Rhode Island Red

cluck333 · Jan 23, 2016

I guess it was bad strains, because I've had the reverse. My RIRs are excellent layers but my Australorps are not that great.

coop410silkies · Jan 31, 2016

Good stuff to know. I like mine a lot, and I have nothing negative to say about them; they are friendly, and I can't remember when any of them caused any problems.

sedaeng · Feb 18, 2016

Thank you for sharing your experience with the RIR on a larger scale. I was having a hard time receiving the reviews Ive read so far with people only owning 2 to 4 birds.

RodNTN · Feb 27, 2016

I have a Rhode Island red also, she is so curious! She is a little aggressive, though. But not towards me. Every time I walk outside she follows me as if I have something for her!

RodNTN · Feb 27, 2016

By the way, her name is Penny!

N F C · Apr 15, 2016

I'm a RIR fan too...wonderful birds, good layers and spunky personalities. Glad to hear you are enjoying yours!

kaycountry1016 · Apr 16, 2016

I have 3 RIRs--very nice chicken. I can always depend on them to lay eggs. Yes, they are loud when they announce they have laid an egg LOL. I have a total of 8 chickens (5 different breeds) and they were (and still are) my first choice for an egg layer. My chickens are a year old now... Kay in NC... 4.16.16

arrowti · May 7, 2016

Where did you get your birds? Ours are crazy mean, all ten of them, but it might be from the place we got them. I'd love to have some nice ones!

SkunkWhisperer · May 7, 2016

I found the birds on craigslist. I didn't want to deal with heat lamps and such for fluffy little chicks, so that's why I bought birds that had feathered out. But the earlier you get them, the better. I had to build their coop and run and nesting boxes, so I spent hours just hanging around them. It was really cute how they would climb on me (just because I was warm) while I was hunched over working. I wish I had handled them more -- just picked them up and petted them and fed them -- back then, but I didn't like getting pooped on. The other thing is that I really keep my temper under control. I don't have a bad temper, but it can be SO exasperating when (for example) I need them in their run and a bird or two won't cooperate. I don't want them to ever be afraid of me. So I just close the door and come back when it's dark (they *really* don't like being left out in the dark!) and hope they haven't been killed. Beyond that, they do have a pecking order, so sometimes one will get a little bossy with another, and that seems kind of mean, but it's not to the level of fighting.

Oh, and then there are roosters. My flock came with two. I hated them. (Somewhere I've posted about that.) They were the meanest, most obnoxious birds in the world and never gave the hens a moment of peace. I returned one to the seller and got another hen (she's extremely skittish, probably because she didn't get the hands-on affection from me that the others did) and the second rooster I sold to a breeder. Roosters are jerks, to say the least.

arrowti · May 7, 2016

We got ours when they were 3 weeks old from a feed store (they only had ten left, and the price was going to increase the next week). They are like our black sex links - if you're anywhere near them, they completely freak and panic. They're also very aggressive with all our other chickens and are responsible for a good many of the bald heads many of our chickens have. Fortunately no roosters!

SkunkWhisperer · May 7, 2016

Wow...those sound like some seriously not-fun birds! I know this is probably not an acceptable thought here on BYC, but I'd turn the bullies into soup. Getting rid of my roosters dramatically changed the lives of my hens. Some of the girls are so calm and even lazy...giving themselves dust baths and just lying around. One leans to the broody side, too. They never had that kind of peace when the roosters were around.

SkunkWhisperer · May 7, 2016

BTW, you might want to try taking a folding chair into the run (if you have one that allows that) and reading a magazine article or a book for a few minutes every now and again. Wouldn't hurt to have some dried meal worms handy, too. You might want to place a towel over your legs (a poop barrier) and sprinkle some meal worms on it, just in case they get adventurous. I visit the hens every day to gather eggs, and I usually bring a little bowl of plain yogurt. I also clean the entire run and coop every week, so they have a lot of exposure to me that doesn't involve me trying to touch them...they don't think they need to run away whenever they see me. Patience is paramount...they don't like being pushed to do anything. Hope that helps...

coop410silkies · May 12, 2016

Most of my first flock were RIRs that I purchased as chicks from a feed store; I was new to chicks, and even though I spent a LOT of time socializing with them, they were never super friendly, and I had not much influence with them. They failed to go back to their coop when I finally let them out to free range, and coyotes made them history. I hastened to order replacements from a hatchery, along with a trio of over the top friendly SS, and these girls clearly knew I was their leader, as did the oops Roo, who turned out to be exceptionally decent and well mannered. These RIRs were everything good that has been stated in the review and in the comments; they did not live up to ANY of the negative comments I've read here. Either their temperaments are as variable as their provenances, or they depend a lot on circumstances.

sebloc · May 16, 2016

We just got ours as a week old, they're almost 2 weeks old now. We are worried just like you said, if you don't treat them well as babies, they won't grow up liking you. All 2 (we have different breeds) seem scared of us. Help?

