Red Sex Link
Hybrid: not an APA-recognized breed
Not a breed but a cross bred for eggs: chicks are sexed by color at hatch, and hens can lay 300 a year.
Photo: Linda from Chicago, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped
Red Sex Link at a glance
- Status
- Not an APA breed. Sex-links are crosses; Kentucky Extension notes the offspring are hybrids that will not breed true.[1][2][3]
- Origin
- A Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster over a White Rock, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Rhode Island White or Delaware hen. Sold under names like Red Star, Golden Comet and Cinnamon Queen.[4][5]
- Egg color
- Brown[5]
- Eggs per year
- 300 or more[4]
- How to spot one
- Females hatch buff or red and feather out buff or red; males hatch white. Looks vary with the cross.[5]
Facts no source backs up are left out. Updated October 26, 2026 (how we check).
If eggs are the main goal, red sex-link hens are hard to beat. They're crossbreds, not a breed, made so that you can tell the girls from the boys the day they hatch, and so that the girls lay a lot of brown eggs.
What "sex-link" means
Mississippi State Extension explains that sex-links are crossbred chickens whose color at hatching is different for males and females, which makes sexing chicks much easier. Poultry Extension describes the red cross: males hatch white, and females hatch buff or red and feather out buff or red.
Which cross makes a Red Sex Link?
Mississippi State says Red Stars come from a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster over a White Rock, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Rhode Island White or Delaware hen. Poultry Extension adds that the red sex-link is also sold as the Golden Comet, Gold Star or Cinnamon Queen, depending on the specific cross.
If you know the parents, read their profiles: the Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire and Delaware.
Not an APA breed
The American Poultry Association lists no sex-link chicken. The University of Maine groups Red Sex-Links and Red Stars with other "breed and strain crosses," and Kentucky Extension notes the offspring of these crosses "are hybrids and will not breed true."
Eggs: the reason to keep them
Mississippi State says sex-links "are extremely good egg layers and can often produce 300 eggs per year or more." Poultry Extension says the popular sex-link crosses for small flocks lay brown eggs.
For one named red cross, Utah State lists the Golden Comet at 280 to 320 brown eggs a year and describes it as calm and friendly. That's a single cross, so other red sex-links may differ.
Track how close your hens get with our Egg Log, and time first eggs with the Laying Calculator.
What sources don't say
Our extension sources don't give a standard weight, broodiness or hardiness rating for red sex-links in general, since those depend on the cross. We leave them blank rather than guess.
Is a Red Sex Link right for you?
Choose red sex-links if you want plenty of brown eggs and no surprise roosters. If you want to hatch your own replacements, pick a breed instead, such as the Rhode Island Red. For a commercial-type brown layer, compare the ISA Brown.
See every egg color on our free Egg Color Chart printable.