The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[catdaddyfro]

Ron told me that sometimes you don't know what you have until 8-9 months. He said don't give up on them till then.That's all I know at this point.

Or more/longer, some may take a year or more to show what they are. I have males still changing daily it seems, and they are 13mo. now. Makes it hard to cull the cockerels at a young age. I always second guess myself for a spell afterwards. but FEED = $$$

Jeff

 

[Robert Blosl]

Quote: Changing all the time. That's why Harold Tompkins who was from Concord Mass would let his birds go through a molt before he breed from them for his show birds. He then might even keep a female three to five years if she kept that youthful look as a old hen They can change on you and when they are older they look like a Wyandotte or a Orpington.

In regards to Beetle Green that is what I see on my reds and was a term used in the old days. Black dull black you will not see..

If you have a Red that is very dark in Surface Color. Has Black or blood red quill color, a beak that is almost 95% horn color, They will have beetle green in their tail, the neck feathers or Ticking of the female and the main tail will be green on the females but on the male they will be very rich beetle green. In the main tail area of a male you want the green or black to not only be on the outside but inside the main tail feathers. A good colored Red needs to have black going to the skin on the inside. Many have one to two inches of Red in the inside feathers a bird that has black to the skin is a sound colored Red. Just cant get any darker or better. Very rare to see but can be done with good breeding. A female because of her sex may not have black all the way like her brothers or sire but you don't kill them if they have strong black going down to the skin with a little bit of red showing at the base. This is color 104 don't worry about this beginners just focus on type. If you have a good strain like most how have them on this tread you can get away with color for three to five years as you learn how to breed for type. When I shrunk the red bantams from large fowl I did not for 15 years worry about color. It just kind of tagged along. The color is as good as ever. Now if I live long enough I may get these little Mohawks to have color like my old large fowl did.

Bill Mr. Kittles line and or his dads line where not very popular in the last thirty years. His father had a strain in the early days but it was not one of the top winning strains like the Harold Tompkins Strain. However, there where some very good Red Large Fowl in Penn. twenty or thirty years ago. Some where from Harold's old line. The secretary of the Red Club in 1968 had Harold's birds however he died in office and that's when the Secretary Mr. Rachel's from Florida took over. I am having a memory loss this am at least I am calm and not cranky. There Mr. Rachels Emmett good old boy his name came to me.

None the less all the Reds on this thread are nice. Fred the Tee Pee tail you pictured is a good one. It is a classic look from the rear when you see one you will know it.

We have another cold front coming thought today. Its May and still have cold front.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Our Barred Rocks take forever to judge. Slowest growing things. Kinda used to that. Don't expect good Reds to be much different. However, a pinched tail in adolescence isn't likely to suddenly improve, at least that's my experience, which is the tough thing to deal with.

Bob, yes sir. A good tent is indeed recognizable when you see it.

 

[Robert Blosl]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RhodeIslandRed/?fref=ts

Wife was on face book so I typed in Rhode Island Red Club and saw this.

Look at some of these reds and see what you think.

I was talking to a fellow who has barred rocks today and he was commenting on the tails of some strains and how
slow they mature.

Normally, if you got a good strain of Reds you can spot the super stars at young ages. When they are three to four months old they have it or they don't. Some get you really excited. I know one fellow who told me he could tell that one chick was special last year in the brooder box. He ended up being one of the best show birds he showed last year.

 

[docdandc]

I have a question along the same lines….

I have birds that I acquired from a few different sources but are of the same line. Most of the pullets had pinched tails and were culled early. I had a number of cockerels with to high of an angle on their tails but other than tail angle the tails looked good. I kept 2 cockerels with the best tail angle and 4 Pullets with the least pinched tail and bread the birds from person A to the birds from person B. I'm growing out the chicks now and have been culling hard. The chicks are now about 14-15 weeks old and I have 7 pullets that I’m liking what I see so far. The rest, another 20 or so were culled over the last month. I also kept and am still growing out about 10 cockerels from this bunch.

My plan was to pick the best 4 pullets and breed them back to my original cock birds and not breed my cockerels this year at all. I’m thinking that if I put this years cockerels over the original hens that I have (their mothers) I will just be setting in deeper the pinched tail trait that I’m trying to get away from. However, If any of the cockerels do turn out nice, I’ll show them this year and I can always use them down the road once I get what I’m after with the tails on the girls.

My question is…. Am I on the right path with this line of thinking?

Thanks in advance,
Chris

Yes.

 

[Robert Blosl]

You say you have birds from other people but the same strain.

Does lets say owner number three have over all better birds than say owner two or one?

Sometimes when you have say three batches of chicks from Mr. Browns old line the owners of the birds have modified the genes somewhat from what Mr. Brown might have had five or ten years ago. No fault of their own the climate might had modified the birds the feed or most of all his selection of what he or she thought was the correct type.

I saw this in a breed this year. The birds look different in shape. One sub strain is leaner than the other. One strains tails look different than the other got to see if crossing the lines will help and then clean up the faults.

 

[RedRidge]

For some of you who have been around the breed quite a while, I am doing some research and would love any info anyone might have about my great grandfather who raised RIR from about 1900 to about 1950.
He showed at Fairs in MO and IL off and on through that time period... I know he showed in MO in 1904-07 (I have the fair records for payouts)... and at the IL State Fair in Springfield in the 30's (rumor has it quite successfully).
He was a member of the RIRCA... he raised Rose Combs... he always signed and wrote his name as C.F. Haffey... his full name was Carl Frederick and he went by Fred.
He lived in Burton View, IL in the early 1900s, Mt Pulaski, IL in the 30's, and moved to Lincoln, IL in the late 30's.
I have an old black and white photo of his "chicken house" - I hesitate to use that word because it took up a whole block.
I've been trying to track the photo down since we moved... as soon as I find it I will post it.

I have no idea if he has any real relevance to the history of the breed... but I do know the RIR were his passion... he loved his birds.
I am priviledged to have some of the Underwood RC and nothing would thrill me more to find out there is a connection... the closeness of the relative locations is uncanny. That said... any information about him at all would be great.
I know he appears on the RIRCA roster, he advertised quite a few times in The Poultry Tribune in 1906, and there are a few records of show winnings.

Thanks to all who maintain this wonderful breed... especially thanks to those who have dedicated their time and experience and are willing to share with the rest of us.

 

[immyjay54]

Just to let folks that have the Underwood chicks know. Got my first egg today. These birds were 26 weeks old yesterday. It may have been from yesterday because I wasn't checking for eggs. lol
Jim

 

[Fred's Hens]

You say you have birds from other people but the same strain.

Does lets say owner number three have over all better birds than say owner two or one?

Sometimes when you have say three batches of chicks from Mr. Browns old line the owners of the birds have modified the genes somewhat from what Mr. Brown might have had five or ten years ago. No fault of their own the climate might had modified the birds the feed or most of all his selection of what he or she thought was the correct type.

I saw this in a breed this year. The birds look different in shape. One sub strain is leaner than the other. One strains tails look different than the other got to see if crossing the lines will help and then clean up the faults.

This is a very good point, I believe. Let's say someone says to you that they have the "Brown" line of birds. Let's say they've had them for 10 or 12. But.... it is also sometimes obvious that they did no selective breeding whatsoever and the birds went horribly backward. After 10-12 years, how would "Mr Brown" feel about those birds still be associated with his name? How would one even know that this buyer, 12 years ago, even got birds from "Mr Brown's" A pen? Maybe they got some from his B pen or even serious culls in the first place.

 

[RedRidge]

RC at 6 days old... just so cute I had to share...