McMurray Hatchery Black Star Sex Link Hen with Gold Neck

Black Star

Black Star Sex-Link chickens are an excellent brown egg-laying breed. Our Black Stars and Red Stars meet our strict specifications: easy to raise, lay large brown eggs, and have a good feed-conversion ratio.

A sex-link chicken is a hybrid which, at the time of hatch, can be sexed by its color. Female Black Star baby chicks, pullets, are almost all black with some having a small amount of white on its neck. Male Black Star baby chicks, cockerels, can easily be identified by a small white dot on its head.

McMurray Hatchery carries two lines of Black Stars. One line is predominantly black with a red chest. The second line is barred with a grey chest. Both are proprietary hybrid crosses. Sorry, we are unable to take requests for a specific line or color.

At maturity, Black Stars weigh a little over 5 lbs. Females are black with either a gold or silver neck and breast feathers, and are egg-laying machines. Males are black with white barring. Sex links are hybrids, and will not retain the same sex link characteristics in future generations.

Mix & match for 6 chick minimum order. Learn More

Item #	Description	1-5	6-15	16-24	25-50	51-99	100+	Quantity
BLSP	Female	1-5 $7.15	6-15 $6.44	16-24 $5.79	25-50 $5.21	51-99 $4.69	100+ $4.22	Quantity
BLSS	Unsexed	1-5 $4.95	6-15 $4.46	16-24 $4.01	25-50 $3.61	51-99 $3.25	100+ $2.92	Quantity
BLSC	Male	1-5 $3.85	6-15 $3.47	16-24 $3.12	25-50 $2.81	51-99 $2.53	100+ $2.27	Quantity

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QUICK STATS

Type:	standard
Class:	All Other Production
Heritage Breed:	no
Rare Breed / TLC Conservation Priority:	none
Egg Color:	brown
Egg Size:	large
Egg Production:	best
Disposition:	excellent
Broody (Likely to Sit):	not at all likely
Free Range:	good
Heat Tolerance:	good
Cold Tolerance:	excellent
Comb Type:	single
Leg Style:	clean
Leg Color:	black
Skin Color:	yellow
Bird Size:	large
Meat Production:	better
Weeks to Maturity:	18
Male Mature Weight:	8 lbs
Female Mature Weight:	6 lbs

AVAILABILITY

Q&A

If I want to have more black star chicks what rooster do I need to buy to have the same breed?
Black stars are a hybrid breed and will not breed true. They can still reproduce but it is hard to know what characteristics the new offspring will have such as what their temperament will be like or how well/consistently they will lay eggs.

How many eggs do the Black Star Sex-Link chickens lay?
If conditions are good — weather, feed, environment, health, etc. — they can lay 4+ eggs per week.

Will Black Stars breed?
They can breed, but Black Stars are hybrids so the chicks will not carry the same sex-link characteristics as the parents.

How long will Black Star hens continue to lay?
All hens are most productive their first two years before slowing down in production rates.

How old do Black Stars have to be to start laying?
Black Stars generally begin laying around 22-24 weeks of age.

How long (on average) does it take to get the males to butcher size?
Most standard breed males would be ready to butcher between 16-20 weeks of age.

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