The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[cmom]

Here are a couple of pages for the Rhode Island Reds from the book. All recognized breeds are in the book.

 

[chickencoop97]

Good luck in your search. It is pretty much impossible to ship eggs or birds out of the US. I have had people ask me to ship eggs and/or birds and it just isn't worth it to me to go through everything to ship. Fist most shippers won't ship them out of the US. I ship through the USPS priority mail and they will only ship within the US. My birds are inspected by my state but a health certificate has to be signed by a veterinarian to ship and in my area there aren't any that deal with chickens or eggs. I hope you can find someone. Good luck and have fun...

Thanks mate... I'm pretty desperate )

 

[Chickens run]

I got what I was told was a 12 month old Heritage RIR last night. He is very tame, and large. It was almost dusk when I got him, so I couldn't see him too well, but today I got a better look. He is very tall, and quite tame, but I am noticing that his feathers are not as full as some of the photos I see posted here. His tail feathers seem a little sparse, and his leg/thigh feathers seem really short. Sadly, the lady who had him trimmed his flight feathers on one wing only, and it appears that they have filed his spurs down, although they said they never trimmed them. I guess, technically, they didn't. Anyway, I'll post pics of Rudy and y'all tell me what you think.

 

[waddles99]

I got what I was told was a 12 month old Heritage RIR last night. He is very tame, and large. It was almost dusk when I got him, so I couldn't see him too well, but today I got a better look. He is very tall, and quite tame, but I am noticing that his feathers are not as full as some of the photos I see posted here. His tail feathers seem a little sparse, and his leg/thigh feathers seem really short. Sadly, the lady who had him trimmed his flight feathers on one wing only, and it appears that they have filed his spurs down, although they said they never trimmed them. I guess, technically, they didn't. Anyway, I'll post pics of Rudy and y'all tell me what you think.

Im no expert, but that is definetly NOT a heritage RIR. Looks just like a standard production red to me. Others can chime in here as to what they see(and probably do a better job of it), but let me tell you what I see. First of all, the first thing that jumps out at me is the tail. Your bird holds his tail way too high. I see about a 45 degree angle. RIR cocks are supposed to hold their tails at 20 degrees. Also, his tail doesn't seem that full. A good bird will have a much fuller tail. Second, his back slopes downhill. Ideally you want a flat back. Third, his "type" is pretty bad. Heritage RIR are traditionally dual purpose birds, so RIR breeders strive for what they call a "brick" shaped body. He has a very scrawny body, a weak chest, and doesn't look at all wide. Fourth, he carries his wings way too low. They shouldn't be held that low. Fifth, his comb isn't too bad, but it doesn't really follow a progression of points. The points are supposed to progress in height, but I don't see that on your bird. But I think the comb is the least of your worries.

All in all, you have a bird fit for the freezer. As I said before, that is not a heritage RIR. Take this as an opportunity to get rid of that bird and get some real RIR. I know people will be willing to get you started with them. That is, if you are truly interested in breeding RIR to the standard. If you just want a backyard flock bird to look at, he'll do fine.

 

[cmom]

I got what I was told was a 12 month old Heritage RIR last night. He is very tame, and large. It was almost dusk when I got him, so I couldn't see him too well, but today I got a better look. He is very tall, and quite tame, but I am noticing that his feathers are not as full as some of the photos I see posted here. His tail feathers seem a little sparse, and his leg/thigh feathers seem really short. Sadly, the lady who had him trimmed his flight feathers on one wing only, and it appears that they have filed his spurs down, although they said they never trimmed them. I guess, technically, they didn't. Anyway, I'll post pics of Rudy and y'all tell me what you think.

