The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[Wyatt0224]

This spring I think I'm going to try and hatch heritage Rhode Island reds. My spring break for school is April 13-18th. Do you guys know any breeders who might be able to ship a dozen hatching eggs at the middle/end of March?

 

[cmom]

@cmom ... birds turned 6 months old today. Sonny's boy is starting to fill in (meat and feathers) and looking pretty good. He has a bit of a hump in his back in this picture, but most all of them look like this when they're inside the coop...

He looks great. How is the Rose Comb?

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

He looks great. How is the Rose Comb?

He's a wreck right now because he's jolting... but other than his physical appearance, he's doing great.

 

[waddles99]

@cmom ... birds turned 6 months old today. Sonny's boy is starting to fill in (meat and feathers) and looking pretty good. He has a bit of a hump in his back in this picture, but most all of them look like this when they're inside the coop...

Looking good! Is he one of the boys you had your eye on early on, or did he pop up unexpectedly? Regardless, great looking bird, cant wait to see him when he finishes. Makes me jealous, lol!

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Looking good! Is he one of the boys you had your eye on early on, or did he pop up unexpectedly? Regardless, great looking bird, cant wait to see him when he finishes. Makes me jealous, lol!

Thanks, waddles. Yes, he's one that caught my eye early on. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes... not so much. While the other bird I was watching showed good qualities at an early age, he's now lagging behind. He doesn't stand tall (always kind of crouched), and he's a good bit smaller than I'd like. I'll probably use him on a small scale to see what kind of chicks he throws, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

 

[waddles99]

Thanks, waddles. Yes, he's one that caught my eye early on. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes... not so much. While the other bird I was watching showed good qualities at an early age, he's now lagging behind. He doesn't stand tall (always kind of crouched), and he's a good bit smaller than I'd like. I'll probably use him on a small scale to see what kind of chicks he throws, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Hey...theyve still got a long way to go, you never know. It could totally change on you. Hopefully you still end up with a nice one in the end though. How are the pullets doing? Have you got your eye on any yet?

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Hey...theyve still got a long way to go, you never know. It could totally change on you. Hopefully you still end up with a nice one in the end though. How are the pullets doing? Have you got your eye on any yet?

I'm watching 3 (of 6) pullets closely. 1 has good type, good feathers, good color and markings, and good size. 1 has good type, good feathers, good color and markings, but a bit slender. The last one has good type, good marking, but too much black and poor feathers. All have red in the main tail, but some more than others. I'll give them all a couple more months to see who makes the cut.

 

[waddles99]

I'm watching 3 (of 6) pullets closely. 1 has good type, good feathers, good color and markings, and good size. 1 has good type, good feathers, good color and markings, but a bit slender. The last one has good type, good marking, but too much black and poor feathers. All have red in the main tail, but some more than others. I'll give them all a couple more months to see who makes the cut. 

Whatever you think would enhance the qualities of the cockerel you breed it to. For example, if the pullet has great type but too much black, and the k has good but not great type, but great markings, the pullet can contribute good type to the offspring and the k can help absorb some excess black. Just a thought.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Whatever you think would enhance the qualities of the cockerel you breed it to. For example, if the pullet has great type but too much black, and the k has good but not great type, but great markings, the pullet can contribute good type to the offspring and the k can help absorb some excess black. Just a thought.

All my birds have excess black, some to a lesser degree than others. Both them males I'm even considering for breeding have green stripes on the lower hackles. A lighter red female with little ticking in the hackles could offset this, but I don't have any that fit the description. Males with solid black tails can offset the extra red in the tails of the females, but the tails are the least of my concerns right now. I just don't want runaway black in the offspring. I'm also concerned about feather quality. Most all the pullets have shredded feathers on their saddles, but I've learned that this is not uncommon in this bloodline. I'm inspecting my birds daily, trying to come up with a combination that might work out the kinks, but haven't been able to come up with more than one pair that shows potential. It'll be hard to come up with an adequate number of chicks to choose the next generation of breeders with only 1 pair. I need more birds...

 

[Ed in Lugoff]

Hi,
I live in Lugoff, SC and the only chickens I have are just a few heritage rir.
Recently, over about a week, my three hens disappeared. No trace of them.
My oldest and best setting hen first disappeared and then over the next few days the each of the other two disappeared.

I do wish to replace the hens with quality heritage rir breed.
I have a very good small incubator so fertile eggs will do, but I would prefer one or two good young hens.

do you know of any responsible breeders in the midlands area of South Carolina?