I have 5 one-year-old hens (2 Black and 3 Red). The blacks are my favorite - they have a great personality and are simply beautiful.
They started laying at 5 months old and have laid 2-ounce brown eggs consistently all winter long, even when we had a week straight of rain and they were basically confined to their coop. The girls free range all day and don't eat much feed for the amount of eggs they produce.
All our Stars are friendly and most enjoy being held. My 8-year-old often runs around the yard with a hen tucked under his arm like a football! The do tend to get underfoot when we are feeding them or they think we might have treats, and we had one hen break a toe when she got stepped on. It healed well and doesn't give her any problem now. We have one hen who loves music and hangs out by my boy's bedroom window to listen to him play guitar. She will sneak in whenever she can.
The only cons I can think of is that mine are greedy girls and once they jumped up and snatched a sandwich right out of my hand when I wasn't paying attention. They also tend to hog the nesting boxes and will kick our Rocks out if they want the same box. I didn't list these things in the CONS section because this may just be a result of the pecking order and not necessarily an aspect of the breed. They also can be hard to tell apart, so you may want to band them with different colored zip ties in the beginning if that's important to you.
Overall, I love this breed! They are the core of our flock, have great personalities, and love to hang out with me when I'm in the yard weeding or doing chores. I would recommend them especially for those who can only have a few hens because they are reliable layers, eat very little, and are good with children. Plus, because they're a sex link, you don't have to go through the worry of possibly having gotten a cockerel by mistake!
They started laying at 5 months old and have laid 2-ounce brown eggs consistently all winter long, even when we had a week straight of rain and they were basically confined to their coop. The girls free range all day and don't eat much feed for the amount of eggs they produce.
All our Stars are friendly and most enjoy being held. My 8-year-old often runs around the yard with a hen tucked under his arm like a football! The do tend to get underfoot when we are feeding them or they think we might have treats, and we had one hen break a toe when she got stepped on. It healed well and doesn't give her any problem now. We have one hen who loves music and hangs out by my boy's bedroom window to listen to him play guitar. She will sneak in whenever she can.
The only cons I can think of is that mine are greedy girls and once they jumped up and snatched a sandwich right out of my hand when I wasn't paying attention. They also tend to hog the nesting boxes and will kick our Rocks out if they want the same box. I didn't list these things in the CONS section because this may just be a result of the pecking order and not necessarily an aspect of the breed. They also can be hard to tell apart, so you may want to band them with different colored zip ties in the beginning if that's important to you.
Overall, I love this breed! They are the core of our flock, have great personalities, and love to hang out with me when I'm in the yard weeding or doing chores. I would recommend them especially for those who can only have a few hens because they are reliable layers, eat very little, and are good with children. Plus, because they're a sex link, you don't have to go through the worry of possibly having gotten a cockerel by mistake!