How Many Different Breeds of Chickens Have a Red Variety?

[Finnie]

Quote: OK that's all I have time for today.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Oh, you are right- I am going to uncross them! The person who told me they are red said I should try to see some exhibition ones at a poultry show, so I am going to wait until spring and see what I can find there. It would be really great to "help" a struggling heritage breed, even if by only owning one of them.

And I bookmarked the article by Nettie Metcalf so I can read through the whole thing at my leisure. The beginning was very interesting. It seems that her original goal was really all about the red color....

Right on both counts.

Losing the genetic diversity of rare breeds is a true loss. Just owning some can help their popularity.

The breed I raise is so unknown in the US, and most of the rest of the world for that matter. Up until a mink slaughter last May, I'm pretty sure I had the biggest flock in North America.

 

[Finnie]

Quote: What breed is that?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Black Penedesenca.

 

[Finnie]

I have not gotten back to add more red breed photos to this because I have gotten distracted by reading about the Buckeye breed. What an awesome chicken! I can't wait for April, so I can go to a poultry show and hopefully see some in person.

(I do still plan to add more photos though, when I have time.)

 

[Finnie]

Quote:

Well it has been fun learning about these different breeds. I'm not sure which is my favorite yet. I liked the Buckeye's history. The redcaps are pretty cool, but I'm not sure about those huge combs. I already knew I liked the Sussex breed for its other colors, and the red is just one more example of how nice they can be. And of course the RIR is a classic.

It sure would be nice if more breed experts would come on here and teach us a little bit about some of these chickens. Looking them up one by one works. But it would be nice to have a little blurb about each one, summed up together all in one place.

 

[Finnie]

Quote:


I am going to add Wyandotte to this list. (Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, that is.) I left them off at first, because the photos I was finding of them looked like a half grey-half red bird. But now I am seeing some with black lacing (which confusingly are still considered Blue Laced Red because the black-blue-splash are all part of the genetics of the Blue Laced Reds). So when they have the black lacing, they look a little more like a red bird. I actually think they look more brown than red, but I guess red as the main feather color is what they are striving for. Anyway, to me, the black laced ones are pretty, and the blue laced ones are like I said, a half grey bird. I haven't found a splash laced photo yet, but I can't imagine that looks any redder.