How exactly are Rhode Island whites bred? My friend is selling Rhode Island chicks but never specified if both parents are rir or one rir and riw and the chicks turned out like this. What do you think?
The RIW was developed back in the early 1900s. Despite the similar name, RIW does not actually have any RIR in them. They were created by mixing other breeds together, I believe Wyandottes and Leghorns were in the mix, then selectively bred to fit the envisioned standard. They have since become a recognized breed and are only bred with other RIW instead of recreating the original mix.
Can you get pictures of your friend's breeding stock?
I think the lighter one is what happens when you add Dominant White (turns black into white) to the darker one. In a week or two, when they grow some feathers, that detail should become clear: wing feathers will be either black or white.
Here are the pics of my friends breeding stock. What do y’all think? Also does the chipmunk stripes on the chicks mean it’s a girl and the ones without are boys? What breeds do you reckon the parents could be since they’re clearly not RIR based on the pic?
No, I do not think you can tell anything about which chicks are male vs. female by looking at their coloring and pattern.
I agree that those are definitely not Rhode Island Reds.
