First, let me correct any misunderstandings that I despise hatchery stock. I do not, and in fact the overwhelming majority of chickens that I have purchased over the past 50 years have been from hatcheries. Nor do I despise Production Reds. They are generally superior layers to heritage RIRs and NHs, and since my main priority in raising hens has been egg production, the vast majority of reds that I've had over the years have been Production Reds. As for where I got the information to support my generalizations, here is a summary. First, there are a number of internet articles that refer to the history of the Production Red and how it has come to dominate the hatchery and brown egg laying market. I'm in the midst of a move to Montana and don't have time to do a detailed search and post of all the links, but you can certainly do one yourself to confirm what I'm saying. Second, this issue has been discussed many times on BYC threads and it has been thoroughly demonstrated in these threads by heritage breeders such as Fred's Hen's and Chris09 that what hatcheries are producing and labeling as RIRs and NHs are in fact Production Reds and not heritage RIRs/NHs. You don't have to take my word for it, you can search through their posts for yourself and read their comments on this issue. In fact, you will find some of those internet articles that I mentioned quoted by them. I particularly remember reading some of the articles posted by Chris09. You can also PM them yourself and ask them about PRs vs. heritage RIRs/NHs. As far as the claims of the hatcheries, many of these hatcheries that claim a history of heritage birds sell "New Hampshire reds," a sure sign that it is a Production Red and not a heritage New Hampshire as there is no such bird as a New Hampshire "red." The correct breed name is just a "New Hampshire." Many of these same hatcheries also sell their Easter Egger hybrids under labels "Ameraucana" or "Araucana." So much for their claims. Having said that, I will give Cackle credit in the fact that I believe they have a level of honesty that is lacking in most other hatcheries. They do indeed sell their Easter Eggers as "Easter Eggers" rather than Ameraucanas, and while our heritage RIR/NH breeders at BYC would still label Cackles RIRs and NHs as PRs, at least Cackle does not market their NHs with the word "red" on the end, and I do believe that Cackle does make some attempt to keep their birds closer to SOP standards that most other hatcheries. So perhaps with Cackle there might indeed be a small distinction between a hatchery quality RIR, a hatchery quality NH, and and PR.
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