I got three Rhode Island Reds, Muffin and Sleepy and Penny, and they are all super cute. They are quite noisy and somewhat dependant on my white Cochin, who likes to mother them even though she is only a week older.
I will agree, the RIR and production red I owned were better layers than any other breed I've had to date. They were very friendly to me and were nice to look at, but they were the main proponent of aggression in my flock for over a year. I gave them multiple chances to correct behavior began to free range, gave them stimulation, but nothing worked. They killed 2 birds before I got rid of them and I'll never own another.
VERY friendly, calm, talkative. Lay LOTS of beautiful brown eggs.
RIR are great birds for the person who doesn't have time to "baby" a chicken. They are some what flighty so you don't have to worry about them freezing when they see a predator. They lay great and become good company as the age.
I have never had a flock of chickens that didn't have RIRs in it. They are friendly toward humans, attractive and there is no better layer of ex large brown eggs! Amazing birds.
I have one Rhode Island Red hen right now (large fowl.) She lays large brown eggs nearly every day. She is friendly, comes running to me for treats when she sees me and eats from my hands. Her feathers are a beautiful dark brown / mahogany color and she is a stocky, solidly built bird. I hope to add more RIR's to my flock soon! These would be a good start or addition to a back yard flock for folks who want a good egg laying breed.
My girl is crazy bossy. She was so shy in the beginning, and is quickly making it up to the top of the pecking order. I would say she is pretty darn feisty, but never to humans.
very good chickens, a little jumpy, i need about 200 more.
I have one RIR rooster (my breeder) and one RIR pullet. I love their feathering! The rooster is very protective of his chosen hens and tends not to fight with the other roosters in the flock unless absolutely necessary. My pullet lays regularly and produces large, dark brown eggs. Both eat willingly from my hand and tolerate a few strokes on the back on occasion. They're good foragers and can bare being "cooped" up but prefer to be out and about in the run. They get along well with the rest of the flock but like to get away from them on occasion. She's an infrequent broody. Both carry themselves with quiet confidence which tends to set them apart from the rest of the flock. A great breed, all in all.
These guys are great. I have 3 hens and they've laid all winter so far, about an egg a day for each of them.
My RI Reds have this thing going where as soon as they see me outside, they'll run as fast as they can toward me and peck my pants until I give them a treat. 
They are also incredibly talkative. If I sold all my other chickens, the noise coming from the coop would be about the same. (Not that I would sell all my others . . .)
I have a girl named Chessnut, and she is so pretty! She lays eggs for me every day, even in the cold winter months! I LOVE HER!
I love my Rhode Islands! They all lay regularly and I haven't had a single problem with them. Their eggs are fairly large (a few are so big I can't close the carton).
I LOVE my Rhode Island Reds. Since they started laying (at about 24 weeks, on average), I have had an egg a day from each hen almost every day. They are friendly, follow me around the yard, like to be petted, and are in general great pets as well as eggers. The only drawback I can think of is that mine free-range my yard, and if I don't let them out on time for whatever reason, they are extremely loud. Overall, though, they are wonderful!
great birds they are the best "purebreed" brown egg layers ...i had a flock and sold them ..recently ordered another 150 pullets to raise and sell at around 20 weeks...
This breed is a great egg producer! One hen can lay 300 egg per year! But they definitely do not make the best pets. They can be really rough and mean.
in my opinion this breed is probably the one of the best chicken breed ive ever had the pleasure to own in my life. They lay large beautiful brown eggs every single day even during the winter their winter hardy the only problem i can see with them is that they are extremely aggressive
I love this chicken because they lay large brown eggs, and we like the brown eggs better than the white ones. They seem to be richer. They are very easy going, the hens anyways. We have a mean red rooster, but we like attitude, so it's ok, besides we are hoping he will protect the flock.
