Rhode Island White Thread

[cmom]

Cmom,

I hear you on needing to remove some birds from the farm. I have roughly 125 adults and over 400 chicks now in the various breeds. Last three days has been cull, cull, cull for we have a bird auction on Saturday and that is the best and easiest way for me to get ride of birds. Unfortunately I am taking all of my Barnevenlders so I can have room and a place to put the RIW's. Also taking my 2 yr old Welsummer hens and some of the columbians that I will not be using for breeding next year. It is hard to remove breeds or birds but you have to if you are going to be a successful breeder.

So good luck in the culling.

Rob

I have about 150 adults of various breeds. I didn't hatch as many chicks this year as I usually do each spring. I will do a couple more rather small hatches and hatch some for a friend. I found my older RIW rooster dead today in his coop. Think he died from natural causes as I looked him over good and didn't find anything unusual. I still have 2 RC RIW cockerels, another RC RIW rooster (he got BB and BV at a show) that are sons of my old guy and also a few RC RIW chicks I hatched out a couple of months ago.

 

[Rancher3535]

Sorry to hear that you lost him. I can totally understand the lose because you look at them one day and they act and look normal and then go out the next and they are dead. Some people ask me how long does a chicken live? My response is ...well they will live from 30 seconds you get them up to 5-12 years. It is just how chickens are. I have only had 1 hen last 12 years. She died last summer in a heat wave.



Grandma was an exceptional hen so I never felt like I could remove her from the flock.

 

[cmom]

I moved my older chicks to their new coop today. When I moved them I discovered that one of the RIW chicks is a male Single Comb even though his parents are Rose Comb. I suppose that because he is Single Comb from Rose Comb parents, I guess if he was to eventually breed his offspring could either be Single Comb or Rose Comb. I do have 4 Single Comb RIW's in another pen on the complete opposite end of my coops.

Here are my coops. As our flocks expanded we built new coops. The 2 larger coops are duplexes. There is a gate inside the coops that can be opened so the coops can be used as one large coop or when the gate is closed 2 smaller coops.

This is a small coop for the Andrew sisters, LaVern, Maxene & Patty.

LaVern and Maxene are runts. Patty had a leg injury and is ok now but they are buddies.

 

[Rancher3535]

Cmom, Somewhere in the back ground of your line a SC has been used. I know that several of the RIR people think they have to cross back in a SC every 4-5 years in order to keep the vitality in the line going. If you use the SC male, in my opinion, it will be adding and building that genetic trait into your flock. What the hatcheries and others have forgotten is a true Rhode Island White has to have a RC. The original breeders founded them to be RC and the APA accepts only RC's as far as I know. The commercial guys have used and added so much white rock into them that is why they have predominate single combs white birds and call them RIW's. I have raised my Columbian Wyandottes for well over 30 years and every now and then I will get a SC. Females I sell and males going into the meet pen. I have never used a SC in my line but I have purchased some Commercial CW's a few years ago and that is when I started to get the SC's. Please do not be offended by my comments just trying to give you something to think about.

Rob

 

[cmom]

Cmom, Somewhere in the back ground of your line a SC has been used. I know that several of the RIR people think they have to cross back in a SC every 4-5 years in order to keep the vitality in the line going. If you use the SC male, in my opinion, it will be adding and building that genetic trait into your flock. What the hatcheries and others have forgotten is a true Rhode Island White has to have a RC. The original breeders founded them to be RC and the APA accepts only RC's as far as I know. The commercial guys have used and added so much white rock into them that is why they have predominate single combs white birds and call them RIW's. I have raised my Columbian Wyandottes for well over 30 years and every now and then I will get a SC. Females I sell and males going into the meet pen. I have never used a SC in my line but I have purchased some Commercial CW's a few years ago and that is when I started to get the SC's. Please do not be offended by my comments just trying to give you something to think about.

Rob

This is the first SC I have ever gotten from my RC's.

 

[Rancher3535]

A Big shock then! You always wonder why those kind of surprises show up but they do. I had like 6 out of 150 but they all came out of the same hen and were on a stud mating. So my thought of using her offspring next year is pretty much shot.

 

[732phil]

Cmon
Are your RIW RC good layers?

 

[cmom]

Cmon
Are your RIW RC good layers?

Yes, they are good layers. Right now I have some that want to be broody but this is the season.

 

[Rancher3535]

OMG ... I just pulled the pullets from the cockerels. Man do I have some fantastic stock to work with. I will try to attach a photo or 20 of some of the young birds. I had an APA judge just look at them and he said he had not seen such a great group of RIW ever. I am really excited with my new line of RIW's.

 

[20736]

OK, so when can you sell me some birds?
I had a nice start last year, but the 'coons cleaned me out.
I fixed that problem, so want to start again.
Chicks or grown out, either one is OK with me.