# Blue Sexlink (Blue Star)



## Ssoda27 (Oct 21, 2021)

Does anyone here know about this type of chicken? I recently picked up 2 from my local feed store. Their tag said they will lay blue eggs, but everything I am seeing online says they will lay brown eggs.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

@ChickenBiscuts might. I know I don't. 

One thing I do know, is don't trust what a feed store tells you. Most of those people don't know the first thing about chickens.


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## LoxiKat (Aug 15, 2021)

Ssoda27 said:


> Does anyone here know about this type of chicken? I recently picked up 2 from my local feed store. Their tag said they will lay blue eggs, but everything I am seeing online says they will lay brown eggs.
> View attachment 43734


Have no idea about these things. I do know this, just how cuuuuute X in


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## imnukensc (Dec 5, 2020)

Blue stars, aka Sapphire Gems, are sex links that lay large, brown eggs.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Of course Ken knows the answer. Sorry, guy, you slipped my mind.


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## Ssoda27 (Oct 21, 2021)

Thank you


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## imnukensc (Dec 5, 2020)

robin416 said:


> Of course Ken knows the answer. Sorry, guy, you slipped my mind.


FWIW I didn't know the answer. Took about 5 seconds on Google to find it.


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## ChickenBiscuts (May 28, 2021)

Ssoda27 said:


> Does anyone here know about this type of chicken? I recently picked up 2 from my local feed store. Their tag said they will lay blue eggs, but everything I am seeing online says they will lay brown eggs.
> View attachment 43734


I doubt it’ll lay blue eggs. I it’s the standard hatchery blue sexlink there are no birds involved in he breeding that would contribute to blue eggs.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

CB, would you explain a bit more. Are you saying there is no breed involved that normally lays blue eggs to create the Sapphire Gems?


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## ChickenBiscuts (May 28, 2021)

robin416 said:


> CB, would you explain a bit more. Are you saying there is no breed involved that normally lays blue eggs to create the Sapphire Gems?


Not to my knowledge. I don’t really have any interest in the hatchery “hybrids” so haven’t done too much research on them, but from my understanding a SG is simply the crossing of a blue Plymouth rock cock over a barred Plymouth rock hen. I’m not sure if it is that way anymore, as if it were only 50% of Sapphire Gems would be blue, but that was at least the original crossing.


Blue sexlinks though are just the result of having a blue black sexlink chick, that’s my understanding at least. A black sexlink is the result of a no barred male x barred female. Throw in blue, and you have a blue sex link. If this is the standard hatchery blue sex link there should be no blue eggs involved. I also do not see any features on this chick that would indicate a blue egg laying parent in it's background.

@fuzzies will have to fact check me.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

LOL I didn't even know there was a blue Plymouth Rock. Guess I'm a little sheltered in that regard. 

Which would be the blue bird, the male or female? I think I've just confused myself.


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## fuzzies (Jul 27, 2021)

Yes, any non-white rooster who is not, himself, barred and is crossed to a black barred hen will make what we know of as black sexlinks. Generally, it's a Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire Red, or production red male with a Barred Rock female. Using a Splash male in the cross instead makes 100% blue sexlink offspring, and a Blue male would make an even split of blue and black sexlinks. The blue gene is NOT sexlinked, but it is inherited predictably, allowing hatcheries to reliably produce Blue babies who are sexable at hatch by taking advantage of the sexlinked inheritance of the barring gene.

I know of only one hatchery sexlink off the top of my head that is Blue and can be a blue egg layer, Meyer's blue sexlink easter-eggers. I believe those are bantams, though, and at least the pictures they show are of bearded birds. Whiting True Blues can be solid blue as well, but as far as I know they aren't a sexlink (unless they're a feathering speed sexlink?) and they are also typically bearded. Neither would correctly be referred to as a Blue Star, however.

Blue Stars are, as others pointed out, another fancy name for the Blue version of a black sexlink, just like Sapphire Gems, Sapphire Blue Plymouth Rocks, or Plymouth Blues. All of these are Barred Rock based and lay brown eggs.

