Rhode Island Red

I have two RIR's, they are such great chickens, not fully grown yet, but still amazing! I love my girls.

Our RIR is very friendly toward us. She(as all of our chickens) comes when called, and greets us at the door. She is a bit of a bully though toward the other chickens, especially one in particular, who is a buff orpington.

That right, there is more than one type of Rhode Island and they are very distinct breeds. Reds are one of, if not the most common brown egg layer to be found. While the whites are practically unknown by comparision. So lets start with a little history before some compare and contrast of the Reds.

A highly informative history on the White type can be found here: http://albc-usa.org/cpl/rhodewhite.html Please read it as I dont care to plagerize or rehash.

Next lets cover a very real issue with Reds. This issue is the "Modern Industial/Production Red"(PR) vs. the "Heritage Red"(HR). Is there a definite difference? I think so. I would point out some key differences.
To those that would differ I would point to the original intent of the breed. This is that the Rhode Island Red is to be first a layer breed, then when hens were spent a decent meat animal could be harvested as well as a breed who's males quickly grow big enough to be a respectable table bird. In this one point of fufilling the breeds original intent I will agree there is very little difference.
Now then why I can see two different breeds.
First difference I would point out is the plumage colors. There is two shades of red to be seen. The PR was not bred for much else besides egg production and due to this the firery lusterous deep mahogany plumage that the HR still wears has given way to a lighter, duller, but still red feathered bird.
I would point out size next. The PR is a smaller bird than the HR. This does help the PR with how economical it is to feed laying hens. The PR should lay more eggs on less feed. Even if its a likely smaller egg.
Lastly, and in my opinion the clearest difference; the attitudes or disposition. The HR I have had were calm, unaggressive, nonflighty and quiet. The opposite can be said for the PR I have kept. Plainly the were annoying, mean, and a nuisance on my farm. While I had them I had a horrible feather pecking issue that turned to cannibalism. I would add that this was even while the birds were freely open to range over my lawn and the farm fields in the backyard. I removed the cannibal birds, all PR, and have not had a feather pecking issue since.
The reason for this divergance in the Rhode Island Red is soley breeder selection. The HR has been pure bred to a standard while the PR has been bred purely for economic utility. If the priorities of two flock managers differ enough it can not only create disinct lines but will eventually produce a recognizably different breed.

P.S.
Seeing as hatcheries choose to sell PR labeled as Rhode Island Red it seems of little importance that New Hampshire blood was introduced in some PR lines. Ill review the Whites on a different breed profile.

i used to have rhode island reds and the hens killed most of our flock! they will attack you no matter how much you socialize them as chicks. when i socialized them as chicks, i used the same methods as i do with my silkies and other chickens. these will come running to me when they see me, and wait for me to pick them up and they fall asleep in my arms. the rhodes are the opposite. they will jump, bite and puff up when you approach them. they do the same with other chickens too. we lost so many of our hens due to these birds. i am NEVER getting a rhode island red again. i really, really dont suggest getting this breed for your backyard flock.

caohorse

I have had three Rhodies for two years now. We raised them from chicks. They do not like being handled at all and generally keep their distance. My alpha hen is one of the Rhodies. She asserts herself but is not a bully. They lay nice brown eggs averaging around 5 per week. They have not gone broody at all. They have moulted and the moult lasted several months. They are pretty birds. Given the choice again, I would reserve Rhodies for more of a farm setting where their independence and hardiness would be very desired. For a backyard flock I would probably go with a more personable breed in the future.

Pros: Dual purpose, beautiful red bird

Cons: maybe it's just my hen but I can't remember the last time she's laid an egg. Her eggs are medium, reddish brown, and beautiful. Not sure why she's not laying, could be the fact that she is at the bottom of the pecking order in my flock. She's a bum and eats all the food. Not sure if I'm going to keep her around much longer. Hoping she starts laying again this spring.

My seven Rhode Island Red pullets have just begin laying and from experience, I know that Rhode Islands are great layers. However, my pullets are extremly scittish and the rooster, George, can come off mean if you don't know him. Overall great chickens, though.

