at some point or another. But with super layers like the Golden Sex Link, you will find that they have reproductive health issues.
Golden Sex Link chickens are prone to becoming egg bound, especially with how large their eggs are for the first few months. They are also prone to tumors, egg yolk peritonitis, and prolapse. Chicks bought from a hatchery tend to have a higher chance of developing these problems due to bad breeding.
Loud
Do you have neighbors? If so, you might rethink having Golden Sex Link chickens. Your Goldens will squawk and bawk all day. Not because they are fighting, but to talk and beg for food. These hens do best when they aren’t close to neighbors and houses. Otherwise, they might disturb your sleep as well.
Food!
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Golden Sex Links are known for their bottomless guts. These birds will eat you out of house and home if they can’t free-roam. Foraging helps them search for the food they want and need. But if you live in urban settings, this isn’t always possible. So you will spend more on food with these girls.
Not Dual-Purpose
Breeding your Golden Sex Links is easy. But it’s only worth it if you sell them. These birds are not a dual-purpose breed because they don’t produce much meat and aren’t worth it to raise for butchering. Male Golden Sex Links only get 6 pounds fully grown, and females 4. But if you breed these sex-linked chickens, you would have better luck doing so to sell or keep the hens for eggs.
Better Home Bred
As mentioned previously, these birds come with a lot of health conditions. But for some reason, chicks from a hatchery are more prone to these health concerns. If you would breed a Golden Sex Linked chicken line yourself, it reduces the chances of illness.
In conclusion
After reading the Golden Sex Link chickens- pros and cons, what do you think? Will your next addition be a Golden Sex Link? We believe these birds have so many great qualities to offer. Not only are they extraordinary production chickens, but they are also full of personality. You will love going out to the coop every morning and seeing those curious eyes.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Backyard Chicken Board!!