I started my flock of sixty six with half Rhode Island Reds and half Barred / Plymouth Rocks. All the males with the exception of Igor our "special needs" Red Roo are now in the freezer. This spring I will order more Red hens as they are smaller, eat less, and produce more than their Rock sisters. That being said the next round of meat birds will include Rocks not Reds.
I have two RIR hens, Radish and Rosie. They're not keen on being picked up, like some of my other hens (quieter breeds), but their curiosity makes up for it. They love free ranging, and they love to run up to us when we're out in the yard to see what we're doing.
Rosie was the runt of my first batch of chicks. It took her longer to reach full size and start laying than Radish or my other hens, but when she got there, she more than made up for it.
I'll always own a RIR or two. Not sure if I'll ever get a roo. The spunkiness of hens becomes downright aggressiveness in the roos. Protective instinct gone haywire? Not good for a pen. I'd only get one if I had an acre or more and let the flock free range all day.
had a RI red that was queen of the coop. She passed away at 8 1/2 years. She had given her window seat to her chosen head chicken about 3 months before she died. She was gentle to all the new girls as they came except for her window seat.
We absolutely love our 6 RIR hens. They were given to me as a gift when they were only about 3 weeks old and they have totally changed our lives. My son is on disability and lives with me so he takes care of them while I'm at work and they come running when they hear his voice.
They think we are their parents, so they trust us implicitly, let us hold and pet them, and we have a regular routine with them that we follow on a daily basis. We get 6 eggs a day and we don't have to have a rooster around because we don't want to expand the flock at this time. They are beautiful, healthy hens and seem to get along well with one another. There is a little competition at times, but nothing that seems to be a threat. I highly recommend them as pets - but I don't know if I could eat them after getting so attached. I think they would be a great pet for children to raise. We handled them all of their lives. so they are used to human contact. The one problem I haven't been able to solve is to find a green vegetable that is safe for them to eat without having destroy the plants in our yard. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it.
In my area (Montana) I have quickly discovered that cold hearty birds are a major pro, and these birds sure are! Not only are they sweet (yet noisy in the mornings) they make great brown eggs. I noticed that as chicks (I have two) one was very timid and the other was very outgoing and adventurous. Now they are about a year old and both fit in well.
Our RIR is a great layer, giving six to seven medium sized light brown eggs each week, even through winter.
She is sweat natured, and is the first to come running asking for treats.
She's the smallest of our flock, and was picked on till we shipped off the more aggressive and dominant Gold Comet.
I've had 9 of these so far. 2 have been really friendly and the rest like to keep some distance. They are calm good birds. They lay really large brown eggs.
These where about a year old if I remember right.
Our reds seem smarter than the others--they get out of the day-run most easily, allow us the catch them by taking up their hilarious defensive posture of stop, "squat" and extend wings, and they follow anyone shaking a can of cracked corn. This gets the attention of the other birds, who then follow the reds back in to the run. My buffs are more beautiful, but I like the spunk and egg frequency of this bird.
She's only 20 weeks so no eggs quit yet. She is a very funny girl who will start chattering as soon as she sees someone in the yard. She will follow you around talking. Easy to pick up. I would only put talkative as a negative since I get nervous about neighbors getting bothered, but she is much quieter than the yappy dogs next door. She makes me smile the most.
They are very good egg layers!!! My girl is very skidish... My whole flock is that way but all come from various bad situations.... I have not been doing it long enough or had enough to give a accurate review.
I got Rhode Island Reds as a gift when my grandfather died. They are GREAT layers, (quite a few eggs a day) Though they tend to hide their eggs, i didnt find out how many they were laying till i found there stash!! My rhode island (rosy) is extremely affectionate, and loves being held and pet. She gets along well with my Ancauna(i think thats what she is) and even got along well with our old rooster(that we had to get rid of) I have had her since she was 2 weeks old, and she is the best 
!! I definetly reccomend this breed!
