Chicken Breed Focus Rhode Island Red

[cmom]

If you look at how a Production Red (Red sex link, Red Stars.. etc...) becomes, you will find that it really is only in it's purest form... 1/2 Rhode Island red. (And that is to say that the breeder even used a RIR, as they don't have to! It can be many gold gened roosters!)

But, there is much confusion about RIR's. When you start breeding out qualities that a RIR has, such as being dual purpose, to just one purpose, being egg laying, you have to go outside what the SOP states a RIR is and should be. (And outside those original lines) In short, when doing so, it isn't a RIR any-longer.

A True RIR bread with a true RIR will not be a production bird. It will be a True RIR that is a dual purpose egg-layer and meat bird.

Essentially, a Production Red is a cross breed. That is why you can not trace the lines, as you will most times not even know what is being used to produce a production layer. I mean you could, but you would only be tracing the one side.. and that is if it is even a RIR that is being usd, as there are quite a few combinations that will yield production reds. (Breeding wise)

I agree...

 

[cmom]

Quote:
But it is interesting.

 

[Nadene]

Lol that's a good one. and really my dog isn't a mix because he's just pure dog hehe

The father is a dog and the mother is a dog? I have purebred chickens as well lol

 

[cmom]

heh.. Hatcheries are trixy, that is why a good well know RIR breeder is a must. A breeder vs a hatchery = basically a breeder is looking out for the heritage line, and trying to preserve the pure breed hence the SOP. Hatcheries, much like any other businesses, want to make money. It isn't there for preservation of anything. Most people want layers, especially when people are just getting into chickens. And in my opinion, that is alright with me. I am cool about where a person gets their birds from. I have 4 Sex links that are egg producing machines, the sad part is they burn out easily. And die by 2-4 years of age. I have plans to put my red over my Barred Plymouth Rocks at some point to get some black sex links in a year or so.. But will also be increasing my RIR stock a well as I find them to be just beautiful birds.

Well said. Good luck with your BSL's. I have RIR's and RIW's in both Single Comb and Rose Comb. I bred a SC RIR male to my SC RIW females and get beautiful RSL's. I think maybe because I'm breeding heritage birds that maybe it could be the reason they seem not to burn out as quickly as hatchery stock. This past spring I did the same with one of my RC RIR males with RC RIW females and got a totally different chick. I thought the white chicks should be males as with the SC breeds and the females would look like the female RSL but it didn't turn out like that. One of the white chicks did turn out to be a male but the rest turned out to be females. I kept a couple of the white chicks thinking they were males and was planning on processing them. Here is one that is a female. I gave the others to a friend. These are the 2 I kept thinking they were males with some of the RC RIR chicks. What a surprise. Something with the Rose Combs didn't work the same as with the Single Combs.

When the RC RIR/RC RIW mix were chicks.






Some of the RSL's I kept from my SC RIR male with SC RIW female breeding.


One of my older RSL girls. She is 5 years old and still laying very well. She is talking to her White Leghorn buddy.

Every time I bring up chickens my dad kept saying he wants RIRs but I had heard they could be mean so I didn't. But maybe I will have to add some breeder ones eventually.

My heritage RIR's are great birds. They lay very well except during their molt. I do show them at poultry shows and last year after many years of careful breeding 3 of my birds won champions. I know showing isn't for everyone.

 

[cmom]

Quote: For the most part Production Reds from most hatcheries are crosses between New Hampshires and Rhode Island Reds, Production Reds were developed. Their coloring is similar to a Rhode Island but is not as consistent as they vary from dark to light. Production Reds are great producers of large brown eggs. Most will lay an average of around 300 eggs per year.

 

[ShrekDawg]

The father is a dog and the mother is a dog? I have purebred chickens as well lol

Yup, definitely just pure dog. although I think he might actually be part sloth with the way he sleeps almost all day or part alligator with the way he snaps the air (during play or when he's sassing you lol). Maybe part cow too. Forever grazing. Maybe he's truly a mix after all.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Well said. Good luck with your BSL's. I have RIR's and RIW's in both Single Comb and Rose Comb. I bred a SC RIR male to my SC RIW females and get beautiful RSL's. I think maybe because I'm breeding heritage birds that maybe it could be the reason they seem not to burn out as quickly as hatchery stock. This past spring I did the same with one of my RC RIR males with RC RIW females and got a totally different chick. I thought the white chicks should be males as with the SC breeds and the females would look like the female RSL but it didn't turn out like that. One of the white chicks did turn out to be a male but the rest turned out to be females. I kept a couple of the white chicks thinking they were males and was planning on processing them. Here is one that is a female. I gave the others to a friend. These are the 2 I kept thinking they were males with some of the RC RIR chicks. What a surprise. Something with the Rose Combs didn't work the same as with the Single Combs.

When the RC RIR/RC RIW mix were chicks. Some of the RSL's I kept from my SC RIR male with SC RIW female breeding. One of my older RSL girls. She is 5 years old and still laying very well. She is talking to her White Leghorn buddy. My heritage RIR's are great birds. They lay very well except during their molt. I do show them at poultry shows and last year after many years of careful breeding 3 of my birds won champions. I know showing isn't for everyone.

They definitely seem like great birds. I think I'll have to add some eventually, especially since heritage ones seem like they'd be friendlier? But wow that's awesome, congratulations! I think I'd probably just make them pets but it would be fun to try to enter them in a show or few sometime.

 

[Zackman23434]

I think you got what I was trying to say now. I have production Reds from McMurray. If they have any actual RIR in them at all then part of them had to have come from the originals somewhere down the line haha. I'm extremely happy with mine so far. I have a timeline thread of my flocks progress with tons of pictures and for the most part they look pretty darn good. A couple of the girls are much lighter and look more like New Hampshires but the many are actually quite dark compared to other Production Reds I've seen. They are smaller compared to my Deleware pullets at 17 weeks and actually vary in size quite a bit. The smallest two are quite a bit smaller then the rest and actually look the most mature which is curious. The production red cockerel is larger then the GLW and Deleware cockerels though. He is huge. No eggs yet but expecting soon.

 

[daskhan]

I'm wondering if it would be more cost effect just to breed the production back or closer to the heritage granted is rather keep the egg laying ability of the production but breed to darker red like the heritage I think it's possible

 

[Zackman23434]

I'm sure they have to do something like that anyway in order to keep the productions from looking more and more like New Hampshire