Red Star "Hen" or "Rooster"

[Aleister]

Hi,

She/He is 3 1/2 months old and acts a little different than the other girls and has slight different colored plumage. It could be that it just come from different parents but I am not sure. Thank you so much for your help.

The pictures do not show very well but her/his plumage on her/his back is quick distinct (roosterISH?).

 

[Habibs Hens]

Defo NOT a Cockerel

Why?

Beacause they are sexlinked

Girls are Brown as you have and boys are white/yellow

 

[Fred's Hens]

This is a Red Sex Link cockerel. If your bird had been a cockerel, you'd have known it all along. These are sex links and the cockerels are mostly white, with some brown in the saddle. He'd also be towering over those pullets at this point.

The pullet in your hand is coming into lay and will soon sport a larger red comb. Expect eggs within a month.

 

[Aleister]

Hi, thank you so much for the reply. I saw a few brown red star roosters when googling and I thought that was possible, although maybe rare, for males to be brown. Is this guy bellow not a Red Sex link? Are there any chances that mine is a Brown Rooster? Thank you so very much.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Hi, thank you so much for the reply. I saw a few brown red star roosters when googling and I thought that was possible, although maybe rare, for males to be brown. Is this guy bellow not a Red Sex link? Are there any chances that mine is a Brown Rooster? Thank you so very much.

The name "Red Star" is a made up, marketing name. There is no breed by that name. The Red Star is one of the red sex links, which involves using a red/gold rooster over a silver/white hen. The result is a predictable mix/hyrbrid/mutt. The males hatch/feather out white and the females hatch/feather out rusty red with white flecks. That is a simple law of genetics. There isn't any exceptions.

However, if people then breed these birds together for a generation 2 or generation 3, these birds are NOT sex linked any longer and can be red, black, white, mixed, etc. The subsequent generations are not sex links. When people sell gen 2 Red Stars, they are confusing people by the use of that name.

 

[Aleister]

I see. Thank you so much for the explanation. Looks like Amelia is a girl after all. =)

 

[HzrdBoysMomma]

I'm having the same 'confusion' with my red sex links (red stars). Two of them are starting to get long(er) tail feathers and the tips of their wings are a little curved too. Just like Amelia's look in this picture. So by 3.5 we would definitely know if they were Roos? This was very reassuring. Thanks

 

[GlennT]

I have a red star that was a mix of a RIR and RIW, got two chicks that were both supposed to be hens, one is definitely a hen as she is setting eggs. Here is a pic of my other who is now crowing and attempting to mount the other hens. How is this possible?

 

[Fred's Hens]

I have a red star that was a mix of a RIR and RIW, got two chicks that were both supposed to be hens, one is definitely a hen as she is setting eggs. Here is a pic of my other who is now crowing and attempting to mount the other hens. How is this possible?

Can't see the pic, likely because you have to have a few posts before you are upload enabled by the system here.

Couple of possibilities, Glenn.

1. The birds are second or third generation birds and the whole sex-link thing only works the very first generations. After that, all bets are off and the birds are merely mix/mutt/barnyard blends and coloration isn't a clue to sex. Where did you get the chicks?
2. Lead or dominant hens will sometimes crow, albeit a rather pathetic copy cat version of a crow. The mounting of hens is similar in that while she cannot breed them, she can dominate them and does. This is somewhat common when there isn't a real male around.

 

[GlennT]

I bought 4 black stars who all turned out to be hens, they were a pairing of Rhode Island Red Roo to a Barred Rock Hen, and at the same time bought 2 Red Star hens. The red star hens were the offspring of a pairing of Rhode Island Red Roo to a Rhode Island White Hen. I bought all six of these chickens from a local farm, who is well respected in this area for breeding and selling chickens. I can go take pictures of the red star that is his/her sister, who is definitely a hen. They look very different. The suspected roo pictured above had the head of a rooster but lacks the saddle feathers. He/she is almost a year old and just started crowing, even with the presence of a salmon faverolle rooster that leads the flock. I was wondering if this could be some kind of weird fluke, and this is actually a Roo?