Red star? Production red?

[6redhens]

Hello I am new to this today but I was wondering what kind of chickens I have. We got them about a month ago and we don't remember what the lady at the store told us. I was thinking red star (red sexlink) but also maybe production red. They are all the same reddish color with some white but some are darker and summer lighter. We have 6 hens and two roosters. I know they aren't Rhode Island Reds because we were told they were bad and so we would definitely know if they were. But now I know they are not bad it was just that one rooster in the story I was told. But I was thinking they might be red ranger, red star, production red, or any other suggestions?

 

[6redhens]

 

[DwayneNLiz]

red ranger, production red, red comet, red sexlink

are all pretty much the same thing, red birds in varying shades of 'red' that can be sexed at hatch

they will be hardier and more prolific egg layers than most pure bred chickens because they are a cross and therefore more genetic diversity

ANY bird can be labeled 'bad' or 'mean' its in how they are raised and other factors



Good Luck! and of course WELCOME TO BYC!!!!

 

[6redhens]

Thanks!

 

[rebrascora]

They look like production reds or perhaps New Hampshire Reds to me. Red sex links would generally be lighter, more orangey coloured and the cockerels would be predominantly white, whereas your boys are the same colour.
Just out of curiosity was there any particular reason why you got two cockerels? 6:2 is not a good female to male ratio especially when they are all the same age. Juvenile cockerels are a pain unless you have older hens or a dominant adult rooster to keep them in check and teach them some manners. You may find your pullets get a really hard time from them when they hit adolescence because cockerels usually get raging hormones before pullets of the same age are ready to be mated.

Of course you may have other hens/pullets to share the burden of their incessant mating or you may be intending to eat the males...... or you may decide to eat them once they start becoming a nuisance. Do be prepared with a bachelor pad to put them into if they start injuring the pullets... it is not unusual for pullets to get scalped or gashed under their wings as well as the usual feather loss and raw shoulders. Usually 15 weeks onwards is when they start raping and pillaging and unfortunately they will often pick on the weakest pullet and take it in turns to mate her. Of course you may have exceptionally gentlemanly cockerels but I wouldn't put money on it once those hormones kick in. It pays to be ready for such situations as problems can develop quite quickly.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[6redhens]

Well actually we will keep the hens in the coop and let the Roos out, so they can eat bugs. Only one of them has been hurting them so I keep an eye out on him. We actually were told they were all pullets, but as they grew I realized 2 were cockerels. One is quite sweet and will let me hold him and comes up to me and follows me and hasn't been hurting the pullets, but the other is mean and we will most likely sell him, let him free, or eat him. We keep them cooped though because we live way far out with mountain lions, wild dogs, kyotes, snakes and many more animals that will eat them.

 

[rebrascora]

Ah! They are accidental cockerels. That makes more sense now about your ratio.
Beware the friendly one. As and when the other one goes, he will step into his shoes, but by handling him, he will lose fear/ respect for you and that can be a perilous situation. I would recommend that you start being assertive with him now and make a habit of it every day. Don't let him follow you as that is often the position from which an attack will start (from behind), walk towards him determinedly and make him move. Don't let him eat until the pullets have eaten. Basically show him that you are the boss on a daily basis. Production reds can be as aggressive as some RIRs because they share many of the same genetics, so being dominant towards him now and reinforcing that every day, may save you some grief in the future. I'm not saying beat him or anything, just make sure he knows his place is below you with daily assertive body language. There are many, many posts on the forum about human aggressive roosters and much of it is because they are brought up in a flock without a dominant well mannered adult cock bird to teach them their place and an owner who treats them as a pet. Sooner or later, they lose respect for the owner and challenge them for leadership of the flock. Being flogged by a rooster is not pleasant and can result in nasty injuries, particularly if there are children involved, so it is better to start training your cockerel from an early age that you are the boss, so that he doesn't get that thought into his head.

I speak from experience here as I had problems in the early days being flogged by my first two cockerels. It's amazing how powerful they are for being just a few pounds of meat, bone and feathers and those claws and spurs can draw blood through clothing. It is surprising/shocking how it just happens out of the blue one day. They taught me valuable lessons about managing cockerels and I haven't had any problems since, but now that I have senior cock birds in the flock, they usually teach the youngsters manners and respect for me and no doubt my body language towards them has changed over time as I have practiced being assertive around them. It is better if you can learn from other people's mistakes and prevent them, especially when they are painful and sometimes frightening ones, than have to experience them for yourself and then try to fix them.

Good luck with your little flock.

 

[Hybridchucks]

cute chucks

 

[6redhens]

Thanks for the tips! I very much appreciate it!