Chicken Breed Focus Rhode Island Red

[sumi]

Most often when one thinks of Rhode Island Red they are thinking of the Large Fowl Rhode Island Red, as it is one of the oldest known breeds of chicken and was developed mainly in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the mid 1840's. The first birds were bred in Little Compton, RI with the use of a Black Breasted Red Malay cock who was imported from England. This Rooster can actually still be seen on display in the Smithsonian Institution as the father of the breed.

The breed was accepted into the American Poultry Association in 1904.

The breed was developed to withstand the harsh New England winters and be a very hardy bird who produced hens with excellent large egg yields and who also would dress out well and look nice on the table, a true dual purpose bird. While the names and places of origin are the same, the Rhode Island White is actually a distinct breed separate from the Rhode Island Red per the American Poultry Association and will be featured in another Breed Focus thread.

The Rhode Island Red breed comes in both large fowl and bantam size and and single as well as rose comb varieties can be found readily.

Details:

Breed Purpose: Dual Purpose
Comb: Single and Rose
Broodiness: Seldom
Climate Tolerance: Cold
Egg Productivity: High
Egg size: Large
Egg Colour: Brown


Pic by @Scottiemom


Pic by @kathyinmo


Pic by @Chook-A-Holic


Pic by @Chris09

BYC Breed Reviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/rhode-island

Breed Discussion Threads:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/407294/the-heritage-rhode-island-red-site/0_30
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644420/rhode-island-red-thread/0_30

Do you own Rhode Island Reds? Are you a Rhode Island Red breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

We have a bunch of other awesome breed-focus threads for you to enjoy. You can see all of them here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-project.975504/

 

[tabary]

Here are some pics of our favorite RIR Ruby as well as some of the girls helping prep a garden

 

[cmom]

Most often when one thinks of Rhode Island Red they are thinking of the Large Fowl Rhode Island Red, as it is one of the oldest known breeds of chicken and was developed mainly in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the mid 1840's. The first birds were bred in Little Compton, RI with the use of a Black Breasted Red Malay cock who was imported from England. This Rooster can actually still be seen on display in the Smithsonian Institution as the father of the breed.

The breed was accepted into the American Poultry Association in 1904.

The breed was developed to withstand the harsh New England winters and be a very hardy bird who produced hens with excellent large egg yields and who also would dress out well and look nice on the table, a true dual purpose bird. While the names and places of origin are the same, the Rhode Island White is actually a distinct breed separate from the Rhode Island Red per the American Poultry Association and will be featured in another Breed Focus thread.

The Rhode Island Red breed comes in both large fowl and bantam size and and single as well as rose comb varieties can be found readily.

Details:

Breed Purpose: Dual Purpose
Comb: Single and Rose
Broodiness: Seldom
Climate Tolerance: Cold
Egg Productivity: High
Egg size: Large
Egg Colour: Brown

BYC Breed Reviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/rhode-island

Breed Discussion Threads:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/407294/the-heritage-rhode-island-red-site/0_30
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644420/rhode-island-red-thread/0_30

Do you own Rhode Island Reds? Are you a Rhode Island Red breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

I own Rhode Island Reds and Rhode Island Whites. Originally I went to a poultry show and saw some beautiful birds at the show. I had a flock of Production Reds, Red Sex-Links and ISA Browns. I bought 3 dozen eggs from a fellow that told me his birds were Heritage Rhode Island Reds. I did not see any of his birds. I took the eggs home and put them in the incubator and they hatched but they were not anywhere close to the birds I had seen at the show and they appeared to me to be nothing more than Production Reds. At another show I saw a beautiful male and sought out the person that owned him. I met a wonderful person, Matt. He told me all about his birds and the line (Reese) he had. I arranged to get a quad from him at another show coming up. From this quad I have hatched many chicks. About a year ago I got another nice cockerel from him and put him in with some of my females. I have entered some of my birds in shows and have placed very well with them including some champions.

The Rhode Island Whites I got from a person that no longer wanted them. They originally came from Sand Hill Preservation. They are not nearly as popular as the Rhode Island Reds.

 

[hensaplenty9]

We have 3 love them. Huge eggs!

