Gave away old hens last Saturday

[77horses]

Hey guys!
Well, my dad's nephew got some chickens from a friend. so, he gave us two old hens(Red Stars) These hens were in bad shape, though. But they were free, so we took them.
The hens had leg mites, one of them had a completely bald back, had one little feather as a tail, and had a bald head, they were dirty and skinny....Original owner must've not taken good care of them at all!

But, they laid large to X-large brown eggs everyday!

We did our best to treat the leg mites(after we found out that they had them. we never knew that leg mites existed at first!) we fed them layers mash and cared for them. They were very skittish and would run when we tried to pick them up. But over a few months, they got used to their new rooster and us a little. But, they never got used to our younger, raised-from-chicks Red Star pullets. The two old hens would pick on the poor pullets(2 sisters)a lot. It was serious. They would just boss them around, would sometimes chase them away when they went into the run or near the food while it was meal time. But they got along OK. But the past weeks, our pullets(AND the rooster) have had some bloody combs. They were just minor at first, but one day we looked at our rooster and the whole front of his comb was bloody!

Plus, the two hens had stopped laying, either from old age or the mites(which we were trying to treat) So, we had had enough. We couldn't have those two hens bossing our other chickens around, eating up the food and not laying eggs in return, spreading mites to the others, etc. So, last Saturday, my Dad brought the hens back to his nephew. I'm relieved that they aren't gonna pick on our pullets and the rooster anymore, but i will miss them. Even though they were mean to the others, they were good hens to us, but just a little skittish. You can have a bond with even the meanest chickens sometimes i guess.

But anyways, I'm not sure if Dad's nephew will keep treating them for the leg mites. We told him that he can simply use WD40, Vegetable Oils, Vaseline, etc. if he doesn't want to spend his money on the stuff at the stores. But other than that i don't know. Plus, the hens will miss out on Christmas with us.

Was planning on getting all the girls a bucket of plain yogurt.

Oh well.
We'll miss them sorta, but now the rest of the chickens can be in peace again. And we don't have to worry about new younger chickens joining the flock(when we hatch out chicks this Spring)
Thanks for reading! and sorry this thread is so long.

Just wanted to get that out.

Good bye Penny and Abby(the two old hens)

 

[jvls1942]

How big do these red stars get??

I have a large following of egg buyers and these red stars sound like a good egg laying breed..

that is about all I know about them.

what can you add to my knowledge?

.jiminwisc

 

[77horses]

Quote:
Red Stars can get pretty far sized. They are about the size of RIR hens? Not a very big breed, but they are way bigger than bantams. They have clean legs(no feathers), single comb, usually yellow/light yellow legs, very friendly(ours loves to be held and carried around), they are "egg-laying machines!" LOL They really are! They usually lay eggs earlier than other breeds(our red star pullet, Cinnamon:<<<avatar) started laying as early as about 3-4 1/2 months!) They usually lay large to X-large brown eggs. This breed can go by different names, like Cinnamon Queens, Red Sex-Links(there are also black sex-links), Red Stars.... You can tell the difference of gender by looking at their color; Male= white/cream colored body with some brown on wings,(http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sex-links/Eric.JPEG) Female=varieties of brown colors(light brown, darker brown, etc. Usually a copper color)http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sex-links/Cheryle.JPEG However, if you mix the breed with another breed and hatch out the offspring, then you will not be able to tell gender by color. You can only tell gender by color with the first generation(They are hybrids) To get a "true" Red Star, you can breed Rhode Island Red rooster with a white Delaware hen. There are other ways to get a red sex-link from other breeds, but i don't remember them all.

This breed is VERY friendly(from my experience with them) but they can sometimes be dominant over more docile(mellow) breeds, such a the Buff Orpington.
Oh and this breed is very easy to raise usually. They are hardy in cold or warm weather. Right now, we have been getting temperatures in the one digit numbers at night and sometimes during the day, yet our Red Star pullets are still laying medium-large eggs(one is still about medium because she started laying a little while ago. But her eggs are getting bigger!)

Here are a few links that can better explain about Red Stars:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sex-links/BRKSexLink.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Link
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product/red_star.html


Hope this helps!