Right now I have RIR's that come from Wolford Kittle line, I also have eggs in bator right now Adrian Rademacher line, chicks coming in a few weeks from Dick Horstman, chicks coming from County Line that are Gary Underwood line, eggs coming from fella in Mass that are Don Nelson lines and on list to get chicks from Matt1616 that are Mohawh line.
I love my (PR) RIR's . They are friendly birds, lay extremely well and the roosters are excellent flock protectors.I have several that are so friendly, they will not get out of your way!!
One big disappointment we had was when we butchered one for the first time. the breasts are not very big on the roos and the hens are really small.I am sure if you get yours from a breeder they will far surpass what mine did, but I wrote this since a lot of people get them from hatchery stock.We were new to chickens and did not know the difference between hatchery and breeder quality.
I do love my PR's and will probably always have some, but the breeder quality Reds seem to be a lot bigger and much deeper in color.
Hope this helps anyone looking for PR's...
OOPS...didn't see there was a review list for PR's...so this is in the wrong place.
This breed is the mainstay of our free-range homestead flock. These birds forage very well for their own feed, with strong feet and legs. They are alert but calm, reasonably quiet at laying time, and dependably lay good-sized eggs year round (our flock is on a 15 hour light regime to maintain production). Most hens accomplished their molt with great speed, going practically bald before rapidly replacing feathers and returning to production. We have had very few predator problems with these birds, as their color is inconspicuous, and they are alert. Productive life was very good, with most lasting a full 2.5 years before production started to slack off, with some lasting to the 3.5 year mark. We actually still have one hen in production from our first batch---she's 4! These girls were good about laying in nest boxes, and did not have issues with weak shells. It was rare for one to rebel and take the trees rather than their roost poles. Carcasses were average for yard chickens, with time to slaughter weight being about the same as other purebred yard birds (crossbreds are a much better choice for meat production IMO).
None of the RIR's ever went broody.
All RIR roosters that we tried to keep for breeders turned very mean and nasty before reaching 18 mos.
Overall, this breed is well worth adding to a homestead flock.
I will never have RIR again, although great egg layers, they are pecky and loud. of all my chickens these and the leg horns are the worst birds I have for temperment. good egg layers, lay all year round and for years but they peck me if i get close to them.do not like them!
these guys tend to rule the roost once the become adults and do a good job of it. they are fair layers and are very hardy as well
My favorite breed by far is the Rhode Island Red. They are not loud, they are amazing layers, and lay for a long time. My favorite girl who will turn 2 in March is a Rhode Island Red. She's adorable and since she came out of molt she has laid 4 eggs a week! Before her molt it was 6-7 eggs a week! She's my best layer and my favorite girl who will stay with me until she goes to the big coop in the sky :)
The only thing I wish she would do is GO BROODY! All of my other girls have so why not her? lol. What she lacks in motherhood, she gains in ability and personality :)
I love my RIRS and would recommend them to anyone. 5 stars ++++!!!!
I have 5 rirs mine you can walk right up too and pet and they lay well. my roo is not as tame as my hens but is a handsome bird . I had 7 but they got eaten.
I have 3 reds in my flock and they are the first to greet me at the gate and the only ones my 6 year old can hold. When the others scoot away from her, they will squat down and let her pick them up. Ruby the biggest is always right at my feet when I have them out of their pen and she tends to watch over everyone. She always cocks her head when I talk to her like she is really listening. Just love her! Great egg layers too. We have 6 leghorns, 2 austrolorps, and 3 reds and we have eggs year round.
I was told that Rhode Island Reds wasn't supposed to be aggressive but mine will peck on my other chickens and when I put out some treats i put enough out for them all but my RIR will eat theirs plus aggressively grab one of the others too and peck at them while doing it for the most part a good bird. They will follow me its cute.
Recently decided to get back into raising chickens, for eggs, meat, and at some point, will sell chicks. I havent been in the chicken game in many, many years, so its kinda slow going to get started. At the time, I have 10 RIR pullets, and 2 ???pullets. I am planning to purchase 6 Speckled Sussex pullets later this week.
