Production Reds

[NY chickens]

I have almost all PR. great layers! not mean at all. I have 35 reds, and I get about 2 doz eggs every day. huge eggs too. Usual wt of the eggs are between 2.8 and some as big as 3.6

 

[Melabella]

I have a red sex-link hen and she's wonderfully sweet and an excellent layer but has had terrible health problems. I don't think she'd even still be around today if I wasn't the type to take her to the vet! Check out this article from Animal Welfare Approved to learn more about the health problems: http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/TAFS-13-The-Prolific-Hen.pdf

Thanks for the article,,informative!

 

[draye]

Quote:
Wrong, they are not red sexlinks. If you read just about any of the catalogs from the hatcheries they tell yo uthat they are a cross between a New Hampshire roo over Rhode Island Red hens.

 

[astra-nomical]

Looks like golden sex link. Which lay the best biggest eggs ever. I have one. She is egg machine. I also have a RIR and she is the smartest and one of the best egg layers also. Very tame.

 

[Greanleef1]

That is not a RIR.

I'm pretty sure it is

 

[abserbean]

Do others have the problem of PR's getting mean after they start laying? I have a hatchery RIR (otherwise know as a PR) pullet. Right now she is the sweetest in our flock, even lets my two year old pick her up, and jumps into our lap/hand for treats. I hope she doesn't change! I know each chicken is different, and since we are working with a mixed breed there aren't breed specific characteristics, just wondering if other owners had a personality shift when they got older.

 

[astra-nomical]

I have a one year old RIR and she is a sweet heart. She is so gentle and my little boy totes her around she wont jump in our lap anymore but if we bend to pick her up she does not run. She will eat out of our hand too. She is my fav. Her and our Tophat we call beep beep.

 

[crowsnestfarms]

I have some young PR pullets that are about 2 1/2 months old. They are very tame and loveable. They prefer not to be picked up but they eat out of our hands and on occasion will fly up onto our laps or shoulders.

 

[Tomtommom]

They're mutts.

Just a blend of the main red bird breeds and they lay lots of eggs. Hatcheries do not breed for personality, they breed for production. And face it, mean roosters get the job done in the production area.

They're work-a-holics. Ever met a nice work-a-holic? They have a one track mind and they don't like being disturbed by anyone, that includes curious kids.

I have two PR, ofcourse sold to me as Rhode island red by a feed store. They're pretty scraggly looking birds. Went through explosive molt at 8 weeks. I wasn't looking for anything particular at the time, just a variety of backyard birds to start my flock. They're not very friendly, but most of my birds aren't. They tolorate me, really. Nobody pecks in my flock, unless they think you are food and then it's gently. One of my PR does like to challenge the rooster and chest bump him. I thought perhaps another rooster.. but there's no real signs other than the behavior and they're 10 weeks old.

We'll see how things go when they start laying.

 

[Bill Matthews]

To: Haveandtohold.......I am both outraged and appalled by the total lack of humane standards of treatment for animals by industrial agriculture.....However, I am almost sure that there is very little actual difference between using a hybrid or breed cross in a small flock and using a heritage breed...The problem arises from the housing, feeding, and health maintenance practices used by industrial agriculture...the breed itself is not the problem; it's the way the breed is managed......The report or policy statement you cited just says, in so many words, that poultry raisers should use sustainable breeding and management policies....I have many questions about who actually did the research, if any, and what their motives are...This being said, I am very sorry that your SexLink hen has so many health issues..You must be a saintly person to care so much...Hope that NOTHING I say here is offensive to you..Certainly do not mean to be. Take Care and Good Luck...