He has nice coloring. I guess you'll just have to see what he looks like after he goes through a molt but he doesn't have the body shape I'm used to seeing. Hope the pro's post their opinions. His back looks too short and he doesn't have the brick shape that I can see and his tail looks a bit high. His spurs look like he is older than a year. It looks like he carries his wings a bit low. I see horn coloring on his beak but not on his legs. I think he is a Production Rhode Island Red. Hope you get some good input. There are a lot of nice pictures in this thread of some very nice Pure Standard (Heritage) Rhode Island Reds.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

I got what I was told was a 12 month old Heritage RIR last night. He is very tame, and large. It was almost dusk when I got him, so I couldn't see him too well, but today I got a better look. He is very tall, and quite tame, but I am noticing that his feathers are not as full as some of the photos I see posted here. His tail feathers seem a little sparse, and his leg/thigh feathers seem really short. Sadly, the lady who had him trimmed his flight feathers on one wing only, and it appears that they have filed his spurs down, although they said they never trimmed them. I guess, technically, they didn't. Anyway, I'll post pics of Rudy and y'all tell me what you think.

Looks like there have been a couple of comments so far, so I don't have to be the one to burst your bubble. If this were indeed a purebred RIR, it would never make it to the breeding pen. I realize it's standing in an alert position, thus the angle of the tail and back... but even in this position, I see problems with both. The back is short, and even from the side I can see the back pinching in at the base of the tail. The neck is entirely too long, and there is no color in the legs. Looking at the front of the wing, it looks like the primaries are tucked in nicely, but those also look like secondary wing feathers pointing down, which should be carried horizontally. It's hard to tell from the angle of the pics, but I'm guessing his head isn't much wider than his comb. It could be that the bird is terribly malnourished, but the slender body is screaming production RIR to me. Sorry...

PS: You don't have to trim both wings. Trimming the feathers on one wing renders a bird flightless.

 

[Chickens run]

Well, that's a little disappointing but not a deal breaker. He is pretty thin, but he was kept in a tiny space with several other chickens, so not surprising. I will give him supplements, good food, mash, and lots of room to roam and maybe he'll beef up a bit. He is a very tame guy, so that makes it nice for me when I go out to take care of them. Thanks for all the feed back!

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Well, that's a little disappointing but not a deal breaker. He is pretty thin, but he was kept in a tiny space with several other chickens, so not surprising. I will give him supplements, good food, mash, and lots of room to roam and maybe he'll beef up a bit. He is a very tame guy, so that makes it nice for me when I go out to take care of them. Thanks for all the feed back!

As long as you're happy with him, that's all that matters. Put him on a high protien/high fat diet for awhile and he may blossom into a beautiful bird.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Well, that's a little disappointing but not a deal breaker. He is pretty thin, but he was kept in a tiny space with several other chickens, so not surprising. I will give him supplements, good food, mash, and lots of room to roam and maybe he'll beef up a bit. He is a very tame guy, so that makes it nice for me when I go out to take care of them. Thanks for all the feed back!

@Chickens run The Red isn't the historic bird merely because it is dark red. That's a backyarder type novice mistaken idea, sorry. The breed demands a proper shape, a "type" and he doesn't have it, pure and simple. Not even close. Just gaining some weight won't give him type. He's all kind of brown leghorn in his type and that's why he didn't get good reviews here, sorry.

It takes some time for the novice to "see" the bottom line of a bird. The bottom line of a Red should be the bottom of the rectangle, the bottom of the red brick shape. The bottom line of the male you showed is a V. His back is short and the tail is also sprung high, a sober fault that is almost impossible to breed out. If your goals are to keep and breed true bred Reds, he'll be of no use to you whatsoever. He's merely a dark colored production red. If you just want a yard bird, he'll be fine.

Decent, truebred, pretty good Red males are fairly easy to get this time of year as we are about to be culling them almost weekly. Get someone to save one from the feedsack or frying pan as I know many Red breeders who would just hand you, free of charge.

 

[cmom]

Quote: That is probably why only one wing was trimmed. I'm only guessing. I have had a few Houdini's over the years even with one wing clipped.