Quote: Dicks birds is a mystery to me. He has a friend named Tim Bowl es and some times Dick will say Tim take these home and work on them for a while then he will give them back to Dick and they are looking much better. Dicks chickens are above average in quality and good stock to start with. You can at least get eggs or chicks from him. The top breeders are very shy on selling eggs in the first place not many sell chicks. They work and dont have time to go to the post office. You will have to get a retired guy who has time to fool with chicks and remember it takes 25 day old chicks to ship so they can stay warm. Most breeders dont hatch that many chicks in one day. So if you want some old time breeds they are ok to get. Look most people are not going to show their chickens they just want them for eggs, meat and pets. Most of these folks wont even have the breed in ten years as they will move on to another breed. A lot of people dont own a standard and many who do get so hung up on stupid points like leg color or points they screw up the birds in two years and they are out of the breed.
So Dicks birds are good. I don't know any history of them but some of the birds I ship ed up to Ohio and that area had to get into some of those lines. They look good to me when I see them.
The Mohawks in Florida if you got your birds from Brian Simmons or a guy named Rip Stalvey they had the original Reese birds. I can not get anyone else from Florida to come clean and tell me where they got their birds from that also includes Georgia. There was a fellow named Danny Jones who died a few years ago who had a lot of good breeds and maybe someone got some of his stock. What I have seen from Georgia from the Bennett line and the Robert line I like. They look true breed and I would love to own them.
Sometimes they need to be worked on but all breeds need some help. The most important thing to do is just breed for type for five years. Try to learn how to raise them up with a good finish and dont worry about color of the wings , neck legs ect. Try to have seven to five points on their head with a good blade and you will be fine. If you make it to the five year mark you should be able to understand how to breed for color. Then spend the next five years trying to learn that system. In developing my Red Bantams I did not spend one hour worrying about color as I selected my birds each year on shape and weight and in 15 years I had them small like a bantam and the color was fine dark as can be. I am now working on the color issue on my 25th year.
There is a strain in Rhode Island by Don Nelson that is about 20 years old he said he got his birds out of Penn. I sold some young boys some killer Large Reds about 25 years ago from Maine. I just can not think someone did not buy some of their old birds and crossed them into their lines. The kids won throphys left and right win they showed their birds.
There is a strain in Texas name is Lloyd Flanagan. He has had them for over 30 years and are a good strain and a great strain for you who live in the south west region. He should be in the top five strains of large fowl in Reds in my view.
Next is a fellow named Ad radian Radamaker in Minnesota. He has a strain for over 30 years and has won big all that time. They are much bigger than a Mohawk maybe two to three pounds or more. I st oped raising large reds about 15 years ago because to chicken collectors said they could not win with my birds because they where to small. They could not beat the Radamaker birds was the problem. My birds where one to one and a half pounds over standard weight. So I said I cant have white rocks and red large fowl so I decided to keep the white rocks as I could raise 30 of them per year and keep the strain going. Very good stain he has sold thousands of chicks to people over the last 30 years. Funny thing there is no one I can tell you that has his birds for over ten years. So why is that. They that had to breed and maintain.>?????
There is a line in California by Dave Anderson who got them from Calif dont know who's birds he got when he moved out there but what few pictures I have seen they look very nice. He does not ship eggs or chicks so no one has ever shown his birds.
Here is the bug a bear in large fowl reds. Lets say you get a hen from Anderson and a male from Radamaker and cross them. Then lets say you get a hen from Nelson line and cross them on a Mohawk. What will you end up with??
A genetic Mess. That's what a lot of people do each year and that's why they are out of Reds in three years. Think about it Mr. Reese sold at least 1,000 chicks to people in 20 years only one person ever made it to the level as a master breeder and that was 30 years ago or so to a fellow named Dennis Meyers of Wooster Ohio. He won more throphys than you can shake a stick at. He sold at least 1,000 chicks to people in 20 years and not one person has his birds today that I know of that have not been crossed onto some ones elses birds. So out of 2,000 Mohawk E W Reese chicks not one person is still left with his line.
However, there are Moahwks today where did they come from.?? I got two hens and one pullet and three ckls from one of the hens almost 30 years ago. I put them into three family's and then I sold at least 700 chicks to people and only two people still have them.
Greg Chamness from Illinois and Brian Simmons from Florida. So the descends of Mr. Reeses old line that he got from Mrs. Donaldson came from me.
Think about this Mrs. Donal son sold I bet 5,000 chicks and god knows how many large adult birds to people in her life time of 50 years of breeding only Mr. Reese made it with her birds.
So that's the history of the current Rhode Island Reds that I know about in the past 30 years. Of course I could write for five hours on the history of all the Rhode Island Reds going back to 1912. I got al the Rhode Island Red Journals, Red Hens tails from then to 1944. I got all the Rhode Island Red Chronicles form 1944 to the present. I got all the poultry presses from 1944 to the present and read them. I interviewed after that 20 old time breeders of Reds be for they died in the past 30 years. So I may sound like I am full of crap but I did my home work be for I got into this breed.
Well my computer says stop. Its tired.
I got to come back in the evening with a fresh mind and write a article for the Rhode Island Red Club of England Year Book.
My topic is Why People Fail with Rhode Island Reds in the United States.
I bet the reasons they fail in England are the same reason. I will post the article on my web site in a day or two.
If you have Standard Rhode Island Reds today keep it simple. Hatch from two or three good females, cull hard dont worry about color and dont buy a bird unless you know for sure its pure from the line you want to raise them from. Have a nice day.