More than likely the chicks in the original post are Blue Stars who will lay brown eggs and the chick bin was just mislabeled, but keep us updated when they reach point of lay!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, now my head hurts. Where does the blue color gene come from if neither parent has blue?


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## fuzzies (Jul 27, 2021)

If you're referring to using a Splash male, Splash = 2 copies of the blue gene, Blue = 1 copy, Black = 0 copies. It's a partially dominant gene that is not sexlinked, so a Splash male will pass on one copy to all of his offspring, making all of them Blue if the mother is Black and has no copies of the gene to pass on.

If you're referring to using one of the Red breeds with a Barred Rock, then there is no blue gene there and nothing from that cross will be Blue; that's how _black_ sexlinks are usually made.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, second paragraph answered my question. I didn't understand you were referring to black sexlinks.


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## ChickenBiscuts (May 28, 2021)

robin416 said:


> LOL I didn't even know there was a blue Plymouth Rock. Guess I'm a little sheltered in that regard.
> 
> Which would be the blue bird, the male or female? I think I've just confused myself.


There is. But it also gets confusing as some hatcheries call their blue sexlinks blue rocks, when they really aren’t _blue Plymouth rocks_.


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## ChickenBiscuts (May 28, 2021)

robin416 said:


> Which would be the blue bird, the male or female? I think I've just confused myself.


Either. Only 50% would be blue if you had a blue parent though. To get 100% blue you need a splash parent. That is usually the rooster I believe. It would be hard to see barring on a splash hen.


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## ChickenBiscuts (May 28, 2021)

fuzzies said:


> Yes, any non-white rooster who is not, himself, barred and is crossed to a black barred hen will make what we know of as black sexlinks. Generally, it's a Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire Red, or production red male with a Barred Rock female. Using a Splash male in the cross instead makes 100% blue sexlink offspring, and a Blue male would make an even split of blue and black sexlinks. The blue gene is NOT sexlinked, but it is inherited predictably, allowing hatcheries to reliably produce Blue babies who are sexable at hatch by taking advantage of the sexlinked inheritance of the barring gene.
> 
> I know of only one hatchery sexlink off the top of my head that is Blue and can be a blue egg layer, Meyer's blue sexlink easter-eggers. I believe those are bantams, though, and at least the pictures they show are of bearded birds. Whiting True Blues can be solid blue as well, but as far as I know they aren't a sexlink (unless they're a feathering speed sexlink?) and they are also typically bearded. Neither would correctly be referred to as a Blue Star, however.
> 
> ...


That’s what I thought. Thanks!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Why am I learning all this new stuff? I don't even have chickens anymore. Although learning new stuff is interesting.


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## ChickenBiscuts (May 28, 2021)

robin416 said:


> Why am I learning all this new stuff? I don't even have chickens anymore. Although learning new stuff is interesting.


You don’t have _any_ chickens anymore?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Nope, my last one died a few months back. She was about ten years old. I still have some Guineas and quail but no chickens.


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## ChickenBiscuts (May 28, 2021)

robin416 said:


> Nope, my last one died a few months back. She was about ten years old. I still have some Guineas and quail but no chickens.


You ever plan on getting any more?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

No, I sold out my breeding flock ten years ago. I kept about 15 birds that meant something to me. I never figured I would still have any of them this far out. But I did and I'm glad for it but no more chickens for me. I will let the Guineas and quail die out too. At 71 it's just time to lessen the workload.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

robin416 said:


> No, I sold out my breeding flock ten years ago. I kept about 15 birds that meant something to me. I never figured I would still have any of them this far out. But I did and I'm glad for it but no more chickens for me. I will let the Guineas and quail die out too. At 71 it's just time to lessen the workload.


You're just a Spring Chicken young lady!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Thank you, kind sir. It's how I feel but the body says "Enough Already" so I'm listening to it.


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