Bright red chickens?

[Windrider]

For the original poster, trying to breed the reddest possible chicken without the crazy gene splicing stuff, I think your best bet is to get into New Hampshires, like others have said.

Maybe Moonshiner can confirm if there are other breeds that are redder, but I think New Hampshire breeders have already been trying to get the reddest possible chicken within the current genes available. They are gorgeous, but to me are still orange or rusty red rather than true red. (not my chicken in the pic)

 

[Pensmaster]

So while watching a cardinal come to our birdfeeder the other day I suddenly got the idea of trying to breed a bright red chicken, just like a cardinal. think its a possibility?

Red golden pheasant comes real close.

 

[Amer]

No.
If it were possible, it would be all anybody had. But if you want to try anyways, start with a black tailed red like a RIR or Buckeye. Nice. Purplish red. The black helps enhance the shade I think. There is also this... red Orpingtons.

Technically solid red. It often has a more washed shade.

 

[NatJ]

Blue pigments don't exist in bird feathers. Instead, it is the structure of the feather itself that scatters or refracts light so that the light bouncing off them appears shades of blue, for the same reason the sky appears blue. Programing feather-forming cells to make a totally different feather structure seems like a much more complicated gene-teasing exercise.

Peacocks have really nice blues.

Peacock-chicken hybrids are rare but I think a few really do exist. (But they might be sterile, which is common for inter-species hybrids of any kind.)

But if I wanted to try for a real true blue in chickens, I would try to get it from peacocks, because they're the closest relative I know of that has it. And I would probably start by trying natural mating, to see if I could get a hybrid and cross it back to the chickens and interbreed the offspring. I would only go for a higher level of technology if that didn't work.

 

[Flat Earth]

Bright red Chicken, I say that is Super Cool! Bright red Chicks? = Would be dead chicks!

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

I will say, in terms of what I would call "red" Red Orpingtons are the closest to that out of the birds I've raised. While my heritage RIRs were a very deep mahogany, my Red Orp, is honestly pretty red. I wish she had a male counterpart because I suspect he would make the color difference more obvious. Maybe someone else can provide some feedback, but the difference to me is quite large and I almost wonder if it's a different sort of color genetically compared to the RIRs. Definitely no expert on any of this, but imo Red Orpingtons would be a good starting place for a project I think

 

[Flat Earth]

I only have one Chicken that has red color and that is my Rooster.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

With all the push back against GMO, I doubt there would be a market for transgenic red chickens! So who would buy them?

I would. They sound really cool, and I'd love to have some in my flock.

 

[Flat Earth]

I am working on Breeding Chickens that will live longer and lay longer, with longer legs so they can run fast.. I can't wait to see the colors when they are fully feather out.
I do like color red when comes to my rooster! i like my hens to be a brown color.

 

[Amer]

I will say, in terms of what I would call "red" Red Orpingtons are the closest to that out of the birds I've raised. While my heritage RIRs were a very deep mahogany, my Red Orp, is honestly pretty red. I wish she had a male counterpart because I suspect he would make the color difference more obvious. Maybe someone else can provide some feedback, but the difference to me is quite large and I almost wonder if it's a different sort of color genetically compared to the RIRs. Definitely no expert on any of this, but imo Red Orpingtons would be a good starting place for a project I thinkView attachment 2540245
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It is.
RIRs and Buckeyes e^Whe^WhCoCoMhMh
Orpingtons
e^Whe^WheCoCoDbDbMhMh

I agree, the Orp is more red.
I think a lot of the color discrepancy between the breeds is selective breeding though. The RIR could be the same shade but is selected not to me. I don’t think the Orp could be the same dark shade because it doesn’t have the black tail which helps darken the mahogany. I think it might have more potential to be red.