Red Star Chickens

[liv4fun]

anyone have some red stars in alabama?

 

[cgoodloe]

I have 3 Red Stars and 3 Easter Eggers. My Stars are still laying and 1 went through early molt and she's already laying after about 2 months of molting. My EE'ers quit laying as soon as the temps dropped to 50s at night. Slackers! We are buying a house with some land out back so first thing I want to do is build a bigger area and buy more Red Stars! I love all my girls but for consistent egg laying I'm getting more Red Stars. We have had frost for 2 weeks and my Reds still lay 6 eggs a week each (except for the molting one who just began to start laying again today). Also, the mother is Delaware and father RIR so you can also get Delaware hens and pretty much they do the same thing as Red Stars.

 

[Mac14]

Now following this thread!

 

[redsoxs]

I have a Red Star (and a Black Star) question for you all. I have a mixed flock of 19 hens and a rooster. Two of them are "stars." Here is my question: Does these birds molt later than other breeds. My Orps and Black Australorps were done before December as were most of my other breeds. But Black and Red are in the middle of it right now. I worry about them as it is so cold out there! Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[cgoodloe]

I have 3 Red Stars. One molted before she was a year old and the other two have never molted and they will be two years old next month. So I think it's just the chicken not specifically the breed or anything. But I'm not an expert either, just a chicken owner. Love my stars. Quietest birds ever. In August, I added 4 Golden Buffs which really are very similar to the Stars in color and 2 Australorps.

 

[earlybird10842]

we got our six red stars at two years old,and they lay wonderfully. we had our first old--age death last week, at four years old.

 

[Sammilobo]

Though this is an old post to which I am responding, I thought others who may not be familiar with the Red Stars might be interested in knowing their habits. I had not heard of them when I placed an order for a couple dozen of them, and only ordered them because the ones I wanted were not available. They are a sex-link type chicken (meaning the baby roosters are one color and the hen chicks are another) which makes it very easy to tell he/she if you are ordering straight run chicks. They are a medium-sized chicken of a light red color (the hens that is - the roosters are white). I always liked my Arcaunanas for their friendliness, but the Red Stars surpass them in that area. I like friendly chickens that are not flighty (like Leghorns). I let my chickens free range, and leaving the door open on a nice day will be an open invitation for my 'girls' to come in and visit. They are nosy birds, checking out all the nooks and crannies. They come running when they see me, expecting a snack. The reason I got the Red Stars was the description says they continue to lay well through the cold season - and they do! The eggs are bigger than one would think a hen that size would lay. They will occasionally get broody, but many other breeds are more so. They forage as well as any of the others I have. Oh, and they started laying before they were five months old. If danger threatens, they will come running for you to save them. We have hawks, foxes and coyotes and the occasional stray dog, so I am vigilant to protect my darlings. After all, they supply me with eggs and meat! Great choice if you like interacting with your chickens as I do.

 

[kmessman]

I have 2 Red Star hens and they are exceptional layers. I live in North Alabama and our winter was lows in the 20s. I have gotten eggs from each hen daily since they were about 4 months old. The eggs started out medium and have gotten to extra large size with hard shells. They are very docile ladies. I've even hatched 4 eggs from them that were fertilized from my buff silkie roo. One chick is a beautiful grey/white laced hen with all the silkie features, the other 3 are more of the red star features. I would recommend the Red Stars to anyone. Mine are confined to a coop with a small run underneath and I have never had any issues with my girls.

 

[Mac14]

I have a year old Red Star, and she is amazing. She barely misses a day of laying. Yesterday I got another Red Star and a Black Star. So excited!

 

[Kaugomu]

My RS is now approaching three and still lays almost daily with BIG (XL always, sometimes on the Jumbo scale) pretty eggs with nice chocolate speckles. We've added to our flock several times over the years, and she has maintained her status as top of the pecking order, although is no longer the most vocal (that would be our splash Marans!) sometimes she can even be a bully to assert herself on top. Still very happy with our RS overall, and even considered adding a couple more this spring but other breads won out.