Gold Star

This breed is very easily acquired and seem like the perfect pet for your kids or yourself. In Fact my favourite hen is a Brown Star named "Piper". Be warned these chickens do not have longevity and are very susceptable to "Internal Laying". Internal laying is an incureable disorder where the hen keeps putting the yolks of her eggs in the wrong spot in her layng tract. You will often notice the hen has a hard, swollen abdomen and her clocoa feathers are all wetted down with the yolk of the eggs. Basically the bird has a serious infection in her uterous. It looks like egg binding because the hen is hunched over and not very livey. The hen will start to lose body condition and have a shallow face and her breastbone will be clearly defined. Unfortunately the only thing you can do is make sure she is drinking and eating. If you think the bird's life is no longer worth living it is best to just put them down. Dont let the bird become a cannibal victim. Chickens will often prey upon the weak. Dont let this happen to you and just dont get them. It is unfortunate that such a friendly, easy going hen will die because of this. I dont reccomend this breed for a small, backyard, family flock!

Our Gold Star is a rock star of a laying hen. She not only lays almost everyday in warm weather, she also lays nice large eggs. She is the first to come running when you come near the coop and always squats to be picked up. I will not be getting more chickens when these finally go, but if I were I would definitely have a Gold Star in the flock.

We have a flock of six chickens and two ducks, and we have one Gold Star. She is by far our friendliest of the flock, she comes running whenever we bring out food and treats, and was the first to be tamed and eat out of our hands. She is quiet and really sweet, and she started laying eggs at only 18 weeks old!

We're on our first chickens, but knowing the differences between our breeds so far (we also have a Rhode Island Red, Delaware x Hampshire, Plymouth Rock, and two Sicilian Buttercups) we probably would have sprung for more Gold Stars if we'd known how great she'd turn out to be. We will definitely consider more of this breed in the future.

Similar to the Red Sex Link (and I have to be honest, I've read conflicting information about whether the Gold Star IS a RSL, I still don't know for sure) she is a bit vulnerable in that she is unafraid and thus possibly more likely to be taken out by a predator. She's also a bit slower in moving. Overall a great chicken, and our favorite of the entire flock so far.