Heritage RIR vs production RIR

[NYREDS]

A.T. Hagan :

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That is wishful thinking.

There is not one thing that makes those "Red" chickens that hatcheries are calling Rhode Island Reds a, true Rhode island Red little lone a Heritage Breed.

http://albc-usa.org/heritagechicken/definition.html

Hatcheries sell Production Breeds.

Chris

A Rhode Island Red is a production breed which is not necessarily the same as what some hatcheries are selling as Production Reds. The American commercial chicken industry was built on about five breeds of chickens and the Rhode Island Red was one of them. They were produced in the millions of birds before the industry went over to more profitable hybrids. They had standards of growth rate, fleshing, and rate of lay. With all due respect to the ALBC the commercial industry that made Rhode Island Reds famous parted company with the APA many decades ago because they emphasize different qualities. One judges (and gives ribbons) for cosmetic qualities and the other bought millions of birds based on their practical qualities that made them profitable.

I see a lot of very pretty Rhode Island Reds when I go the shows, some of them quite large birds. But when I ask the owners how many eggs the hens laid last year they start to mumble. I collect commercial poultry books from the thirties, forties, and fifties when grass raised was still the commercial norm. Rhode Island Reds get talked about a lot because they were one of the mainstay breeds of the day. I'd really love to find some of those birds. It's for sure that I haven't been able to find a commercial hatchery that can consistently supply them. Got some good girds once. The birds I ordered from that same hatchery the next year were awful. If there's a small breeder out there producing birds that can match the commercial qualities of those birds from sixty to eighty years ago I'd love to find them. I don't care if they are show quality or not.​

You have the history right. The separation between "production" Reds & "Heritage" Reds came about through the process of selective breeding. The production folks selected for egg production & growth rate ignoring appearance. The exhibition breeder selected for appearance ignoring productivity.
Get ahold of some old poultry magazines from the 1920s & 30s you'll find evidence of this split.

 

[greathorse]

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from what i can tell I say no.

Your bird is a very typical production/hatchery type Rhode Island Red. I am not sure why you are desiring that your bird be validated as an exhibitioin/heritage bird. If it is because that is what someone told you, they were mistaken. If it is because you desire to pass the offspring of this bird and your females as exhibition/heritage, then you will be mistaken. If you really simply want to know you have your answer. If it doesn't matter to you then you have a nice hatchery type cockeral, that you will likely enjoy. If it does matter to you then it would be a simple matter to go look at photo's of the heritage/exhibition birds and you will see the difference at a glance. In that case you will need to get some different stock so that you can have something other than typical hatchery type in you pens.

It is not very complex

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
from what i can tell I say no.

Your bird is a very typical production/hatchery type Rhode Island Red. I am not sure why you are desiring that your bird be validated as an exhibitioin/heritage bird. If it is because that is what someone told you, they were mistaken. If it is because you desire to pass the offspring of this bird and your females as exhibition/heritage, then you will be mistaken. If you really simply want to know you have your answer. If it doesn't matter to you then you have a nice hatchery type cockeral, that you will likely enjoy. If it does matter to you then it would be a simple matter to go look at photo's of the heritage/exhibition birds and you will see the difference at a glance. In that case you will need to get some different stock so that you can have something other than typical hatchery type in you pens.

It is not very complex

Your right I just want eggs. My only bitc. Excuse the french is alot of RiR"s seen on this website aren't any different than mine & yall don't say a word . I'm done with it .Good luck with figuring it out .I've seen RIR"S every color & some are light & yall say nothing. Then I post one & yall immediately say no way. Its not brick form. I can feed my chicks enough feed & they will look like a brick .I've been confused from yall's comments. Is it really that hard to get a RIR. Doesn't make since. It's just a bird .

 

[greathorse]

You will be happy with the birds you have. Good luck

 

[kathyinmo]

You can feed your chicks as much of whatever you want to ..... BUT, brick is a SHAPE, not a size. The TRUE heritage RIR should be brick shaped and of dark color (almost black).

You asked the question. Then, when you get the answer you do not want to hear, you get upset. Why is that?

Here is a true RIR (rosecomb) with pretty accurate coloring ....

this is a cropped picture, and looks a bit lighter than it really is ....

 

[7L Farm]

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Thank-You I am .

 

[7L Farm]

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My chickens legs look just the same & feathers are the same maybe darker.

 

[7L Farm]

My chicks get darker everyday. They start out light & get darker & shiner.

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
Your bird is a very typical production/hatchery type Rhode Island Red. I am not sure why you are desiring that your bird be validated as an exhibitioin/heritage bird. If it is because that is what someone told you, they were mistaken. If it is because you desire to pass the offspring of this bird and your females as exhibition/heritage, then you will be mistaken. If you really simply want to know you have your answer. If it doesn't matter to you then you have a nice hatchery type cockeral, that you will likely enjoy. If it does matter to you then it would be a simple matter to go look at photo's of the heritage/exhibition birds and you will see the difference at a glance. In that case you will need to get some different stock so that you can have something other than typical hatchery type in you pens.

It is not very complex

Your right I just want eggs. My only bitc. Excuse the french is alot of RiR"s seen on this website aren't any different than mine & yall don't say a word . I'm done with it .Good luck with figuring it out .I've seen RIR"S every color & some are light & yall say nothing. Then I post one & yall immediately say no way. Its not brick form. I can feed my chicks enough feed & they will look like a brick .I've been confused from yall's comments. Is it really that hard to get a RIR. Doesn't make since. It's just a bird .

I don't think anyone is personalizing an attack against you though it sounds as if you think they are.

Here's what a previous poster said:

To me, the thread is not putting down hatchery birds but is instead, distinguishing the differences between the two. If a person is not interested in keeping heritage Rhode Island Reds bred towards the standard, then by all means, hatchery birds are the way to go. I enjoyed my hatchery Rhode Island Red's personalities and their laying abilities. The heritage ones are much darker and have a good temperament as well. My females also tended to be much more prone to broodiness as well. It's all in what you are personally after in your flock.

That really sums it up. Do you have Rhode Island Reds? Yes you do but they are not of a line that has been selected to conform to the standard as defined by the APA. I suspect your are much more productive layers than the standard version as birds such as yours have been selected for productivity. It's not a case of better than it's a case of different from.​

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Or you could be like me and raise "Mississippi Reds". It's a mix of reds both heritage & production, so I don't call them either, then I don't make the purest breeders mad.

And yes, that was tounge-in-cheek, I know it's not a true breed or variety.