The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[Fred's Hens]

Yes, they are production reds. Sorry.

@GruveyChickens I see where you're located. Come on up the road a piece and pick up some genuine, real, honest to goodness, standard bred Reds. Love for you to get some. Be sure to bring a string with you though, so you can tie your jaw up. hahahaha. 'Cause it's gonna drop when you see the real birds. All kidding aside, Best wishes. Drop me a private message.

 

[cmom]

Yes, they are production reds. Sorry.

@GruveyChickens I see where you're located. Come on up the road a piece and pick up some genuine, real, honest to goodness, standard bred Reds. Love for you to get some. Be sure to bring a string with you though, so you can tie your jaw up. hahahaha. 'Cause it's gonna drop when you see the real birds. All kidding aside, Best wishes. Drop me a private message.

Fred, do you live in Michigan? I was born in Michigan a little north of Traverse City but have been in Florida most of my life.

 

[GruveyChickens]

The gentleman I got them from has Mohawk/Kittle and Don Nelson heritage bloodlines. They don't hold up to the Standard of Perfection, I know that, but I'm pretty sure they aren't hatchery birds.

If you look through the photos I've shared so far, yes, most of them are of production reds as that's what I started out with (I was told they were Rhode Island Reds but they obviously weren't when I went to pick them up). The cockerel and hen I just posted photos of were not purchased from the same place.

 

[cmom]

The gentleman I got them from has Mohawk/Kittle and Don Nelson heritage bloodlines. They don't hold up to the Standard of Perfection, I know that, but I'm pretty sure they aren't hatchery birds.

They sure do look like Production Reds. They don't have the coloring as well as the horn coloring on the beak and the front of the legs. I think someone gave you a line of bull. Just my opinion. I had someone I had gotten eggs from several years ago tell me they were from heritage parent stock. I hatched the eggs out and they turned out to be Production Reds. Most breeders don't cross lines.

A male I got from Matt.

 

[GruveyChickens]

They sure do look like Production Reds. They don't have the coloring as well as the horn coloring on the beak and the front of the legs. I think someone gave you a line of bull. Just my opinion. I had someone I had gotten eggs from several years ago tell me they were from heritage parent stock. I hatched the eggs out and they turned out to be Production Reds. Most breeders don't cross lines.

A male I got from Matt.

OK, thanks. Sorry to have posted them in this thread. I'm still in the process of learning.

 

[Fred's Hens]

OK, thanks. Sorry to have posted them in this thread. I'm still in the process of learning.

It's not a problem at all. We all start somewhere and we live, we learn and we grow. It's the nature of expanding our horizons in life.
You're most welcome to read along and learn. Good to "meet" you.

Best regards,

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Don't be sorry. We all had to go through a learning process. Please don't hesitate to comment, that is how we learn. Good luck and have fun...

 

[Fred's Hens]

I have two groups or families of Don Nelson birds. They were in differing hands inbetween, from Don and finally to me. Each breeder puts their own touches on them, for good or for bad and in some cases? For very bad. The "name" alone doesn't mean a whole lot once other folks have bred them The "chain of custody" is often murky and some folks propigate but do not breed. Just the way it goes. So, I always recommend new folks starting out to see the adult breed stock in person; at the farm or at a show. Over reliance on a "name", no matter how famous, doesn't mean much in my book. Study the Standard, study great birds and train your own eyes and your own eyes must be the final judge.


There is somewhat a noticeable difference in the females thrown from my two Nelson families. But the males? There's a certain look to the Nelson males. Peas in a pod. I've hatched out and raised well over a hundred of these males now and this is what they look like.

A young K at 12-14 or so will look like this.



When they're 9 months old, they tend to look like this.





When they mature, looking from above, I only keep and only breed them if they carry the width through the tails. Most do or they're gone.



When they are a young cockbird, a bit over a year, they'll fill out and most will look like this:




The Nelsons have their own look to them. I prefer the birds of my one family to the look of the other family. That is largely because of the work of Bill Post (NYReds) an APA judge, who had these birds and worked on their tails. Love them or leave them, that's fine. Prefer a different line of Reds? That's totally fine. These are not the only line of good Reds out there. BUT…. this much must be said and must be "seen" and learned. The Nelsons have a certain look and personality. If you don't see this look? The birds you're buying aren't Nelsons. They may be fine chickens, but the Nelson line is pretty easy to see once you've trained your eye and come to understand the nuances of differences. Understand too that Don hasn't worked much with LF in years and other folks have now had birds bearing "name" for a long, long time. That sort of weakens the whole understanding of marketing using a famous name. Today, you're really buying someone else's breeding skill or lack thereof, to be honest about it.

