Uploaded March 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Want to tell male and female chicks apart at hatch? In this video, we explain sex-linked crosses in chickens—how breeding specific parents can produce colour-coded chicks.

This is part of a step-by-step Chicken Genetics series, building from basic concepts to practical breeding techniques.

🐔 Watch the full Chicken Genetics series from the beginning:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZkmuqBJd8WRFTWpFCoskWs2IpxTsq5pv

In this video:
- What a sex-linked cross is
- How Z and W chromosomes affect chick sex
- Using the Silver gene to create colour differences
- Why some crosses produce colour-coded chicks (and others don’t)
- Real-world examples using Light Sussex and Rhode Island Red chickens

Sex-linked crosses are widely used in poultry breeding because they allow you to identify males and females immediately after hatching.

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