Texas

[bnjrob]

Are these two different breeds...pic not that great...sorry. Are the darker birds RIR? They are also bigger and heavier than the PR.

For standard bred birds, the Plymouth Rocks SOP wt is 9.5 lbs for a cock and 7.5 lbs for a hen. Rhode Island Reds SOP wt is 8.5 lbs for a cock and 6.5 lbs for a hen.

There will be variations of course but can't really go by their weights as a determining factor of what breed they are - especially since RIRs should be smaller than PRs.

Sometimes it is really hard to ID breeds when you have hatchery birds, because they have lost some of their "type" and when you get birds of similar colors or "mutts", without the best body type, it's a shot in the dark to ID the breed if you didn't get them identified when you bought them.

When I first started getting into chickens as an adult, I didn't realize that there was so many subtle things that make up a chicken besides the obvious stuff. Once I saw some old - line, standard bred chickens compared next to hatchery birds - WOW. The difference was amazing to me. But before, all I had seen was what most people see - pretty feathers. To help me with my birds, learning to better identify those other more subtle traits, I turn photos of our chickens to black and white. That way I am not distracted by feather color.

 

[bnjrob]

Excellent post! Very informative! "Chicken Police"

Oh, there are some Chicken Police that have come after me for sure. I seem to always be offending one side or the other.

 

[magpiesing]

Excellent post! Very informative! "Chicken Police"

Yes it was....Chicken police....would that be the CSA?

 

[RachaelS]

Quote:
That means you are doing a good job

 

[magpiesing]

There will be variations of course but can't really go by their weights as a determining factor of what breed they are - especially since RIRs should be smaller than PRs.

Sometimes it is really hard to ID breeds when you have hatchery birds, because they have lost some of their "type" and when you get birds of similar colors or "mutts", without the best body type, it's a shot in the dark to ID the breed if you didn't get them identified when you bought them.

I guess I need to do some more research. The darker birds are definitely bigger and heavier.
I have no idea the origin of these birds or even how old they are. We got them as grown birds already laying. The price was right...free, so we took them. We get about 6-8 eggs a day from 12 hens. I know the bigger birds are laying consistently. The others...not so sure.

 

[RachaelS]

The price was right...free, so we took them.

That is always a good price

I am guessing they are a bit older, but you can't beat free and after having a good life, they become a good pot of dumplings as you said!

 

[bnjrob]

Thank you, I have a better understanding. I kinda thought the term would mean an older established breed that reproduces true. I guess I'm in between. I want birds that lay eggs pretty consistently but would also like some hens that will brood and raise chicks. Any chick that comes from my birds now are "mutts" because my roo is a mix breed. I just hope since I got three pullets from the last hatch that they will be good layers in a few months. They are almost 6 months old. And make a good batch of dumplings later in life.

Well, there's still more to it. You have to look at what you want out of your birds.

If you get birds that originally came from a hatchery, chances are they are going to be egg laying machines no matter what.

But if you decide that you wanted to get "heritage" birds from a breeder, then you can still get good laying birds too. There are chickens bred for egg laying, chickens bred for meat production, and chickens bred to be dual-purpose - which means that they will be decent egg layers and decent meat birds, but they aren't going to be as good as the best egg layers or the best meat producing birds.

And THEN, you have what the breeder has been selectively breeding for. You can still push these old bloodline birds to improve on egg laying or meat production. So even if a breed is a dual-purpose breed, if you selectively breed for better egg production, you can get it after a few generations if you keep selecting for better egg layers.

Also what your families' needs are and how many birds you have come into play too. A good number of our Javas lay about every other day to every couple of days. Some of them lay every day for a while, and then take a few days off and then lay every day for a while etc. And for just me and my husband, even when we just had 6 hens that laid every other day - that was WAY more eggs than we could use up most of the time.

When I am choosing breeders, I am examining them for all kinds of things. I'm checking to see things like what they weigh, do they have pinched tails, what is their pelvic bone width, what is their keel depth, who has big thick shanks, who matured the fastest, who laid first, who increased the size of their eggs first, how often is the chicken laying....with last year's hatch I kept a pullet that had a horrid comb that would disqualify her in a show, but she was the heaviest in the hatch and actually met the correct SOP weight for a pullet. She matured the fastest, laid sooner and more often, she had a wider pelvic bone width - things that I want to see in more of our birds. Now in her offspring I will have to work on combs, since she has such a bad one, but I'm hoping it will be worth it to get her better size and pelvic capacity introduced into the flock down the road. And she is already an improvement over her mother, so that was terrific for our first year of serious breeding.

This kind of serious breeding is NOT for everybody. It's a lot of extra work. But there are people that get heritage birds because they like them even though they aren't going breed seriously. So don't let all the hype deter you from getting birds that you like, whether they are from a breeder or a hatchery. It's about what suits your needs and goals for your flock.

 

[magpiesing]

These will never be breeding stock other thatn for a closed flock. Chickens are our way of "getting off the grid" a little. Our family loves the eggs because we know what the hens eat and eggs taste like eggs. And eventually, when their laying days are over, they will be meat in the pot.

 

[bnjrob]

Yes it was....Chicken police....would that be the CSA?

 

[magpiesing]

Now the silver laced...might be a different story. If I"m lucky to get a roo out of the four I would like to breed them true and maybe sell the chicks....wait that's sounds too much like "chicken math"....anyway those I would not mix with my "mutt" roo.