Hope that helps those just getting started in some small way.

 

[cmom]

I have two groups or families of Don Nelson birds. They were in differing hands inbetween, from Don and finally to me. Each breeder puts their own touches on them, for good or for bad and in some cases? For very bad. The "name" alone doesn't mean a whole lot once other folks have bred them The "chain of custody" is often murky and some folks propigate but do not breed. Just the way it goes. So, I always recommend new folks starting out to see the adult breed stock in person; at the farm or at a show. Over reliance on a "name", no matter how famous, doesn't mean much in my book. Study the Standard, study great birds and train your own eyes and your own eyes must be the final judge.


There is somewhat a noticeable difference in the females thrown from my two Nelson families. But the males? There's a certain look to the Nelson males. Peas in a pod. I've hatched out and raised well over a hundred of these males now and this is what they look like.

A young K at 12-14 or so will look like this.



When they're 9 months old, they tend to look like this.





When they mature, looking from above, I only keep and only breed them if they carry the width through the tails. Most do or they're gone.



When they are a young cockbird, a bit over a year, they'll fill out and most will look like this:




The Nelsons have their own look to them. I prefer the birds of my one family to the look of the other family. That is largely because of the work of Bill Post (NYReds) an APA judge, who had these birds and worked on their tails. Love them or leave them, that's fine. Prefer a different line of Reds? That's totally fine. These are not the only line of good Reds out there. BUT…. this much must be said and must be "seen" and learned. The Nelsons have a certain look and personality. If you don't see this look? The birds you're buying aren't Nelsons. They may be fine chickens, but the Nelson line is pretty easy to see once you've trained your eye and come to understand the nuances of differences. Understand too that Don hasn't worked much with LF in years and other folks have now had birds bearing "name" for a long, long time. That sort of weakens the whole understanding of marketing using a famous name. Today, you're really buying someone else's breeding skill or lack thereof, to be honest about it.

Hope that helps those just getting started in some small way.

I totally agree. My birds now are all descendants of birds I got some years ago from Matt. I had gotten some birds from the same line some years earlier from another breeder. There was definitely a difference in the two groups. I now have only birds descended from Matt's. I much prefer them and their look is very similar to the pictures Fred posted. I have posted several pictures of them in this thread.
You may want to check out Jim's website. He has raised birds from most of the lines. http://jimspetsandpoultry.weebly.com/

 

[daxigait]

I have two groups or families of Don Nelson birds. They were in differing hands inbetween, from Don and finally to me. Each breeder puts their own touches on them, for good or for bad and in some cases? For very bad. The "name" alone doesn't mean a whole lot once other folks have bred them The "chain of custody" is often murky and some folks propigate but do not breed. Just the way it goes. So, I always recommend new folks starting out to see the adult breed stock in person; at the farm or at a show. Over reliance on a "name", no matter how famous, doesn't mean much in my book. Study the Standard, study great birds and train your own eyes and your own eyes must be the final judge. There is somewhat a noticeable difference in the females thrown from my two Nelson families. But the males? There's a certain look to the Nelson males. Peas in a pod. I've hatched out and raised well over a hundred of these males now and this is what they look like. A young K at 12-14 or so will look like this. When they're 9 months old, they tend to look like this. When they mature, looking from above, I only keep and only breed them if they carry the width through the tails. Most do or they're gone. When they are a young cockbird, a bit over a year, they'll fill out and most will look like this: The Nelsons have their own look to them. I prefer the birds of my one family to the look of the other family. That is largely because of the work of Bill Post (NYReds) an APA judge, who had these birds and worked on their tails. Love them or leave them, that's fine. Prefer a different line of Reds? That's totally fine. These are not the only line of good Reds out there. BUT…. this much must be said and must be "seen" and learned. The Nelsons have a certain look and personality. If you don't see this look? The birds you're buying aren't Nelsons. They may be fine chickens, but the Nelson line is pretty easy to see once you've trained your eye and come to understand the nuances of differences. Understand too that Don hasn't worked much with LF in years and other folks have now had birds bearing "name" for a long, long time. That sort of weakens the whole understanding of marketing using a famous name. Today, you're really buying someone else's breeding skill or lack thereof, to be honest about it. Hope that helps those just getting started in some small way.

Yes, and thank you. I love what I see and learn here. @cmom Thanks for the link.