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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

hellbender
This breed should be rated #3 or better. First class birds. They might not get along well with some of the more fragile breeds but there is no more functional breed than the RIR, unless we discuss the NN/Turken that get along fine with RIRs.
 
chickimoma
Mine have always gotten along well but we're raised with mixed chick's which may have helped. They are tough birds and excellent layers.
 
BriskRooster
if you mean road island red, we have one she is very noisy and aggressive to others, but maybe that just how our one is.
 
Dustieburk
Do you get them as chicks because i got mine as chicks and mine aren't mean they are vary friendly .
 
sayga
I took in 2 RIRs and added them to my mini-flock of a RIR, an Easter Egger and a Polish. Those 2 new RIRs immediately were top of the pecking order. It didn't matter a lick that they were the newcomers. They came in and bossed everyone around. It's been a few months and now they have let my existing RIR in their clique, and the 3 of them rule the roost. I don't know if it's good or bad. None of the other chickens and chicks seem to care and the RIRs only nip enough to keep everyone in line. They don't go picking a fight; they just want the others to keep their distance and especially stay far away when I have treats out for them.
 
LauraSac
Hi SJ, you posted this quite a while ago, but you really seem to know your RIR's. I have a tiny flock of two RIR pullets, my first. My city has a 3-hen max and no roosters, so I chose RIR's because I needed sexed pullets and that's what my source had. The rest were too young to be sexed. My source is just a 4-H kid, but he gets his eggs and chicks from a breeder. My girls don't like to be picked up but they follow me around and eat out of my hand. With just two, there doesn't seem to be any kind of pecking order. If you have the time, would you mind looking at my profile pics and letting me know if you think they're PR or RIR? No matter what, I like them. Just curious.
 
Sylvester017
As heavier breed chickens age they can become progressively aggressive which means gentler or smaller breeds begin to be picked on. As chicks, pullets, or cockerels the young LF can be quite sweet. It's at about 1.5 to 2 years old that they come to their full maturity and display it with aggressive, dominant, or vicious behavior. A young flock is relatively calm but it's the oldsters that can really get honery! Our egg seller friend had to rehome several of her older hens as they became extremely injurious to the smaller-sized LF.
 
Stylishone
I love my Rhode Island Reds. They are so fun to watch and they love to come and get in my face and stare at me. Probably my favorite girls.
 
JessLynn
I have a three week old RIR that we keep in an action-packer with two other chicks (until they are old enough to go outside) and she is just the sweetest. She gets excited when I come near and will happily hop into my hand if given the opportunity. She also loves to sit on my chest and watch Netflix on my computer with me, and she actually watches it and talks back to it sometimes which is soo cute. She never gets treats when I have her out so she must just like to hang out.
 
Hen-rietta
I have 2 RIR that my neighbor gave to me. Unfortunately, because I got them a bit older, they are not as open to attention as the above posts but they don't peck at me or anything. They aren't huge fans of being held but they love my company. They will sit at my feet and stare at me if I'm reading outside, run with me if I run past them, and in general, stay close to me if I am around. When I walk towards their coop they get all excited. If I have a treat, they will do tricks...okay, I can get them to jump for the treats but still, you have to admit that it's cute. Oh, and they are learning to come to a specific whistle I have been using with them and treats. I love my RIRs and will gladly get RIR chicks when I build a bigger coop.
 
Turk Raphael
It appears to be a very small coop for 6 LG fowl but it really looks nice and they surely look happy and content! I suspect there's more room than can be seen from the pic or they get so much 'range' time, they are happy to just get into the coop and get some shut-eye...

Great Post!!!!
 
ChickInDelight
My Penny is just like that! My Prudy, from the same delivery, is not. (Penny is my avatar.) Penny chose to come through 2 doggy doors to lay and sleep in the house instead of cooping with the others.
 
ChicKat
Nice review.

Love what you did to modify that coop, I have one that is identical and I'm thinking that raising it up would make it more useful to me...great idea.
 
ALJhappychicken
I have a RIR hen named Nevylle. Odd name for a girl, I know, but it works. I raised her from a chick to a hen. I'm sorry that you had some bad experiences with them. If you have the time to let them know you and love them well, their aggressive tendencies would become sweet and innocent.
 

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Category
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Rating
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