I have a small mixed flock, and the RIR is one of my favorites. She lays the best eggs, (good size, and production) and she is very hardy. She does cause the most problems when I add new hens to the group, and definately is at the top of the pecking order. Once everyone is settled she does calm down and usually accepts the newer ones. She was a rescue.

I've enjoyed having RIR's, but my flock is going on two to three years old and I'm going to sell them this spring at our local auction. I'm not to going to get any more RIRs because I'm focusing on rare and endangered breeds.

I love my 3 RIR"s, they are actually somewhere btw 3-4 yrs old & they're still laying about every other day so actually not too shabby

They like to peck at me.

I've had my RIR for two years now. She was my first backyard chicken. I love her eggs, they are the perfect size and she lays a ton of them. She has never been broody and has typically been decently friendly towards me. Sometimes, however, she can get REALLY aggressive and will attack my shoes/feet.

All in all, I kind of like her attitude, it makes her really entertaining as a pet. She will grab fruit from you and run as fast as she can, which has kept me laughing for hours. She's really bossy and will make her annoying screetchy sounds until I let her out of the coop and then she will make me chase her around the yard for ten minutes to get her back in. She also saw the dog come through the ripped screen door, and started coming into the house! haha. Even though they can be moody, they are pretty cool if you're looking for a chicken to entertain you that you can watch, that also gives you lots of awesome eggs.

very hardy

Get the real deal the "production reds" from large hatcheries are not anything like the real reds from reputable breeders. I had the bantams then gave them to my business partner they are such sweet little birds, total pets with nearly no handling. Both large and bantams very sweet towards people, but can be a bit pecky towards other chickens. They were never vicious just squabbly, glad my friend has them now she will breed them and I get to enjoy when I go visit but not hear the pecking order being resorted every other hour.

I have a mix of large brown egg layer breeds and in this mix I have about 7 RIR. My girls are like a gang and pick on basically all of the other chickens. They are always nipping at the others steping on the girls necks and pulling their neck feathers and they have even started pulling the top feathers of my beautiful Polish hen. And the thing is all of my chickens are the same age and have grown up together since I got them in a group of 25.

I love my 3 RIRs! The little one is Penny, the medium Ruby and the biggest Scarlet. They are a little loud, but loveable. They run to me as soon as I get in the chicken yard, and never seem afraid of me. If you've never had one, you must get one!

My RIR is such a great bird. She's a regular layer and shows no aggression toward other birds. No broodiness. I love this bird.

My very first flock was 2 RIR girls. They were personable, came when called, and fabulous egg producers. One of the girls, Fermina, would sing a loud egg song after each egg and occasionally call to be let out in the mornings. Otherwise they were pretty quiet but they had free range of over an acre so I was not always near by to notice. They came in every night to roost and rarely ran from people. They even liked the horses and would hang out with them in the pasture.

I later had a RIR in a flock with a Silver-laced Wyandotte and Buff Orpington. The RIR was not particularly aggressive but they were raised together from a very young age so that may have contributed to good flock dynamics.

These birds would be good for places where nobody minds occasional loud egg songs. Cinnamon and Honey used to do loud egg songs, but I hear it less often now. Other than loud egg songs, they are mostly quiet. Its probably because of the way we raised them, but our RIR's are not very "cuddly" with us. They struggle when we hold them. Honey sometimes pecks at my feet too. She also pecks at me when I try to grab eggs from under her.
They have never been aggressive to other chickens. I have seen them fly for short distances, but not for height. Once, a dog got in, and these two ran straight for a hiding place, rather than the coop (which was open at the time.) They know the danger, which is good.
One lays every day, and another lays about every other day. The eggs are a speckled rosy brown.
Overall, its an average breed.

I bought a pullet chick from Agway in July. As it turns out Candace is not as feminine as we had expected. Our now, 5 month rooster is very agressive. Until a few weeks ago he was calm and laid back but as of late he has been very wild and mean. We had to separate him from our flock, when he is separated the flock is well behaved and calm. When with the roo all the roos start attacking each other and the hens. We rehomed him, thinking getting him into a new flock would calm him down but we haven't heard anything lately. He is a very pretty bird but his temperment was not. He could be held if you caught him, but catching him was a pain.