RIR Breed Thread

[IggiMom]

Greathorse, thanks so much for the encouraging words. I am really looking forward to them, and I appreciate knowing that they won't lay as soon as I thought, because I am a worry wart, and I would have been worrying about it.

I did love the pics of Taters chickens. And I think that the eggs will do well, because she did an absolutely stellar job of packing them. It was amazing.

If they take 36 weeks to start to lay, that will mean that they are starting in winter, which is good, because then they will lay through the winter. I usually get some chicks (or hatch them) in June for winter laying.

Even though I don't show, I still like chickens to look like they are supposed to.

I will candle some tonight. I ought to be able to see some veining, I expect, although they are fairly dark so perhaps I won't be able to see too well.

One advantage to white eggs, I guess, easy to see.

Catherine

 

[IggiMom]

Oh phooey--I tried to candle some of the eggs last night, and they are just too dark to see anything yet.

What I could see, they looked good to me.

But if you stare at an egg in the darkness long enough, you start to see little spots moving around.

Still, it looks to me as if those eggs are developing. I think. (The Taterschickens eggs.)

I'll try again on Tuesday, at 10 days out. I should be able to see some movement then. I don't know what the Marans and Welsummers people do--just wait and see if anything hatches, I guess.

Catherine

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I Love the RIR's. when I was a kid my grandmother brought me some chickens and 2 of them were RIR's. they were my favorite. I have not had any since they died. I have different chiks. now. I was thinking about increasing my flock this year. I was deciding between the sussex, RIR's and Buckeyes...does anyone know how the RIR's lay vs. the Buckeyes.

 

[IggiMom]

My grandmother, who homesteaded in Montana, always had RIR's. You know, she always had a couple that went broody every year, too.

Isn't that unusual.

I think she probably had her own little flock that had not really had any outside ones brought in very often, and she kept the ones she liked best and who laid well, and ate the others.

When I stayed there, which was most summers, one of my jobs was to pick the eggs. I liked it, except for the few who gave me a hassle over taking their eggs.

Catherine

 

[Katy]

Quote:
You'll find out that the "real" RIRs will go broody more often than the hatchery birds. That is one characteristic that is bred out of a lot of hatchery birds no matter the breed.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
You'll find out that the "real" RIRs will go broody more often than the hatchery birds. That is one characteristic that is bred out of a lot of hatchery birds no matter the breed.

Very true.
I seem to always have hen wanting to go broody, usually around a week or so before a show and Ill have to fight her to keep her from going to sitting.

Chris

 

[chicken master]

My SQ RIR hen finally saterted laying. I am going to save her eggs for hatching and I am ording 25 dibbies from Paul Hardy.
Hunter

 

[greathorse]

Dibbies??

 

[IggiMom]

Quote:
Ok, what is a SQ RIR? I am a retired nurse, and all I can think of is Subcutaneous. Can't be right.

Um, I don't know what a dibbie is, either.

Catherine

 

[greathorse]

Sub Q LOL. Show Quality is the term which is pretty general. It really has more to do with birds bred to meet the standard of perfection. There is a pretty distinct difference in birds available from a large hatchery such as Murray Mcmurray and those available by smaller breeders such as Pine Grove that has posted pics on this site. I am do not know if Pine Grove shows or not but sure has some nice birds that many quality breeders would recognize as pretty darn good.

Hope this makes sense to you