The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[NestingHillsSC]

I also agree. I say again, if eggs are such a big deal for anybody then get Leghorns. Plan and simple.

 

[FOGELLY]

I also agree. I say again, if eggs are such a big deal for anybody then get Leghorns. Plan and simple.

Anthony, when your pullets kick in and start laying you be rewarded with good amounts of nice large eggs.
They will take their sweet time getting started (8 months) but will lay for you for many years.

Ron

 

[Robert Blosl]

This is normal for folks who convert from feed store chickens to standard breed chickens. They have no other expertise other than what they got from the stores.

Lets face it you have high egg production for the breeds you sell, you hatch lots of chicks per 100 birds breeding you make more profit.

If Hatcheries had our birds and sold them they would not make enough profit per chick per year per sq foot of chicken house space and would go broke

That's why they sell what they have. The normal public don't care as if they look like a polish or rock or red their happy.

Just be patient and try to get you mind off egg production on these birds of ours. 175 eggs per pullet year is about right. 200 will be max remember more than that on a female of a dual purpose brown egg chicken and you are going to have females die from blow outs.

If the egg issue is a big thing then get you three golden eggers or cherry eggers and mix with your good birds for more eggs. It wont hurt nothing. If again it screws up you head you want more eggs then stick with hatchery chickens and get you new ones every year. Very simple.

 

[Clayton1977]

I need some True RIR Heritage birds.I bought some from a woman and they are production reds.So do you have any for sale?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I need some True RIR Heritage birds.I bought some from a woman and they are production reds.So do you have any for sale?

It is not the season for chicks, your search might be a hard one. If no one else responds, you might need to get on a waiting list for spring. I will have extra HRIR roosters come fall but no females or chicks, as this is my first year with them. I'm going to be breeding to expand my flock the next few seasons.
Best wishes with finding true HRIR.

 

[immyjay54]

I'm making this post to defend the red's that I have. First off, I know that a lot of folks on here got eggs/chicks from Ron Fogle this year and I can't say one thing, good or bad, about them because I never had any of them. I can say that the Don Nelson and the Gary Underwood lines that I have are good layers. It ruffles my feathers a little when I hear "If you are wanting eggs, get Leghorns, production reds etc." If I didn't already have my reds and was reading this kind of talk I would probably never get HRIR's.
I think instead of giving folks this kind of opinion about the breed, why don't you all say If you are wanting egg production you have to get a certain blood line. I will always have the HRIR as long as I have chickens but believe me, there are some lines that I have had that I will never keep again. They are totally useless in the egg department. They were good looking birds and plenty big enough for meat birds BUT I personally will not feed a bird that will not lay enough eggs to help with the feed bills. This is all just my opinion and if I ruffled any feathers, I'm sorry.
Jim

 

[FOGELLY]

I'm making this post to defend the red's that I have. First off, I know that a lot of folks on here got eggs/chicks from Ron Fogle this year and I can't say one thing, good or bad, about them because I never had any of them. I can say that the Don Nelson and the Gary Underwood lines that I have are good layers. It ruffles my feathers a little when I hear "If you are wanting eggs, get Leghorns, production reds etc." If I didn't already have my reds and was reading this kind of talk I would probably never get HRIR's. I think instead of giving folks this kind of opinion about the breed, why don't you all say If you are wanting egg production you have to get a certain blood line. I will always have the HRIR as long as I have chickens but believe me, there are some lines that I have had that I will never keep again. They are totally useless in the egg department. They were good looking birds and plenty big enough for meat birds BUT I personally will not feed a bird that will not lay enough eggs to help with the feed bills. This is all just my opinion and if I ruffled any feathers, I'm sorry. Jim

No feathers ruffed here I don't make statements about strains or lines I have no experience with. This strain will speak for its self. The people who have birds from me are going to be pleasantly surprised with the rate of lay. I agree with Jim, and had people try to streer my away from HRIR because of the misconception that they don't lay well. Any breed, including the Leghorn, can have their rate of lay degraded when bred with no reguard to this trait. Ron

 

[immyjay54]

No feathers ruffed here

I don't make statements about strains or lines I have no experience with. This strain will speak for its self. The people who have birds from me are going to be pleasantly surprised with the rate of lay.

