My Horstman RC RIR's. Any help with sexing would be great, this is my first 3 RC Reds, so i am not yet able to sex them at an early age.
The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site
- Thread starter Robert Blosl
- Start date
Well, you never get too old to learn. Saturday I saw two things I've never seen before in my near half century of watching chickens. I sure wish I'd had my camera handy.
Our large grow-out pen has all the chicks we are growing out for next years breeders plus our flock of RC RIRs. Friday night late I shut the coop up to catch some extra cockerels that I was hauling to a sale about daylight Saturday morning. After caging them and loading them in the horse trailer I went to bed and forgot to open the coop back up. When I got home Saturday morning, I ran out and opened it up so they could get some water and find some bugs.
First I had two Orloff chicks around 6 weeks old jumped in the water trough and SWIM like a duck! Seriously, they were floating and paddling like a darn duck. Weirdest thing I've ever seen. Stayed in about a minute or so then hopped out and went on out in the grass chasing bugs.
About an hour later our biggest and oldest RC RIR rooster walked over and stepped in the trough, fluffed his feathers and submerged completely under water. All that was sticking above water was his head. I thought I was going to lose him, I've NEVER seen a chicken completely submerge like that. He stayed that way about three of four minutes, then I started to the gate to get him out but before I reached the gate he just stood up, shook like a dog and walked of like nothing had happened. It was the darnedest thing I ever saw.
Now I've saw thousands of chicks and chickens get in water, maybe wade around, splash a little, stuff like that. But swimming and submerging chickens?
That was a first.
Our large grow-out pen has all the chicks we are growing out for next years breeders plus our flock of RC RIRs. Friday night late I shut the coop up to catch some extra cockerels that I was hauling to a sale about daylight Saturday morning. After caging them and loading them in the horse trailer I went to bed and forgot to open the coop back up. When I got home Saturday morning, I ran out and opened it up so they could get some water and find some bugs.
First I had two Orloff chicks around 6 weeks old jumped in the water trough and SWIM like a duck! Seriously, they were floating and paddling like a darn duck. Weirdest thing I've ever seen. Stayed in about a minute or so then hopped out and went on out in the grass chasing bugs.
About an hour later our biggest and oldest RC RIR rooster walked over and stepped in the trough, fluffed his feathers and submerged completely under water. All that was sticking above water was his head. I thought I was going to lose him, I've NEVER seen a chicken completely submerge like that. He stayed that way about three of four minutes, then I started to the gate to get him out but before I reached the gate he just stood up, shook like a dog and walked of like nothing had happened. It was the darnedest thing I ever saw.
Now I've saw thousands of chicks and chickens get in water, maybe wade around, splash a little, stuff like that. But swimming and submerging chickens?
That was a first.
- Jan 14, 2008
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My Horstman RC RIR's. Any help with sexing would be great, this is my first 3 RC Reds, so i am not yet able to sex them at an early age.
sorry i can't help you sex them but they are pretty birds.
they look like mine right now,HOT!
- Dec 17, 2011
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Hi guys! I bought some rhode reds from murray! They are all grown up now i hatched chicks from them and 3 pullets had black spots all over their backs and wings. they are pullets becouse they lay. here is an example of what it looks like but with more black spots. is this normal? 
how did you do that Kathy?my chickens can't stand to see clean water.it is no good unless it is dirty.
Hi guys! I bought some rhode reds from murray! They are all grown up now i hatched chicks from them and 3 pullets had black spots all over their backs and wings. they are pullets becouse they lay. here is an example of what it looks like but with more black spots. is this normal?
The black spots are what is known a "smutting" in the poultry world and is a result of having production blood mixed into this type birds genetic past. in other words your reds are more than likely Production reds and not "real" Rhode Island Reds as they(RIRs) are only availible from a individual breeders of true to type Heritage RIRs.
If you'll notice too of how light the red is compared to others here on this thread that is also and indication of a dillution gene(s) at work and is from some sort of cross-breeding done in the mix. FYI they still should be great layers of big brown eggs though, this is one of the reasons 99% or more of the industrial/commercial hybrid brown egg-layers have some sort of RIR blood in them somewhere back up the road in their ingredients of these mixes.
Jeff
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