RIR?

[hmkeea]

I was told this chick, who is about 5 & 1/2 weeks old, is a Rhode Island Red. After reading alot of the threads and breed questions on here about people who think they have a RIR but actually have a Production Red, Im starting to wonder about this one.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

I don't think it's a production red. It looks like an RIR.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Looks like a Production Red to me.

 

[BantamLover21]

Production Red. You'll almost never find a true Rhode Island Red unless you get one from a breeder.

 

[Michael OShay]

Production Red. You'll almost never find a true Rhode Island Red unless you get one from a breeder.

Agreed. The is little or no difference between "hatchery quality" Rhode Island Reds and Production Reds. Both hatchery quality RIRs and PRs lack the deep body, dark mahogany coloring and profuse black tail feathers of APA pure Rhode Island Reds.

 

[hmkeea]

Quote:
Why and how do the farm stores have signs on individual bins of chicks saying that they are Rhode Island Red, or Araucana, or various others if they are not? I also got chicks out of a bin labeled Araucana, come to find out they are NOT, they are easter eggers. Which is fine, I am happy with all of the chicks I have, but it is very misleading to those just starting out with raising chickens. I thought about calling the store, but decided against it, I will be more informed next time around!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Quote:
Because - they order from hatcheries which sell the chicks as those breeds - the retailer is simply selling what they believe they are buying. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that happens - whether as intentional misrepresentation or because of ignorance to the truth on the part of retailers/hatcheries. More often than not, if you read the information on the hatchery sites you will find the truth is in the descriptions of the breeds (example - Ameraucana/Araucanas - the hatcheries will make vague references to "based on Auracanas" , "also known as the Easter Egg chicken", etc). In truth, if one is looking for a bird that is bred to the Standard of Perfection for that breed a hatchery is not going to be the source for those birds - birds sold in retail settings are bred for production (be it of eggs or meat) and adherence to what the breed *should* be takes a back seat to that.

 

[donrae]

The feed stores are simply resellers from the hatchery in most cases. Feed store employees simply label the bins as they're instructed. The hatchery labeling chicks has been an ongoing issue. However, most folks buying chicks at a feed store aren't too picky what there going to get, and don't expect high quality birds, just nice backyard layers. That's what hatcheries churn out by the thousands.

 

[Michael OShay]

Why and how do the farm stores have signs on individual bins of chicks saying that they are Rhode Island Red, or Araucana, or various others if they are not? I also got chicks out of a bin labeled Araucana, come to find out they are NOT, they are easter eggers. Which is fine, I am happy with all of the chicks I have, but it is very misleading to those just starting out with raising chickens. I thought about calling the store, but decided against it, I will be more informed next time around!

Quote:

Because - they order from hatcheries which sell the chicks as those breeds - the retailer is simply selling what they believe they are buying. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that happens - whether as intentional misrepresentation or because of ignorance to the truth on the part of retailers/hatcheries. More often than not, if you read the information on the hatchery sites you will find the truth is in the descriptions of the breeds (example - Ameraucana/Araucanas - the hatcheries will make vague references to "based on Auracanas" , "also known as the Easter Egg chicken", etc). In truth, if one is looking for a bird that is bred to the Standard of Perfection for that breed a hatchery is not going to be the source for those birds - birds sold in retail settings are bred for production (be it of eggs or meat) and adherence to what the breed *should* be takes a back seat to that.

Quote:

The feed stores are simply resellers from the hatchery in most cases. Feed store employees simply label the bins as they're instructed. The hatchery labeling chicks has been an ongoing issue. However, most folks buying chicks at a feed store aren't too picky what there going to get, and don't expect high quality birds, just nice backyard layers. That's what hatcheries churn out by the thousands.

Agreed on both counts.