The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[cmom]

This is the last week I will send out eggs for hatching for this year. I will offer them again next spring.

 

[waddles99]

Got some pics of one of my RIR hens today. I am planning on taking her to some shows this summer. I think she is very nice. Anyone have any thoughts on her?

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Got some pics of one of my RIR hens today. I am planning on taking her to some shows this summer. I think she is very nice. Anyone have any thoughts on her?

For what it's worth, I'll tell you what I see. She has nice, rich mahogany color. Nice width of back, flat back with nice cushion, dark horn beak, and nice color and shape of tail. Overall, a decent bird.

I know pictures can be very deceptive and lighting can change color(s), but here's what I see that I think might work against you. Her hackles appear very dark, nearly black. I can't tell from the pictures, but does she have black lacing around the ends of the lower hackle feathers, or is there a ticking of black at the end of each lower hackle feather? Needs to be ticked. Leg color is pale. Breast is rounded and slopes towards legs... isn't squared off to complete the front part of the "brick". Tail might be just a tad low, but not too bad.

Please don't be offended... take my evaluation with a grain of salt. I'm certainly no expert, and some of the pros may totally discount my views. That's okay, because I'm always open to criticism and correction when needed. If I'm wrong on anything I've mentioned, I need to know about it. I'm trying to learn how to not look so hard at the good qualities of birds, but to focus more on the not-so-good qualities... aka... faults. These faults are what must be removed from the breeding pens so they don't keep getting passed down from generation to generation. There's no such thing as the perfect bird, and all we can do is try to get close. It starts with training our eyes to see the bad along with the good... without bias.

 

[waddles99]

For what it's worth, I'll tell you what I see. She has nice, rich mahogany color. Nice width of back, flat back with nice cushion, dark horn beak, and nice color and shape of tail. Overall, a decent bird. 

I know pictures can be very deceptive and lighting can change color(s), but here's what I see that I think might work against you. Her hackles appear very dark, nearly black. I can't tell from the pictures, but does she have black lacing around the ends of the lower hackle feathers, or is there a ticking of black at the end of each lower hackle feather? Needs to be ticked. Leg color is pale. Breast is rounded and slopes towards legs... isn't squared off to complete the front part of the "brick". Tail might be just a tad low, but not too bad. 

Please don't be offended... take my evaluation with a grain of salt. I'm certainly no expert, and some of the pros may totally discount my views. That's okay, because I'm always open to criticism and correction when needed. If I'm wrong on anything I've mentioned, I need to know about it. I'm trying to learn how to not look so hard at the good qualities of birds, but to focus more on the not-so-good qualities... aka... faults. These faults are what must be removed from the breeding pens so they don't keep getting passed down from generation to generation. There's no such thing as the perfect bird, and all we can do is try to get close. It starts with training our eyes to see the bad along with the good... without bias. 

Thanks for taking the time to evaluate my bird. No, I'm not offended at all, I appreciate honest, truthful answers. If everyone lied about their birds to make others feel better no one would be able to learn. Honest answers help you know what is good and bad about the bird.
You're absolutely right about the hackles, it appears the same way In the pics as it does in person. I had noticed the hackle markings as soon as I got her. Instead of a necklace, her hackle feathers are more striped. Almost like dipped in shiny green ink. I wish I had gotten a pic of her individual feathers, most are marked down the sides instead of ticked. From what I read that is highly improper and can't be bred out easily. Looking at some of these people posting their yellow legged birds, I can definetly see what you mean about her legs being too pale. It's more of a light grey than a yellow. I think you also make a good point about the brick shape. I tried to compare the pics to the breed standard to see what was different, and the shape of the breast was definetly something. I thought maybe it was the angle of the pic, but looking at her in person, she is not as full as the SOP. It's funny, I went from having RIR with tails too high, to RIR with a tail too low, lol. I guess you can't ever have a perfect bird, huh? Well, I think everything you said sounds good. You sure sound like you know what you're talking about, even if you say you aren't an expert! Some of the stuff you said I was already thinking about myself, but I completely never even thought about the brick shape. Even when I first got started with RIR i remember someone saying they should look like a brick with legs. How could I forget. Anyways, thanks for the help. I'd love to get as many opinions as possible on this bird, if anyone would be generous enough to give some. I'm still learning and have a long way to go!

 

[cmom]

Got some pics of one of my RIR hens today. I am planning on taking her to some shows this summer. I think she is very nice. Anyone have any thoughts on her?

She is not bad but I agree with Ur-ur-ur-urrr. Here is a picture of one of my female champions. I got marked down previously at a show because the legs weren't yellow enough so I have worked hard at that.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Thanks for taking the time to evaluate my bird. No, I'm not offended at all, I appreciate honest, truthful answers. If everyone lied about their birds to make others feel better no one would be able to learn. Honest answers help you know what is good and bad about the bird.
You're absolutely right about the hackles, it appears the same way In the pics as it does in person. I had noticed the hackle markings as soon as I got her. Instead of a necklace, her hackle feathers are more striped. Almost like dipped in shiny green ink. I wish I had gotten a pic of her individual feathers, most are marked down the sides instead of ticked. From what I read that is highly improper and can't be bred out easily. Looking at some of these people posting their yellow legged birds, I can definetly see what you mean about her legs being too pale. It's more of a light grey than a yellow. I think you also make a good point about the brick shape. I tried to compare the pics to the breed standard to see what was different, and the shape of the breast was definetly something. I thought maybe it was the angle of the pic, but looking at her in person, she is not as full as the SOP. It's funny, I went from having RIR with tails too high, to RIR with a tail too low, lol. I guess you can't ever have a perfect bird, huh? Well, I think everything you said sounds good. You sure sound like you know what you're talking about, even if you say you aren't an expert! Some of the stuff you said I was already thinking about myself, but I completely never even thought about the brick shape. Even when I first got started with RIR i remember someone saying they should look like a brick with legs. How could I forget. Anyways, thanks for the help. I'd love to get as many opinions as possible on this bird, if anyone would be generous enough to give some. I'm still learning and have a long way to go!

