Red Birds:Cofusion and arguing:

[Michael OShay]

Red sexlinks would be a Hybrid.Same for Production red,(Mentioned it is bred with 3 different breeds.)

Red Sex Links are definitely a hybrid. They are produced by crossing a red gene rooster with a silver gene hen and two Red Sex Links will not breed true. Whether or not Production Reds are hybrids is debatable, depending on who is defining a hybrid and how they define it. Both parents of a Production Red are red gene chickens, and as a result, Production Reds will breed true and produce red gene offspring. While clearly not a breed sanctioned by any of the poultry governing bodies, some Production Red breeders such as Purely Poultry (https://www.purelypoultry.com/blog/...tween-production-reds-and-sex-linked-hybrids/) do refer to Production Reds as a true breed instead of a hybrid. Clearly this is just Purely Poultry's (and others) opinions as there is no real standard for Production Reds. As Chris09 said, there will always be disagreement on these birds.

 

[maxsgoldens]

That's the thing. Not all production red is a hybrid. If it has only two parent breeds it is just a cross breed, but if one of its parents or even both are cross breeds then it is a hybrid. It needs 3 different parental breeds or more to be a hybrid

 

[Michael OShay]

That's the thing. Not all production red is a hybrid. If it has only two parent breeds it is just a cross breed, but if one of its parents or even both are cross breeds then it is a hybrid. It needs 3 different parental breeds or more to be a hybrid

Most hatcheries breed Production Reds by crossing a Production Red males with Production Red females, so that really muddies the water in the true breed vs. hybrid question. Unlike Sex Links, a Production Red rooster X a Production Red hen will give you Production Red offspring. Does that mean then that the Production Red is a true breed? It all depends on who you ask.

 

[Honey B]

Interesting topic that has been a source of confusion for me as a new chicken owner. Enjoying the conversation and the different perspectives.

 

[maxsgoldens]

Its not a true breed because production reds do not breed true. If you were to breed a production red room with a or hen the offspring would come out all colours.

 

[Michael OShay]

Its not a true breed because production reds do not breed true. If you were to breed a production red room with a or hen the offspring would come out all colours.

I've bred Production Reds together several times and the offspring turned out red; just like their parents

 

[maxsgoldens]

I'm going to lay a few facts down right now......

A production red hen is a very generic term. It could mean new Hampshire's or Rhode island reds which are very poor quality in terms of breed standard but produce more than average eggs for the breed.
A production red could also be a cross breed or hybrid which is composed of a gold cockerel bred with a silver hen. This will produce yellow male chicks and brown female chicks. This is called sex linkage. The males are killed day one which is why you do not see them for sale. Because of this no one realises that they are actually white. Therefore already you can see the production red hybrid/cross does not breed true.

A hybrid implies the parents consisted of three or more parent species. Is a Rhode island red x leghorn cockerel crossed with a Sussex hen would produce hybrid offspring, however a Rhode island red cockerel bred with a Sussex hen would produce a cross breed.

Commercially when it comes to producing eggs for sale in shops etc. Farmers use a production red hybrid. The parent birds are cross breeds which are nor available to us as back yard keepers and include rir,new Hampshire, leghorn, Sussex and many other breeda . the cockerels used for breeding as I said before are silver and the hens are gold is brown, buff etc

To answer the questions,can production reds be classed as a true breed,the y cannot. They are either cross between two species( a common cross is a rir male over light Sussex hen and are bred by many breeders to produce eggs for the backyard and sold to people like us), a hybrid which like the crosses is bred not to breed true in order to sex them as chicks or they are a pure bred albeit bad quality which should be known by its breed name is Rhode island red or new hampshire , which are not production reds but bad quality backyard hens which are fine for laying

 

[matt44644]

Although I do believe they weights are possible,I have heavy hens.

The PRfan, why did you get a new account?

 

[matt44644]

Here's some of my 'red" birds.

 

[maxsgoldens]

They look like two Rhode island reds and a new hampshire