 

[N F C]

We've had 2 RIR girls in our mixed flock and have really enjoyed them, they have a lot of personality and are good egg layers. One of them, Zam, became the head ring leader of our flock but sadly, we lost her earlier this year. Her sister, Taylor, is still with us and will be 2 years old in December. I wouldn't hesitate to have them again or recommend them to anyone wanting one. Some people say RIR's are aggressive but we have not had that issue with ours.

Here they are with our EE, all about 4-5 months old.


Zam


Taylor

 

[cmom]

Looking for some laying hens Rhode Island Red. Anybody knows someone near Lakeland Florida that is a breeder

I'm not sure about laying Rhode Island Reds or Production Reds. I raise exhibition Rhode Island Reds. I show my birds at poultry shows. The next show will be towards the end of October at the Citrus County fairground auditorium. There will be plenty of birds there for sale. They are good layers of large brown eggs.

 

[becks1984]

We have a RIR called Ruby too! And another called Rose, both bantams and both by far the bravest & friendliest of all of our chickens

 

[Rudies Roost]

Here's my RIR boy (you'll see him in my avatar too), a bit naughty but a wonderful flock guard. He's produced a nice couple of chicks this year and we love having him around. Quite noisy and very curious, scared of my ducks but happy to charge at the neighbours dog! A great breed, I don't have any RIR hens but may look at getting some in the future. He's going through his first moult at the moment so he's a bit grumpy and not looking his best. ...

 

[Fred's Hens]

I remember seeing RIR's when growing up in New Zealand and they were very large, beautiful deep reddish black colour and laid large dark brown eggs. Fast forward 40 years and the RIR's I see now are smaller and more ginger-rust coloured. Even the eggs are a light brown to cream and only average sized. It seems, though, that some of the RIR's I've seen on this post are more like I used to believe they looked like. Is there a breed standard and has it changed over the years?

The hatcheries do not breed birds to the Standard for the breed, which is why so many folks post birds that do not look like the Reds you describe from your childhood. Hatcheries mass produce birds and yes, they are smaller, rusty colored and oft times mixed with Mediterrean blood to up egg production, which is what the customers want. While the color is most obvious difference, size, shape, temperment, feather quality and other aspects differ wildly.

True Rhode Island Reds are still available from breeders who still breed to the Standard, preserve these wonderful birds and exhibit them to show others what a real Rhode Island Red is.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I've seen some hatcheries, or even most, say that their birds are production strain or not show quality or for 4-H because they're bred for production not standard, does this mean they are not true RIRs? I've heard for true RIRs you have to go to breeders? I don't understand how they can even call them RIRs if they're not true to the breed?

Because there is no "Breed Police" running around giving tickets out. LOL.

In all seriousness? This topic ignites very, very strong feelings in people. Folks who procure their beloved pet birds from hatcheries do not appreciate folks saying things about their birds. It is human nature.

All chickens are just chickens. Chickens. Gallus gallus domesticus, I believe. All one species. The "artwork", if you will, of molding them into a particular "breed", described as such and such and so and so, is a human invention. All the "breeds" are a human invention. Other than a few landrace bird groups, most everything we call a breed was made by human breeders, tweakers of genetics to achieve a certain, detailed look to a bird. If you go by a strict interpretation of a breed's description in the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection, only those Reds produced by very careful breeding even come close enough to the Standard to be called good representatives of the breed. The same can be said for all the other breeds as well.

Hatcheries mass produce birds for available, inexpensive products for consumers who buy them. They are generally healthy birds and that is all folks care about. They typically only sort of, kind of look like the breed they are said to be. Are they? Some are a bit closer than others. Some birds sold as Rhode Island Reds are woefully far off and one has to practically suspend all belief to accept the claim.

So to re-cap, are all these reddish birds sold as RIR real RIR? It depends on who you ask and what you really want to hear for an answer. Are the hatchery reds good back yard layers? In many cases, yes indeed.

Are they the rich dark Reds, with the looooong flat backs, rich feather quality, protruding front keel silhouette of a true bred, true to Standard Rhode Island Red? I won't paste photos of the two kinds of birds side by side, but we could do so. Are they the same? It doesn't matter to many people, but to others, it matters a great, great deal. Different goals, different perspectives.