Ar these rhode island reds?

[moflip78]

 

[junebuggena]

The one in the back is a Rhode Island Red. The one in the middle looks like a Red sexlink. The one in front looks like a Production Red.

 

[moflip78]

thank you so much!

 

[Michael OShay]

I agree with junebuggena; the bird in the center is a Red Sex Link pullet. The birds in the front and back are both Production Reds, but both of them may have been marketed by the hatchery as Rhode Island Reds as technically there is little or no difference between Production Reds and hatchery quality RIRs and New Hampshires. It's unlikely, but depending on the hatchery involved they could have also marketed the darker red PR in the back as an RIR and the lighter red PR in the front as an NH.

 

[Weehopper]

Just an aside. What is the difference between a red sex- link and a production red? Is it the way they are bred?

 

[junebuggena]

A red sexlink is a cross of two different breeds, usually a RIR rooster and a leghorn, Delaware, or White Rock hen. The resulting chicks are sexable at hatch because the males and females have different down colors. A production Red is a cross between RIR and New Hampshire Red. The chicks can't be sexed by color. Both lay very well.

 

[Weehopper]

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Thanks for clearing that up.

I have both breeds and I love them .

 

[Michael OShay]

A red sexlink is a cross of two different breeds, usually a RIR rooster and a leghorn, Delaware, or White Rock hen. The resulting chicks are sexable at hatch because the males and females have different down colors. A production Red is a cross between RIR and New Hampshire Red. The chicks can't be sexed by color. Both lay very well.

Actually Leghorns are not normally used in Red Sex Link crosses as they usually do not have the silver gene necessary to produce Red Sex Links. Even White Rocks can be iffy and the hatcheries that use White Rocks use birds that that have been proven to have the silver gene. Red Sex Links are produced by crossing a red gene rooster (Rhode Island Red, Production Red, or New Hampshire) with a silver gene hen (Rhode Island White, Delaware, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Light Sussex, and sometimes silver factor White Rock). Not only can the offspring be sexed by color at hatching (male chicks are whitish, female chicks are reddish), but they are egg laying machines, outlaying either parent breed. It's one of the interesting quirks of hybridization. However Red Sex Links will not breed true and the offspring of two RSLs cannot be sexed by color at hatching.
Production Reds are produced by crossing a red gene rooster (Rhode Island Red, Production Red, or New Hampshire) with a red gene hen (RIR, PR, or NH). Production Reds do breed true in the sense that the offspring will all be red gene birds that look basically like the parents. Unlike Red Sex Links, Production Red chicks cannot be sexed by color. Technically speaking there is little or no difference between hatchery quality RIRs, NHs, and PRs which are primarily concerned with egg production rather than maintaining APA standards. If the Production Reds have darker red feathering (closer to mahogany), the hatcheries typically market them as RIRs. If their PRs have lighter red feathering (closer to chestnut), they typically market them as NHs. If the red shade is somewhere between, or if it is very uneven, they market them as PRs. Production Reds are also excellent layers, although normally they are not quite the egg laying machines that Red Sex Links are.

 

[moflip78]

i got this one...red sex link?