Sex-links (also sometimes called stars) are chickens that have been cross-bred in a way that the baby chicks are colored based off of their gender. They are very important breeds in the world of chickens because it is very difficult to determine the gender of a baby chicken. (Also called sexing, hence the name.) There are a few different kinds of sex-link chickens: black, gold, and red.

Above are two gold star chicks. On the left is the male and on the right is the female.

When growing up, these chickens will stay a similar color, unlike most other chicken breeds that are out there with the male staying white with a yellow tent or yellow highlights, and the female saying yellow or gold.

Sex-links are usually cross-bred between two breeds that are either great egg-layers or a mix between egg-layers and dual-purpose breeds. (Breeds that are raised for both meat and eggs.) Because of that, female gold sex-links are also great egg-layers, even in the winter or summer. Sexing chicks is great because you can tell which breeds they are early, so farms that need females can get them when they need them. Well, the males aren’t so lucky because this breed actually makes good ‘fryers,’ which are chickens that are great for cooking.