I don't think her tail angle will be a factor. SOP calls for 10°, but I see lots of champion pullet pics with flat tails. Marigold extract, or a diet rich in Marigold should help with her leg coloring. Although this bird's back slopes slightly forward, the breast is what I'm trying to express. Notice how it cuts back sharply at the bottom? A slight angle in or out at the front might not cost too many points in competition, but you definitely want the sharp lower corner. There are 3 things that define RIR. They are type, type, and type. Everything else is secondary. You can have perfect color and marking, but without type, you'll never be able to compete against birds with good type. I just want to say... if you think there may be something about your bird that's a little off... it probably is. The key is being able to identify it. Keep working at it and you'll get there. Thanks for taking my criticism as an attempt to help you know what to look for.

PS: I didn't even ask about quill and under- color...

 

[waddles99]

Yes, I really see what you mean about the chest slope, she is way better than my other RIR but still obviously not as defined as a champion bird. I thought at first she might have been just a bit starved so her crop wasn't as full, but she has been eating for 2 weeks and it hasn't gotten any better. It's interesting that you posted that pic of your bird, cmom. I actually had that particular bird in mind when it was said that her tail angle was lower.
So the leg color can be changed by diet? I didn't know that. I thought it was specifically genetics, and couldn't be changed. I have heard marigolds are good for yolk color, but not for changing the leg color. Do you guys think if I fed marigold petals, it could make her legs more yellow? It's worth a shot, isn't it? Also, it may sound stupid, but is there a specific color of marigold to feed? Like orange or yellow?
Also I realized i forgot to include the pic of the wing. The markings on her wing aren't great, but I'm hoping for another opinion. Thanks.

 

[cmom]

Yes, I really see what you mean about the chest slope, she is way better than my other RIR but still obviously not as defined as a champion bird. I thought at first she might have been just a bit starved so her crop wasn't as full, but she has been eating for 2 weeks and it hasn't gotten any better. It's interesting that you posted that pic of your bird, cmom. I actually had that particular bird in mind when it was said that her tail angle was lower.
So the leg color can be changed by diet? I didn't know that. I thought it was specifically genetics, and couldn't be changed. I have heard marigolds are good for yolk color, but not for changing the leg color. Do you guys think if I fed marigold petals, it could make her legs more yellow? It's worth a shot, isn't it? Also, it may sound stupid, but is there a specific color of marigold to feed? Like orange or yellow?
Also I realized i forgot to include the pic of the wing. The markings on her wing aren't great, but I'm hoping for another opinion. Thanks.

Feed is part of it. I feed all of my birds "Show Gold" and it does have marigold extract in the feed. I start off with the "Show Gold Trio" chick feed and after a couple of months change over to the grower. I know there are some other feeds that also have marigold in them. After they have grown into adulthood it really doesn't do much.

 

[cmom]

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Yes, I really see what you mean about the chest slope, she is way better than my other RIR but still obviously not as defined as a champion bird. I thought at first she might have been just a bit starved so her crop wasn't as full, but she has been eating for 2 weeks and it hasn't gotten any better. It's interesting that you posted that pic of your bird, cmom. I actually had that particular bird in mind when it was said that her tail angle was lower.
So the leg color can be changed by diet? I didn't know that. I thought it was specifically genetics, and couldn't be changed. I have heard marigolds are good for yolk color, but not for changing the leg color. Do you guys think if I fed marigold petals, it could make her legs more yellow? It's worth a shot, isn't it? Also, it may sound stupid, but is there a specific color of marigold to feed? Like orange or yellow?
Also I realized i forgot to include the pic of the wing. The markings on her wing aren't great, but I'm hoping for another opinion. Thanks.

I haven't found a dealer for Show Gold in my area, so I've fed all my chicks Purina Chick starter. I contains Aztec Marigold, but I'm not sure of how much is in it. I wouldn't think color would matter, since it's the nutrients in Marigold, not the pigment, that helps brighten the legs.

The markings on the wing isn't that great, but it's not bad either.Black on the lower webs of the primaries, rimmed with red... and black on the upper webs of the secondaries... so the color is in the correct order. Would be nice if the black was more defined, and there wasn't any bleed-through to the upper webbing on the primaries... but not a bad wing at all.

In continuation of our conversation about body type (brick shape), it's obvious even at an early age. This 5 week old cockerel (left) is showing good type. His back appears sloped down in this picture, but it's not normally like that. Doesn't have any feathers in the saddle area, which makes it look even more sloped.





Brothers and sister in this picture. Sister (center) is displaying a round(er) breast. The difference in shape becomes more obvious when you compare them side-by-side. I won't discount her yet, as she may change for the better once she puts on adult feathers. Only time will tell... and that's why we have to grow them out.