Pros and Cons of RIR's

[s6bee]

I am very tempted to step foot in our feed store tomorrow a.m. ( Rumor has it, they have RIR chicks arriving )
I have 5 hens right now, live in the suburbs. My neighbors are OK with it right now, but I do have to be careful since they really aren't allowed. Anyway, I have Deleware, BR, SLW, and Austrolorp. I get just enough eggs right now to feed my family and maybe sell a doz. occassionally. I have been getting more requests for eggs and I can't keep up. I'd like to add a couple more hens. RIR are the only ones the store will have available, but I really want to make sure they are right for my situation.
Can you all tell me your experience with them. They will NOT free range.

Thanks!

 

[Eggseronious]

Rhode Island are great breed, the roosters can become a menace

sometimes. Really they are great birds and will lay a large egg and U will have to have a Leghorn to beat their production.

I seen your list of other hens and they will be an asset to your flock. I see U live in the burbs so they will range just about right.

 

[peruvian_princess]

I second that! RIRs are the bomb! They lay and lay! One will occasionally take a break but the others make up for her lack there of. My avatar is my favorite RIR hen! She is my baby! Here are some pictures of mine.

 

[s6bee]

Thanks guys. I have read through here to see if there is a way to attempt sexing these guys. Found some interesting info to say the least and will give it a try. I can't have a rooster and I think the store will have them out as a straight run.
The tips I read here were
1. dark stripe on female head
2. if you hold the chick up by the head for a second, the females will be calmer then the roos? ( I thought that was bizzare )
3. the old wing feather theory ( hens will have 2nd row shorter on wing tips )

Can you agree or disagree to any of this?

Thanks

 

[ruth]

In RIR the females get their wing and tail feathers quicker than the males and the males get their combs faster. So if you see a RIR chick with no tail and a comb it's a male. I have a dozen RIR youngsters (several weeks old) - two turned out to be roos and the tail/wing/comb differences held true.

 

[Eggseronious]

Strike No 2

 

[scgamecock]

RIR's are great layers and they are a beautiful bird to boot.Many of the hatchery birds are lighter color than the breeder variety but they are bred for egg production first.

 

[Eggseronious]

Quote:
Yes I love those Dark Chestnut colors!

 

[Break an Egg]

I heard what the hatchery sells as RIR are really production reds (cherry eggers) but they still lay alot of nice brown eggs.
The stripe down the back, for the RIR's and NHR's always mean pullet, but not all of the pullets have the stripe

I have two NHR's and I love them, they are nearly two weeks old. They are very calm and sweet and genetically very close to the rir's.
Edited to say: If you look at the henderson's breed chart, it says that RIR's are actually "Popular, but purebreds are uncommon.
68%/44%/28% (production/red/white)"

NHR's are "Fairly common
72%"

If you really want something else, call the feed store and ask if they can get it.
If they are anything like the one I go to, they will atleast call the hatchery and see if they can "throw them in" on an upcoming order.

 

[ams3651]

I was also told at the feed store that some of the old timers say RIR roosters have red beaks, but Im pretty sure I picked one when I got mine. He has a dark red beak and thicker legs ( which I read on here) and had a white paint on the end of his beak??? wondering about that if it was the hatchery marking them. I have another one though that had a red tipped beak and a white tip but doesnt quite look like the other one. My others have the dark strip on their heads and their wing feathers look different, but they arent a week old yet even so Im just guessing from what Ive read.