The rir is beautiful and a reliable layer. They are a bit flighty but very sweet
they are extreamly friendly and are good layers. after a month of laying, mine lays eggs too big for a jumbo egg carton.
Aggressive birds in Rhode Island Red Heritage is not the norm. They take the rap from the hatchery roosters that you order from the Hatcheries and the feed stores. Those roosters can be mean as snakes. But are they Rhode Island Reds? NO.
Why do the dark ones like the one that is pictured have to get all the blame.
You don't know what the behavior of a Rhode Island Red is until you owned a pure breed real Heritage Rhode Island Red. bob
My RIRs have been good layers of nice brown eggs. They are more dominant than my EE and BR hens and love to run to the gate to greet me. Before my roo was lost to a hawk, he was a big sweetheart who never got standoffish. My only issue was their winter laying. We live in north Mississippi where it doesn't get very cold for very long, but we had a long break with very few eggs this winter.
Our Rhode Island Reds were wonderful birds who gave us many, many eggs. We had ten Reds, however one turned out to be a rooster that made too much noise for the neighbors... he was my "first" dispatch (a painful memory), but the girls were marvelous
An excellent layer, very friendly, calm, personality plus. I highly recommend.
I would like to know what to do with these two roos. One that is now living alone in the 'goat' house with 3 geese, ended up with right eye pecked (still has eye) and no longer can see from that eye. One nice warm day I let them both outside, from different sides of the barn. They managed to find each other and began fighting again (twice inside an hour) Finally I caught the one blind in right eye and put him back inside. Any suggestions? I really don't want to kill either of them.
I have two of these birds and both are great birds. They love treats out of my hand and will run right up to me almost any time I walk out of the house. One is a dependable layer of large brown eggs. The other was before she got sick and has yet to restart. The only con to this bird is that I've read (and now experienced) that hatchery stock breeding leaves them prone to hormonal issues that cause internal laying and other problems. Certainly doesn't affect most birds, I just got one that it did. Certainly won't prevent me from getting more.
I got these Reds for free (at 2-4 years old) and although they are friendly with me (the food lady), they pick on other hens, peck eggs (both theirs and others).
I have never had a chicken but this is the best pet. He is easy to get along with and he loves to be hugged and rocked. I love this little boy like he is a child. The only thing is I am nervous about my Friends next to me. This is not the county only dogs,cats, and birds are welcome so when when he crows I get nervous about his noise other wise hes my heart. His name is Stewart.
Doris
I had six RIR's in my first flock, four are still with me. They have more distinct personalities than the other breeds I have, and they're all friendly. None have been aggressive to other birds, although, since their flock mates are mostly Leghorns they're sometimes picked on. One was lost to cannibalism, one to a cat while young, and one is currently suffering ovarian cancer. One is my dog... or so she thinks.
They are relatively consistent layers, but only at about 4 eggs a week. Almost every meat spot I've found was in a RIR egg, and the eggs soon became jumbo size and are gradually becoming more misshapen. (they're over 2yo) The hens bought their retirement plan with personality, not production.
My flock is free-range, so I don't know how they react to confinement - they don't usually leave the barn lot area (2 acres).
We got our first two reds from a friend of my wife. My wife said she was tired of paying high prices for eggs on a social media site and then the phone rang and her friend said come outside handed her two chicks. my wife said where am I going to put these and her friend said what ya doing with that dog kennel, then a year later we bought four three more red hens and our flock grew from there.
shes the highlight of my flock! she follows me on my routine walks! she makes me smile every day. This is my diego, i just want to say shes full of personality, curiousity and spunk. Everybody needs one of these adorable chunks.
