Scientists have genetically modified the Red Star chicken to lay eggs daily, which is why industrial egg producers love it. Are they, though, a good choice for a house flock?
It’s important to make sure that your new hens will fit in, whether you’re starting out or want to add different breeds to your backyard group.
You can also call it the Red Sex Linked, the ISA Brown, or the Golden Comet. This guide will help you decide if the Red Star chicken is right for you or if you should look elsewhere.
I put up my hands before we begin… My favourite “breed” is the Red Star.
Just a quick look at Red Star chicken.
- Each chick is a different color, so you’ll always know what you’re getting. There’s no problem finding roosters in your backyard out of the blue!
- That’s why some people call them “Red Sex-Linked.”
- They lay eggs better than anyone else ever. They’re naturally good at it.
- They can handle both hot and cold, so they keep lying in any weather.
- Great hunters that love being able to roam freely and eat bugs and plants in addition to their food.
- Amazingly friendly, funny, and curious, especially if handled from a young age.
History Of Red Star Chicken
- When there is a Red Star, that’s the answer. The father and mother of these hens are of different breeds, so their children will never be “true to type.”
- It is possible to make a sex-linked chicken from many different breeds. A Rhode Island Red rooster and a Rhode Island White hen are often together.
- You can’t cross two sex-linked or Red Star chickens to get sex-linked chicks.
How do they look?
- You won’t have to deal with a rooster (cockerel) unless you want to. Young birds can tell the difference between males and females very quickly.
- In most breeds, male chicks are white or light yellow, while female chicks are light brown.
- Because they can tell the gender of a bird early on, many large chicken farms that only want egg layers choose these birds.
- This short movie is about a group of female and male Red Star chicks who are only one day old. They are straightforward to tell apart because the boys are lighter in color.
- Female young fish (pullets) usually go through that “gawky” stage, but they will start to turn pretty shades of brown that get darker and darker until they are a rich mahogany color. These are my first two Red Stars when they were on lay, which was about 22 weeks ago.
- These are my two 22-week-old Red Star Chicken.
- They were not used to people or freedom because they came from a local breeder who kept a lot of them in a barn. But these birds are very flexible; they move around quickly and easily.
- As adults, males stay white, while females turn different shades of buff or brown with pretty white spots based on the cross. A lot of the time, they have light-colored or white feathers around their behind, but sometimes they are all brown.
Personality Of Red Star Chicken
- Chickens are usually calm, friendly, and sweet; they’ll let you pick them up and pet them.
- But they don’t like being given too much attention; this isn’t a chicken that likes being held. After a while with you, they’ll want to go off and roam freely again!
- They love to explore the world outside their run because they are always interested and very busy.
- Red star chicken are happiest when looking for bugs but will eat almost anything and love normal treats the most.
- They have their own language, and a soft purring sound will let you know when they’re happy.
Egg Production Of Red Star Chicken
- Crossing one breed of chicken with another breed just so they can lay eggs makes this type of chicken. Because of this, they are one of the most common types.
- It’s common for their eggs to be light brown, and most of the time, they’re pretty big. I’ve had eggs that were about 5 oz, and some were about 8 oz. That’s the same as a medium or large store-bought egg, but it’s much better for you and tastes better!
- All of the eggs in this picture come from my Red Stars. I knew right away that I needed to find a better place to keep them! Click here to read my review of the great Egg Skelter and find out what it is.
- I have dozens of eggs from my Red Stars in the fridge.
- Before I found a better way to organize my Red Star eggs, this is what my fridge looked like!
- Most Red Star/red sex-linked chickens start laying eggs earlier than other chickens; it’s not unusual for them to do so seventeen to nineteen weeks early.
- This kind of chicken will lay one egg every day, even when it’s very hot or very cold outside. They move a little more slowly when they’re molting. During that time, an egg should come every two days.
- If you feed them treats like mealworms, the egg yolk will turn a beautiful dark yellow color. This short movie shows that Red Stars are always the first ones to get mealworm treats.
Pros
- Especially good at laying eggs.
- From one day old, they can be sex-linked, so you always know if you’re getting a boy or a girl.
- They are very tough birds. They will still lay eggs even if it is very hot or very cold outside.
- Birds that are generally healthy and don’t get sick easily.
- They’re friendly and curious and don’t mind kids touching them, especially if they bring food!
Cons
- These chickens like to roam and will try to fly if they can. This makes it hard to keep in a run without a high fence, and even then, they’ll try!
- You can’t bring new chickens into the group without them getting mean, and they can be very persistent. Being careful with this is important.
- Of course, they eat a lot, which makes sense given how many eggs they lay! It helps to let them roam free and find food on their own.
Temperament Of Red Star Chicken
Red Star has a lot of different character reviews. It’s not a surprise, given the number of breeds she may be from. You can expect a mix of personalities as your Red Stars grow up if you order a box of them from a hatchery or breeder.
You can always ask the breeder about the birds they used to make your chicks. There are different opinions about how the Red Star acts around people, but one thing that comes up a lot is that they are calm around people but a little more hostile around other birds in their group.
Adding more Red Stars to your band might be easier than adding new birds to a group of Red Stars. The Red Star also has a unique personality because it wants to and can fly! While everyone knows that chickens can’t fly for long periods of time, the Red Star’s ability to fly has its good points.
They like perches and roosts that are too high in the air. You can only keep them in with the best fences. If you want to keep your Red Stars in place, you must put poultry netting over the top of your run. You could also clip their wings. But this boring job probably takes some of the fun out of their lives.
Final Words on the Red Star Chicken
Red Star is a type of chicken that comes in a small package that is easy to carry. It’s helpful for chicken lovers to know the gender of their chicks right away. How many times have you been wrong about your chick’s sex when you thought it was something else? It’s fun to know an interesting fact about your possible flock stars early on.