The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[waddles99]

If we have any expendable males left by Ohio, I'll bring one along. PM me as the time draws closer.

Sounds good. Just out of curiosity, what line is he from? I know crossing lines is a huge no no, so I want to make sure I find some pullets from the same line!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Joey, Look at the two tail areas shown in the photo.




Look at the feathers on the "back end" of the birds shown. Forget the tail feathers. Look at the saddle or cushion area of the two birds and tell me what you see.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Sounds good. Just out of curiosity, what line is he from? I know crossing lines is a huge no no, so I want to make sure I find some pullets from the same line!

OH, he'd be a big red chicken, that much is known for sure.

 

[waddles99]

OH, he'd be a big red chicken, that much is known for sure.

Lol, forgive me, but Im a bit confused...

It probably wont be good if I didn't know the line and breed him to another line, right? Like, if you breed Mohawk/Reese and I take your M/R cockerel and breed it over 10 underwood hens, it'll be a train wreck, right?

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Joey, Look at the two tail areas shown in the photo.




Look at the feathers on the "back end" of the birds shown. Forget the tail feathers. Look at the saddle or cushion area of the two birds and tell me what you see.

I see puffy cushions. Is that what you're referring to when you mention "hump backs"? I know they have humps, but I assumed it was a phase they were going through that would go away when they started carrying their tails higher. I've seen them raise their tails when in an alert position, and their backs become as flat as ironing boards. Not always, but definitely there when they're at attention with their tails up. If they're supposed to have that stance at all times, I'm in trouble. I thought I'd have to wait until they were 7-8 months old before I knew what to expect as adults, but I know the pros can spot issues at a much earlier age. I want to learn how to do the same. Sure will save a lot of wasted feed!

Edit 9/22: I see smooth, clean feathers on the left... tattered and shredded feathers on the right. Thank you for pointing that out, Fred. I overlooked that detail.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Joey, the bird on the left has quality feathers on the saddle. The bird on the right has shredded feathering on the saddle.


This is very common. I would work on the feather quality of the birds before worrying too awful much about the taint of red in the tail feathers. There's a pecking order or triage of things. You cannot work on everything at once or there'd be no birds in the breeding pen.

Feather is super high on the list. Type and size is the highest on the list. Combs are further down, as is the taints of red in the tail.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Joey, the bird on the left has quality feathers on the saddle. The bird on the right has shredded feathering on the saddle.


This is very common. I would work on the feather quality of the birds before worrying too awful much about the taint of red in the tail feathers. There's a pecking order or triage of things. You cannot work on everything at once or there'd be no birds in the breeding pen.

Feather is super high on the list. Type and size is the highest on the list. Combs are further down, as is the taints of red in the tail.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for pointing that out... it helps tremendously. I have noticed the shredded feathers on the saddles of some of the pullets, but wasn't sure if it was a grooming issue or something genetic. I was hoping it was the former of the two. I've always heard to work on type first, then feather quality, and then worry about color. That's why I haven't been too awfully concerned when people comment about a pinch of red in their tails. I may never get rid of the red, but if nothing else, I'll do what I can to keep it at a minimum. It obviously tortures a lot of the pros, too.

I was watching my birds from about 40 yards this evening, and the one thing that really stood out was their stances. Several of my cockerels were displaying (near) perfect bricks, and although the pullets were't quite as rectangular, most of them looked "full"... if that makes any sense. They still have a good bit of growing to do, and I can see them changing ever-so-slightly on a daily basis.

I know you said that no amount of feed can fix pie shape, but it's rather strange that my cockerels were very broad before I moved them out of the cool (72F) basement into the scorching heat ... and simultaneously changed their feed. I've seen pics of their parents, and they have very broad backs. Is it possible that the change in environment, temperature, feed, tremendous growth spurt, and molting at the very same time would have played a role in the cockerels slimming down like they did? Oh... and I still haven't wormed them. Oops. It's not just the reds, either. All of my other and older birds lost weight this summer. It's been rather brutal down here. I truly want to believe that they will broaden back when they start putting on some weight.

 

[Fred's Hens]

This plate has been used in the SOP, in those famous first 40 pages, for a century. It remains the classic teaching tool. I added the lines into the plate when using it as a teaching tool here on BYC years ago.

Yes, birds do change during the grow out period. Yes, they "fill in" and "fill out", but the basic skeletal structure is what it is. They're born with it.

 

[waddles99]

So I have been giving the RIR pen some thought, and was wondering, if I am able to get a trio, how do people really manage the breeding?

If you have a cock over 2 hens, do you leave them in there full time? Or do you give the hens a break?

How do you know the dam of the offspring if there are 2 hens? Do some of you guys breed the hens individually?

Sorry for all the questions, lol, just been excited thinking about this all day....

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

So I have been giving the RIR pen some thought, and was wondering, if I am able to get a trio, how do people really manage the breeding?

If you have a cock over 2 hens, do you leave them in there full time? Or do you give the hens a break?

How do you know the dam of the offspring if there are 2 hens? Do some of you guys breed the hens individually?

Sorry for all the questions, lol, just been excited thinking about this all day....

If I was going to breed a trio and wanted to pedigree the chicks, I'd have two breeding pens and rotate the cock between the pens... and give HIM a couple of days off each week. The pullets/hens will stay fertile for a few weeks after being bred. Mark the eggs according to which pen they come from, and store them in a cool and humid area. In 55-60 degrees and around 70-75% humidity, embryos will remain in a state of stasis. You can store them up to 10 days before hatch rates become affected, but personally, I wouldn't push it beyond 7 days. Once you've collected eggs for a week, you can set them. Mark the set date on each of the eggs, and do this every week when you set the new batch. A separate incubator will be required for lockdown, and you will have a few days between clutches to sterilize the hatcher. Keep the eggs separated in the hatcher so the chicks don't get mixed up, and then toe punch, band, or whatever you do use to mark the birds.