The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[RedRidge]

Am curious what month most people put their breeding pairs/groups together...
I've heard some as early as Nov, and other as late as Feb.
What is the most common season and why for most folks? please mention approx. location in your reply since I'm sure it varies.

 

[FOGELLY]

Am curious what month most people put their breeding pairs/groups together...
I've heard some as early as Nov, and other as late as Feb.
What is the most common season and why for most folks?  please mention approx. location in your reply since I'm sure it varies.

I start my breeding pens the week after Christmas. I try to have some chicks hatching by the end January.

Ron

 

[Fred's Hens]

Down in KY, at the farms down there, bow and gun deer season means butchering, so the birds begin to fill the freezer as the air is much, more cooler. There is severe culling of the flock. We'll make our "matchups" of small breeding pens of typically one male to 3 females around Nov 1. We will normally set our very earliest eggs in late December, more typically mid January. We will "reset" those matchups around March 1 for the later half of the season, if we want different combinations. By May 1st we've normally set our last eggs. Summer heat and humidity takes over. We're all done and the birds are all done too. The focus of homestead life turns elsewhere as well. There are too many irons in the fire, so the shift in emphasis has to be kept in life balance.

Up here, it's easier to start later, if we wish and hatch later as well, if we need to, but the emphasis here also shifts to the gardens and other late spring and summer activities.

 

[AletaG]

Down in KY, at the farms down there, bow and gun deer season means butchering, so the birds begin to fill the freezer as the air is much, more cooler. There is severe culling of the flock. We'll make our "matchups" of small breeding pens of typically one male to 3 females around Nov 1. We will normally set our very earliest eggs in late December, more typically mid January. We will "reset" those matchups around March 1 for the later half of the season, if we want different combinations. By May 1st we've normally set our last eggs. Summer heat and humidity takes over. We're all done and the birds are all done too. The focus of homestead life turns elsewhere as well. There are too many irons in the fire, so the shift in emphasis has to be kept in life balance.

Up here, it's easier to start later, if we wish and hatch later as well, if we need to, but the emphasis here also shifts to the gardens and other late spring and summer activities.

Are you a song writer in the wee hours of the morning? A little polish, a refrain, and this really could be a song...

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Down in KY, at the farms down there, bow and gun deer season means butchering, so the birds begin to fill the freezer as the air is much, more cooler. There is severe culling of the flock. We'll make our "matchups" of small breeding pens of typically one male to 3 females around Nov 1. We will normally set our very earliest eggs in late December, more typically mid January. We will "reset" those matchups around March 1 for the later half of the season, if we want different combinations. By May 1st we've normally set our last eggs. Summer heat and humidity takes over. We're all done and the birds are all done too. The focus of homestead life turns elsewhere as well. There are too many irons in the fire, so the shift in emphasis has to be kept in life balance.

Up here, it's easier to start later, if we wish and hatch later as well, if we need to, but the emphasis here also shifts to the gardens and other late spring and summer activities.

I'm going to be trying this approach this year but with the exception of possibly closing up the breeding pens early this year. But I'm not entirely sure yet.
That brings me to my question about where people raise their chicks. For those of you that hatch in the winter, where do you brood your chicks so that they stay warm? And for those of you that hatch in the spring and summer where do you brood your chicks to keep them safe from flies and bugs?

 

[ve]

Question for you experience people: I noticed problem with my early hatches- boys develop crooked keel bone and sometimes have knee issues. Is anything in diet I am missing? I use Flock Raiser, Start and Grow-18% and add some Game Bird Chow-30%.I am giving plenty of boiled eggs and yogurt.

 

[Fred's Hens]

We can and do brood in the attached, unheated, but insulated garage, or the insulated shop building. It works just fine. Last January, it was bitter cold, so I improvised. I pulled in one of the small grow out pens and secured the lamp safely. Took scraps of heavy card board and OSB and sort of buttoned it up. Tossed a heavy moving blanket over the top. The chicks were just fine.

Kinda Redneck Feng Shui, but it worked.

 

[ronott1]

Question for you experience people: I noticed problem with my early hatches- boys develop crooked keel bone and sometimes have knee issues. Is anything in diet I am missing? I use Flock Raiser, Start and Grow-18% and add some Game Bird Chow-30%.I am giving plenty of boiled eggs and yogurt.

I have not heard of knee and keep bone issues as being Hatch or nutrition related.

It is probably Genetic. What line do you have? Can you post pictures?

 

[RedRidge]

Some pics of the kids... just shy of 15 weeks old...

 

[Robert Blosl]

For you beginners can you see the oblong brick shape on this young female. This is what you are looking for in a young red. Don't worry about color she will molt these out when she gets her final crop of adult feathers. Look at her beak color see the nice horn color? She should be nice and even in color. So nice to see such nice looking Rose Comb Red large fowl on this thread. One thing is for sure our friends who have hundreds of the so called R I Reds they get from the feed store cant buy this kind of fowl with a rose comb from the feed store. Congratulation's to you. What strain of Rose Combs do you own.?

For you who are thinking of getting Rose Comb Reds for your back yard project these are very nice true to breed birds. bob