Red Stars and Black Stars

[kansasmom]

Trying to figure out what breeds of day-old chicks to get in the spring. I want to get a couple easter eggers, but mainly red stars or black stars. What are the differences between red and black stars as far as egg size, production rate and also friendliness. I have 2 kids so I would really like to get some calmer chickens that are good brown layers too. Thanks for your help. I appreciate all the advice that anyone has to offer.

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

Since no one else has answered yet, I'll try.
I do not have any of the Black Sex Link (aka Black Stars) or the Red Sex LInk (aka Red Star), but my dad and my son-in-law do. Form what I can tell they are very close in their egg production. Both lay a large to extra large egg (some are so big you can't close the egg carton on them. From what I've read on sex links though is that the red usually start laying quicker and the black usually will lay longer (over the laying lifetime of the chicken).

Speaking of large eggs, I just got through picking 5 quarts of eggs, to eat over the wintertime when they stop laying. They are very good.
Hope all this rambling helped. You can't go wrong with a sex linked chicken if egg production is what you want.

Oh, yeah go for the Easter Eggers, myself more than 2. I also would recommend that you purchase them from either Cackle or Murray McMurray. In no wqay though will I recomend Ideal.

 

[Mahonri]

My red sex links usually lay larger eggs, but my black sex links laid more frequently.

 

[txcarl1258]

I have RSL and they are the best layers I have. When I did not have a roo they were also very friendly girls. The only thing I have noticed is they do not like anyone that was not raised with them, unless it is another RSL. I have racist chickens!

 

[Domestic_goddess]

I have some of the both, My red stars are friendly and lay very well. My black stars are a little more skiddish and have one that goes broody often and doesn't like it when i take her eggs and but they lay very well too! One the of the main reason I get them is because of the egg production and I find them docile and easier to handle them some other breeds. I also have EE's and love them, they took longer to mature then the rest of my chickens, they were 7-8 months before they layed, but they were worth it and give me beautiful greenish eggs almost every day!

 

[marymac]

Quote:
How do you make pickled eggs to last that long? Are they canned?

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

Yes they are canned. I boil my eggs then peel them.
In quart jars I put in: 1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dill seed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (recipe call for 1/2 teaspoon, but I'm trying to get them a little warmer).
In a pan I combine 1 quart of white vinegar and 2 quarts of water with 3/4 cup of canning salt. Bring this to a boil and I pour the liquid over the eggs that I put into the jars with the spices. After all this is done, I put them in a water bath for sabout 15 minutes to make sure that the jars seal.

 

[marymac]

Quote:
That sounds real good. Do you not have to refrigerate them then? I love pickled eggs, but did not know you could can them. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

In no wqay though will I recomend Ideal.

Why?​

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

marymac

Chickanmanfromarkansas wrote:
Yes they are canned. I boil my eggs then peel them.
In quart jars I put in: 1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dill seed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (recipe call for 1/2 teaspoon, but I'm trying to get them a little warmer).
In a pan I combine 1 quart of white vinegar and 2 quarts of water with 3/4 cup of canning salt. Bring this to a boil and I pour the liquid over the eggs that I put into the jars with the spices. After all this is done, I put them in a water bath for sabout 15 minutes to make sure that the jars seal.
That sounds real good. Do you not have to refrigerate them then? I love pickled eggs, but did not know you could can them. Thanks for the recipe.

No refridgeration unless you have one that doesn't seal, then I refridgerate tehm and eat them first.
If you eat salads and like eggs on them (like my wife) you can chop one of these andf put them right in with everything else you like on salads and yummy.


PureSnowChic

In no wqay though will I recomend Ideal.
Why?

Because I ordered some EE's from them back in July and when they were about 2 months old they developed leg problems that I'm convinced developed from their stock. I have raise a lot of chickens over the years and never have had any that done what these done with the leg problems. They tried to tell me that it was 1st the beeding that they were on, then 2nd they said that it was the feed and a vitamin defiency. But I raised my other stock on the same bedding on the same feed and in the same pen as these, so I could only draw the conclusion that it is gfrom their stock and not from my handling of them.​