SkunkWhisperer · May 18, 2016

@sebloc... While I'm pretty good with skunks, I wouldn't consider myself particularly knowledgeable about handling hens. And I know nothing about roosters because I find them entirely disagreeable creatures. (Read: "I hate them.") My hens don't love me. They love food. But they also are not afraid of me, and I think that's good. My advice is really pretty simple: View the world through their eyes. They are terrified of everything (hence the expression, "Don't be chicken!") and are essentially defenseless. So the trick for me has been to spend time around them and feed them treats (apples, yogurt, dried mealworms), and I always precede treats with a "kissing" sound. That way they come to me when I make that sound. But I'm also careful to always have food when I do -- if you fake them out, they'll stop responding. I think it's important to pick them up from time to time but to NOT pick them up every time you see them. In other words, they need to get used to being handled (and for it to not be a bad experience) but they also need to feel comfortable with you being around and NOT always trying to get them. I know there are chicken owners who let their birds in their houses. That'll never happen with my birds...they poop at random. And I've seen videos of people with birds who seem like being handled. I don't know how they do it, but I'm also not out to be friends with the hens. I didn't name them. I just want them to come when I call...almost always back into the coop after they've been free ranging. I hope this helps.

coop410silkies · Jul 28, 2016

Most of my very first birds were hatchery RIRs, which came with an oops cockerel. The cockerel became a GOOD Roo, not aggressive to anybody or any hen or even other cockerels later on. The hens are not exceptionally friendly, as a rule, but they are not mean or aggressive, either, and there are some friendly exceptions. These guys are real workhorses and are reliable, excellent layers. Mine were not sold as production RIRs, but neither are they Heritage; they do not go broody, and mine don't lay in the winter. I like this breed a lot and am interested in learning more about the HR.

1906 · Jul 29, 2016

I have 3 Herritage Rhode Island Red hens which I have hatched in an incubator 2 years ago. They are very friendly, getting on my back, shoulder or even my head when bending down to clean up in their coop and run! Although they have a pecking order, I have never seen any of them being mean or aggresive to each other. They lay extremely well, reliable 5 eggs per week each, even when molting! Winter does not stop them laying either, but I have to mention that we live in North Queensland, Australia, so winter is a joke here

(As my HRIR's are showing me). They do get broody too and one of them is sitting on eggs at the moment (for the first time sitting on eggs, but not the first time broody) and she is extremely dedicated. Have to see how good her mothering skills will be. I am very pleased with this breed.

JenellYB · Aug 6, 2016

So true! I had learned this years ago, never liked RIR for this reason. I guess in my old age I've let some things I once knew slip, because 4 mos ago I decided to buy some Golden Sex link chicks from Ideal hatchery, that are RIR X RIW cross, for their super egg production. And, just because a adore them, and want to thrill my grandkids with colorful eggs, bought some Ameracaunas too. Now, at 4 mos, I'm in big trouble. 14 GSLs, and 5 Americaunas, and all I can see now is I'm going to have to build a separate coop and yard for the poor Americaunas.

jburts · Aug 9, 2016

my RIR is very friendly, just one of them with three well summers, and one ameracaunas
did have a barred rock that was one years old and she died all of a sudden, just a few weeks ago.I'm down to five chickens from 7 I also lost one of my five year old ameracaunas.
the other amercauna I have left is also five and still laying eggs, mostly just in the summer now.

gadus · Sep 27, 2016

Your first bird laid right through the winter without let-up? Artificial light or no?

Though I too don't handle the birds much, I heard the Reds were not as nice as I remembered, due to different breeding techniques (novice here so not sure how that would work)... Of course, if they're laying who cares about personality?

Rhode Island Red

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