Breed? New chicken owner.

Michael OShay said:

In hatchery birds, there is little or no difference. Hatcheries are concerned about egg production far more than they are about preserving SOP standards. As a result, their red gene birds are usually marketed under three different labels depending on their shade of red. If they are a darker shade of red (closer to mahogany), they are marketed as Rhode Island Reds. If they are a lighter shade of red (closer to chestnut), they are marketed as New Hampshires (or sometimes as New Hamshire Reds, a totally fictitious breed title). If their shade of red is somewhere down the middle or very uneven, they are marketed as Production Reds. Your bird could have been marketed by a hatchery as either a Rhode Island Red or a Production Red. If you want a comparison, below is a pic of a heritage Rhode Island Red which has a much darker red feathering, much more profuse black tail feathers, and a much deeper body than hatchery quality RIRs.

http://readebaker.com/images//Rhode Island Red.JPG

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This might be another silly question, but is it kind of "looked down upon" to get hatchery chicks, or is it perfectly commonplace? I'm more experienced with dogs, so I guess a better way for me to put it is in dog terms. Are hatcheries seen as more like the puppy mills of the chicken world, or are they free of any negative stereotypes such as that? This might be an off the wall question, I'm just curious what the norm is for chickens, whether most people order theirs out of a hatchery magazine or if most have a different way of acquiring chicks, especially if they're looking for well bred chicks like the heritage one in the picture. No offense or ill intent is meant whatsoever if this happens to be a sensitive subject at all, I'm just genuinely curious and inexperienced.

teriz1091 said:

This might be another silly question, but is it kind of "looked down upon" to get hatchery chicks, or is it perfectly commonplace? I'm more experienced with dogs, so I guess a better way for me to put it is in dog terms. Are hatcheries seen as more like the puppy mills of the chicken world, or are they free of any negative stereotypes such as that? This might be an off the wall question, I'm just curious what the norm is for chickens, whether most people order theirs out of a hatchery magazine or if most have a different way of acquiring chicks, especially if they're looking for well bred chicks like the heritage one in the picture. No offense or ill intent is meant whatsoever if this happens to be a sensitive subject at all, I'm just genuinely curious and inexperienced.

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It depends on who you ask. Some heritage breeders really look down on hatchery quality birds and their lack of SOP standards. I personally like hatchery quality birds (usually) as they are inexpensive, there is a large variety to chose from, and they do typically lay well; especially the breeds and hybrids that were developed for high egg production. Sometimes hatchery quality birds are more temperamental than heritage breeds. I have particularly found that to be the case with hatchery quality RIRs which are sometimes aggressive, but with many breeds such as Australorps, Orpingtons, Brahmas, Cochins, Sussex, Silkies, Faverolles, etc., the hatchery quality breeds are usually just as calm and gentle as their heritage bred counterparts. Of course you can't expect them to win any poultry shows for you. From my perspective the bottom line is; unless you are going to enter them in a poultry show, most hatchery breeds are a good value for the money.

I used to show dogs - so I agree that to me some hatcheries are like puppy mills. Not so much how far they are from the SOP but, the amount of culls that slip through. Crooked toes, cross beaks, blind birds or missing an eye. This info I get second hand from answering New member Intros - poor, deformed chicks, etc. that are sent to newbies ill equipped to cope with them. Actually, they shouldn't be shipped to any customer.

I don't like the puppy mill analogy, puppy mills can be pretty horrible for the parent stock and I don't feel hatcheries are that way. The videos I see of their breeding pens have healthy birds that look decently cared for.

I prefer to think of hatcheries as the Wal-Mart of the chicken world. You can get pretty much any type you want, as long as everyone else wants it too, for a cheap price. It won't be the best quality in the world, but for the vast majority of folks what you get will be exactly what you want and are willing to pay for. Hatcheries, like Wal-Mart, are very consumer driven. Most backyard folks want hens that basically look like whatever breed, don't eat a ton, and lay lots of eggs. So, hatcheries have bred their birds to meet consumer demand. Are their birds perfect specimens of the breed? Nope. Are Wal-Mart's clothes designer fashions? Nope. Do hatchery birds fill backyard flocks all over the nation, lay tons of eggs and make their owners happy? Yep. Do Wal-Mart clothes cover my body decently and keep me from being nekkid? Yep.


If it weren't for pet quality or mixed breed dogs, I would never own a dog. I'm not going to pay "breeder" prices and jump through all the hoops some high level breeders want. My dogs are farmdogs, or in one case Purely Ornamental, but they're not "quality". Pretty much the same for my birds. I drool over the really nice barred Rocks, their color is literally hypnotic. Then I go to my flock with my hatchery birds and smile when I see them, cause they make me happy

Speckles is an Easter Egger hen, Blackie is most likely a Barred Rock hen but she could be a Dominique(not likely), and Goldie is a Rhode Island Red hen.

What color are Blackie's legs?