my rhode island reds are so mean!!!!!!!!!!

[Pet Duck Boy]

I always hear about this, but my 3 production reds are the sweetest things in the world. None are mean. One is slightly dominant, that's all, and at times loves attention. One doesn't like being picked up, but enjoys sticking very close. Another one is a total lap chicken, if she's on your lap and you try to get up, she'll scream at you so you will sit back down. For those who have raised the production reds, and had evil ones....how did you raise them? I handeled mine from day one and couldn't have asked for a better begginer breed!

 

[tammyd57]

Quote:
Do you remember his name. It would be interesting I may have know him. I use to live on the west coast as a kid.

There is a fellow in Calif named Dave Anderson who has your old kind of Rhode Island Reds.

Also, I found a strain in South Carolina where this fellow has raised his Rhode Island Reds for over 40 years and his strain started in Calif. He said he got them from a friend who bought out a old timer poultry from a estate sale after he died. He was given a few of these and still has them in his 70s. They look just like the ones in the 1940s.

If you would like to get some I would be happy to get you some eggs some day. There are not alot of these birds left anymore but if you look hard you can get started.

Like you say they are not mean either. bob

The man I got my original RIR's from was named Patrick, I don't remember his last name now, but about 3 years after I got my birds, Patrick passed away and his daughter sold his farm and all his animals. At that time, I had plenty of birds and didn't think to buy more of them. Patrick was very helpful with my breeding program and I learned a lot from him, he really loved his birds. He lived near Porterville, California, not far from me.
I would love to have more of these birds, and I have 3 mixed breed laying hens that would love to hatch some eggs for me.

 

[tammyd57]

Quote:
I raised my Production Reds just like all the chickens I've ever had. Daily handling while they were young, and periodic examinations after they were 3 or 4 months old. I don't treat my chickens like pets though, they're livestock in my yard. But I prefer livestock that doesn't bite me!

When they reached sexual maturity, they ALL started being mean, not just to me, but each other, the dogs, my cat, no one was safe. And before you start thinking I had a buncha mean roos--- I only had one rooster and a dozen hens. The hens were worse than the rooster! At least I had some understanding for his aggression. I had to separate my pen so they couldn't hurt my other chickens. The day my neighbors sweet old cat got pecked til he was bleeding was the day I decided there was going to be 13 new recruits for freezer camp.
I got those chickens from Murray McMurray Hatchery. The Barred Rocks I got in the same order were funny looking but they grew up to be very nice and docile chickens.

ETA: I couldn't find any reason for them being mean. I had about 65 chickens in a half acre pen (with 5 more acres for free ranging) with a large barn for a coop, so they had a lot more than enough space, no food shortages or anything else I could see as a cause. And none of the other breeds acted that way.

 

[Robert Blosl]

do your mean reds look like these?

Found this picture in my computer to post on the Heritage Large Fowl Thread.

I think this picture is from Germany?

I had a mean chicken one time I was putting feed in his feeder and he jumped up in the air two feet and put his long spur in the top of my hand above my knuckles

That stick in my hand got infected and cost me $200. in medical bills. I gave him to a fellow down the road at Fish River with two white rock bantam females. I got some of these birds back last year
I call them my Fish River Line. Perfect type no meanness in the bunch. The old man I gave them to breed it out of them.

bob

 

[sheila3935]

my RIR's can be mean when integrating other birds. I wait til warmer weather then a shot with the hose usually stops them. This winter we put 2 ducks in the coop with them til we got more suitable housing for the ducks. They terrorized the drake. Left the duck alone was even nice to her let her share their nestboxes. I have more hens that I want to put in the large coop but I will wait til spring so it will go better.

 

[tammyd57]

Quote:
The mean ones I had were a lot more orange than red.
The man I had gotten my nice RIR's from also had a line of birds he had been working on for a number of years that were RIR/BO crosses. He had gotten those to breed true and they were some really nice birds, really meaty, strawberry blond, sweet tempered, and great egg layers. I had bought 6 of those hens too and bred them back to my good RIR roo and shared all those babies with friends.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

I had two GORGEOUS RIR hens years ago, but they were really bad with the other chickens too. My rooster ended up killing both of them while protecting his other hens...

 

[duckking]

My RIR's are the last 2 on the pecking list and sweet as can be......go figure.

 

[farmerChef]

My cousin used to have an evil roo. He would come across the yard to come at you, you couldn't go outside without a stick or shovel. Don't know why he wouldn't get rid of him, his daughter (10) was terrified to go outside by herself. Finally we found him outside one morning without a head. That evil rooster was finally dead, he'd been knockedout with a shovel many times, punted across the yard, and slapped with sticks, and had spurred and bloodied many knees and shins.
I think he liked having an evil rooster. He had other roosters, wasnt his only one either.

 

[Robert Blosl]

The lighter the color or rustic shade the higher chances they will be mean. Its a funny thing that leghorns I dont think are so mean I dont know about the hatchery ones as I have never had any. But there is someting about the hatchery reds that you buy in feed stores and catalogs and have mailed to you they seem to be the ones that give all the problems.

I wish Monroee Babcock was alive and I could ask him why this is. He developed the strain of production reds called Babcock 290s I think. They are still used in Europe for brown egg production.

These where once crossed I think with brown leghorns 30 or 40 years ago with Old Fashion Rhode Island Reds and breed for high egg production.

They still use the name Rhode Island Reds when selling them but they are not. The correct term is commerical, production or Ulitity Reds.

They are good layers for sure and that is what they are breed for but they have lost the docile traits that the old fashion Rhode Island Reds have today.

If you breed these prodution reds to be more docile they most likely would loose thier egg production over time.

Hope this paints a picture so you know the differnce between production reds and R I Red large fowl and why some are mean and some are not. Its very simple. bob