But her big man L.C. is different you see, he is quite mean to everybody but me. I am the hand who feeds him and he knows that quite well. If anyone else approaches they will regret it and yell "this rooster is evil he made my leg bleed" I reply "hes a good boy, just doing his deed, protecting his ladies from all possible harm, even if that "harm" is your leg or your arm" once you give him a nudge he'll understand that your the shepherd and hes the lamb His personality is still quite great with his beautiful song and companionship trait.
I know these may seem like ordinary birds to some, but we are really enjoying them in our first ever flock! They are friendly & I love the dark red color!
I have four Rhode Islands reds and they are pretty friendly birds. Though, if chased they do run away which is good! (Less likely to be snatched by a predator) They are good chickens for free-ranging.
My red girl, Ginger, has always been a sweet girl to humans and to the other chickens. She is very sweet when we hold her, even though she doesn't much like the catching part :) I think she is at the bottom of the pecking order currently, but only because she is very docile and not aggressive at all. Great addition to the flock!
I currently own 6 chickens. 3 pullets, 2 cornish rock and 1 rhode island red. My RIR seems to be the most intellegent, and friendlest of the group. I would recommend this breed to anybody who wants a friendly great egg layer if tamed. He is still a juvilile and will probrably be a rooster. Do rhode island reds crow loud??
Great layer of huge eggs, great birds, my chick cuddles on my lap when he is being held. Great breed for handling, showing, and having.
I've only had them a couple weeks so it's still too early to tell. They do seem more skittish than my others.
Our 2 Rhode Islands are not the most aggressive in our flock, as some have mentioned theirs are. The largest of the two however is certainly the boss Hen of the flock, but she does it without aggression, though sometimes at the food dish she will chase a few away.
I have been very pleased with our 2 birds, they are great with people, and our boss hen looks out for the whole flock, she will stand by the coop door in the evenings till every last girl has entered the coop, if one is missing she will stand and call them to come.
They are a bit noisy, especially our smaller one, she honks like a goose when she is unhappy, or startled which she startles a lot. But we still love her! I will have Rhode Islands again for sure, of our flock they are my favorite birds.
My dad has RIR's and we kept his with ours during their chick stage. They were always dominant in our flock and would be fine with humans, but definately on the top of the flock. They are thankfully now with him and are always puffing up their personality with one another. Dad recently added some bantams and the RIR's are big bullies cornering the bantams, ganging up one them and will not let them to the water. I will not have them in my flock.
I love this breed. They can be quite friendly, but the roos can be very aggressive with no fear of people. They are a great egg laying breed and because of their size, they are a great meat bird.
I love my Rhode Island reds they are very sweet to me . They quickly show new birds there place in the coop they want to be the boss. they have laid me eggs from normal to large size brown eggs. I had one that would sneak into the bed of the truck to lay her eggs under the tool box she has traveled to the store with me a few times and once to the doctor. when people come over they jump on the truck to say hello. they even come in the house to lay eggs. one hen jumped into a open window and sat there looking at me before she flew into the house. They follow me around like I was there mother hen. I have to check my friends truck before they leave to make sure there are no hitchhikers.
I thought I would really like this breed, but now I don't really like them but I also don't hate them. They lay me big beautiful eggs almost everyday but, they are just down right mean! They are flighty and nonsocial with the other birds. They won't let me even get close enough to get a good look at them to check for mites and diseases. I could live without them!
Good layers, production types don't typically go broody. The meanest roosters I've ever had were this breed, but in some settings a good tough guy is exactly what you need. The hens were great... calm, good foragers, very good layers.
Some flying ability. LOUD crowing. Hens didn't much sing the egg song after 8 months of age, so I wouldn't call the girls loud. The girls were not prone to frequent cackling.
Roosters not recommended around small children unless he's proven to be well behaved.
I have 2, raised from day old chicks. I do not enjoy the personalities of these birds. They are curious and not overly mean, just not as friendly as other breeds. I also don't think they are as reliable a layer as Barred Rocks. A decent, easy to raise egg layer otherwise.