I agree with Jim, and had people try to streer my away from HRIR because of the misconception that they don't lay well. Any breed, including the Leghorn,
can have their rate of lay degraded when bred with no reguard to this trait.

Ron

Ron, this is so true.
Some folks have gotten so wrapped up in showing these birds that they have forgotten that they are to produce eggs. I do know that I've read some of your post where you said that you were well satisfied with the way that your girls lay. AND I will say that I've seen pictures of some of your stock and in my eye, I'd say that some of what I seen should be able to go and win at the shows.
It is sort of like when I raised German Shepherd Dogs. Years ago, the GSD was known to be a wonderful watch dog. I hadn't messed with them for quite a few years and I bought one and had him shipped in from Hungary (over $6000.00). He was 12 months when I got him. An absolutely gorgeous dog. He did not even know how to breed my female, and for watch dog, I never ever heard him even bark. The video's that I received showed him working on the sleeve etc. I guess I should have told everyone to where one of those sleeves when they entered my home. lol When folks came to my home (total strangers) he would walk around licking their hands. Yes, he was a super duper show dog, had all his ratings, one of the best put together dogs that I had ever owned but was he what I wanted NO. Needless to say, I gave him away a year or so later. Never again. No this wasn't a one time thing. I also bought a pair of pups another time and they weren't worth anything either.
Folks can mess up a good thing really quick if they don't pay attention to what they are doing.
Long live the good RIR's. I think if we are going to be breeders, we should ask folks what they are looking for in their stock before we sell them a certain line. Then say, "If you are wanting a hen that is a good egg producer, you should get this line and not this one." I would rather preserve a good line then have a bunch of no goods that look good in a show cage. Again, just my opinion. After all, they are all Rhode Island Reds no matter what bloodline they are. I'm talking pure RIR not the mixed ones.
Jim

 

[Fred's Hens]

Just a side comment. We also need to wrap our minds around these numbers. I80 eggs per year is an "average" of an egg, roughly every other day, or 3 or 4 eggs per week. That is very decent laying. What is also important, but rarely mentioned, is the quality of that egg. Size, grams, and shape.

If a good, healthy, long living, pleasant natured hen lays 4 eggs per week of good quality? She's a keeper.
If a line consistently produces only 2 eggs per week, on average, that line wouldn't be one I'd be feeding. Sorry. Can't do it. This is a homestead.
If a line consistently produces poor eggs in size and shape for large fowl? That wouldn't be a line of birds I'd care for much either.

I've got my old trainer hen. She's going on 4 years old and has lost a step or two. But she's still one of the nicest birds to have around. She lays an excellent shaped, extra large, high quality egg every other day, just about. She's still laying and still running the hen house affairs for me. How many little sex link burnouts has she outlived? She's seen a lot of them come and go. They aren't coming anymore.

So, my word is simple, I guess. Think about numbers, yes. But also think about quality. That's more important.

 

[ronott1]

Just a side comment. We also need to wrap our minds around these numbers. I80 eggs per year is an "average" of an egg, roughly every other day, or 3 or 4 eggs per week. That is very decent laying. What is also important, but rarely mentioned, is the quality of that egg. Size, grams, and shape.

If a good, healthy, long living, pleasant natured hen lays 4 eggs per week of good quality? She's a keeper.
If a line consistently produces only 2 eggs per week, on average, that line wouldn't be one I'd be feeding. Sorry. Can't do it. This is a homestead.
If a line consistently produces poor eggs in size and shape for large fowl? That wouldn't be a line of birds I'd care for much either.

I've got my old trainer hen. She's going on 4 years old and has lost a step or two. But she's still one of the nicest birds to have around. She lays an excellent shaped, extra large, high quality egg every other day, just about. She's still laying and still running the hen house affairs for me. How many little sex link burnouts has she outlived? She's seen a lot of them come and go. They aren't coming anymore.

So, my word is simple, I guess. Think about numbers, yes. But also think about quality. That's more important.

Very Well said.