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Rhode Island Red

Rhode Island Reds are one of the most popular and oldest known breeds of chicken and was developed mainly in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the mid 1840's.
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Seldom
Climate Tolerance
Cold
Egg Productivity
High
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Brown
Breed Temperament
Friendly, Easily handled, Calm,
Breed Colors/Varieties
The Rhode Island Red is only recognised in Red.
Breed Size
Large Fowl
APA/ABA Class
American
Color
Red or white
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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.

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Rhode Island Red eggs

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Rhode Island Red chicks

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Rhode Island Red rooster

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Rhode Island Red juvenile

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Rhode Island Red hen

For more info on Rhode Island Reds and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-rhode-island-red.1021447/
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Latest reviews

Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies
Pros: Great for eggs and meat
Stereotypical roos
Very pretty
Not very broody
Cons: Males are kind of aggressive
Great birds! The roos are very pretty and the hens are very sweet.
These are the birds you think of when you think of a rooster.
Great review, love it, good job!
Addicted To Chickens
Pros: Friendly
Easy to hold
Good laying production
Cons: Scaredy
RIRs are a very good laying breed and I would highly recommend them for eggs. They can also be mean to the other chickens.
Mary Poopins Love
Pros: Good layers

Friendly ( most times )
Cons: Can be VERY agressive

Broody often
I have four RIR hens. they are good layers most times, however they go broody often in my flock. Three of my four hens are friendly and social, but nugget, the mean one acted very agressivly to me and is a bully to Mary Poopins and fuzzy.
Purchase Price
Free ( from neighbors )
Purchase Date
2022
Read more…

Comments

wvdoubledfarms
Some of your hatchery RIR is like that and can also be egg eatters to.My heritage RIR gets along with everbody
 
HeyLady
My RIR roo was so sweet as a chick. Then, the hormones kicked in around 6 months or so, and he got mean for about a month until we figured out what was happening to him and how to fix it. My husband goes into the run often and picks him up like a baby and holds him under his arm in the football hold, or even upside down by his feet. But he carries him around for a few minutes and then puts him back down. Then, hubby touches the hens and if the roo comes back charging, hubby picks him up and carries him around again. I never had to go in and do anything, but since hubby has been doing that, roo hasn't flogged at me either. If he's still young, he can be taught, too. He's still great at defending his ladies, only now, he does it against real threats, not us. :)
 
mikeyb
Of the 8 RIR's I had there was one that was crazy from the first. Always pecking all the others. As she grew older she never mellowed and was culled. Life is too short for putting up with this.
There is always pecking going on, it is their social behavior.
My flock now consists of 1 BJG, 2 Eng Orp, and 6 RIR's. All are friendly and will eat from my hand.
My BJG doesn't like to be held but will tolerate it. (He's my Blue Roo)
 
Spikes Chooks
Sorry you had such an awful time withy these RIRs. I have one and she is the top chook and never mean to the others. Actually, it was hard to telll the pecking order there was such little pecking. She is bold, curious, friendly and the others defer to her without fuss. She doesn't jump inot my lap as others do, but is happy to be picked up by me. I am sure there is a lot of luck involved in a chicken's personality - and you had the bad kind, I'm sure!
 
Zrcalo
we rescued a RIR hen, and HOLY COW SHE WAS MEAN!!! She ended up killing a rooster and plucked two other chickens bald. We had to cull her because of how aggressive she was. Yeah, never owning any RIR's ever. :/ Did you buy any of these birds in arizona?
 
monkeywoman1953
I guess whether or not the RIR's are mean-tempered birds depends on your basic bloodline. I USED to have some that were aggressive, years ago...they were commercial hatchery chicks. The ones I have now are nice, quiet birds, not aggressive to my other chickens, nor humans, and don't mind being picked up and handled, either. They also came from a (different) commercial hatchery. Go figure !
 
monkeywoman1953
Oh, and BTW, I currently also have some of the "Gold Sex-links," that are a cross of the RI Red x RI Whites. They are very sweet calm birds, too, even as youngsters. Came from Ideal Poultry in Texas., a BIG commercial hatchery. Haven't started laying yet, so am not sure about egg production, but Ideal DOES breed everything for production.
 
M Rinier
I get many questions here at Horizon Structures about different breeds of chickens. Are the RIR good egg layers? Are there any chickens anybody recommends for first timers who may just be getting in to chickenry?
 
LillianMae
I would recommend RIR's to any newly, I've had them before and they've always been great, and they have such beautiful coloring too!
 
Roan
Hmm, I've always had RIR's when I've had chickens. I don't pick any of my chickens up so they don't come that close to me unless it's feeding time. I've never ever had an overly-aggressive RIR hen or rooster. In fact, I've got 1 RIR, 1 Plymouth Rock and 2 Americana roosters and of the 4, only the Plymouth Rock has an attitude and will jump me if my back is turned. Not sure what his deal is. But I don't think it's the breed.
As for the RIR's, when my hens go broody, they will peck at me when I get near their nest or move them to a brooding box and when a new flock member is introduced, they will establish their seniority but other than that, they're really docile.
I guess if one had to be rescued, then it probably learned to be mean in order to protect itself. My suggestion is not to judge an entire flock by 1 or 2 birds.
"Rhode Islands are aggressive birds with the roosters frequently fighting when confined to too small of a space. However, they tend to do very well with humans, coming running when it's time to be fed or even just to be held. It's quite normal for a Rhode Island Red to hop up onto your arm to roost." http://www.chickenbreedslist.com/Rhode-Island-Red-pictures,-video,-information-and-chicks.html
 
outdoormomof7
We love our RIR! They are very nice birds but like CinnamonQueen, ours don't like to be held. Each give an egg a day too.
 
Dawna
I have one RIR, 1 BPR and 3 SLW. The RIR is by far the best layer. She lays an egg two days in a row then skips a day. I can only pick her up if I corner her in the pen.
 
PandoraChick
What a sweetheart she was. My 2 RIR girls are very similar...I have never once seen them pick on another hen. Though one eats eggs ...I just manage it by getting the eggs really early. The only con...they are NOISY, LOL. When they see me , they chase after me, making this loud obnoxious Hawww sound.
 

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Category
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Rating
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