The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[immyjay54]

Yes and Jimmy has great information on his site.

If I had more space I would have other lines too.

Fred and Ron,
First I want to say thanks to you two for the kind words and to anyone else that enjoys reading my web site. This will be my last year of having all the different blood lines. I will be keeping the hens from each line until they get to old to lay but other then that, I've worked with them long enough now to know which I like the best.
It has been a long ole road to hoe doing what I have been doing for the past 3-5 years but it has truly been a wonderful venture. A costly one but I feel it was well worth it. I've learned quite a bit doing this. I still remember ole Bob Blosl so many times saying that we can't to right with them if we have all the different lines but the more he and I got to know each other and the more he would PM me about what I was doing, he wort of understood and then he got to calling me a Science Farmer. Don't know if that was good or bad but he and I got to become pretty close friends before his passing. I really do miss our PM's back and forth to each other.
I will be posting a new page on my site between now and fall and let you all know what I'm doing and why I kept what I did. I will tell you all that the reason for not keeping all of the lines is because it is just to expensive and way to much work for me in the winter time.

I wanted to post this for a few days but I had an accident July 5th and scraped my eyeball with my fingernail and haven't been able to be on the computer, watch TV, be out in the bright sunlight or drive at night. My vision is finally getting cleared up enough that I can see a little better so thought that I would try and get this written down to you folks. Up until now, as soon as I would try and read anything on here my eyes would just go real blurry and water so bad that I couldn't stand it. I had to just sit around most of the day with my eyes shut for a the first few days after it happened. Thank God for answering my prayers.

Again I thank you guys for the kind words about my birds and my web site and I truly do hope that the information on there has helped some of you out at one time or another.
Jimmy

 

[Fred's Hens]

Hey Jim. It's hard to explain to folks how tiring it can be trudging through a brutal winter, what with feed and especially hauling water and keep the birds hydrated. I know you had a tough winter and we're all glad you made it through ok. I think winter is one of the greatest cures for the disease of having just a few too many birds.

Take care of yourself, Jimmy. Hope you're feeling a whole lot better soon.

 

[immyjay54]

Hey Jim. It's hard to explain to folks how tiring it can be trudging through a brutal winter, what with feed and especially hauling water and keep the birds hydrated. I know you had a tough winter and we're all glad you made it through ok. I think winter is one of the greatest cures for the disease of having just a few too many birds.

Take care of yourself, Jimmy. Hope you're feeling a whole lot better soon.

Can't write to much Fred because the vision is still a little weak. Glad I know the keys on my keyboard or I wouldn't be on here at all. I did learn a few things in typing class way back when. lol
You are so right Fred. I had 11 different pens with water fountains that were constantly freezing last winter. As I said a while back in a post that I was going down the back cement steps carrying a 5 gallon bucket of hot water from the basement to the coops and down I went. Oh my, I was crippling around for a couple of weeks from that one. Sure did let me know that I wasn't 25 anymore. ha,ha.
I went through 3 winters with all the different lines before I accepted the fact that I'm getting a little to old for all of this. Everywhere I go,, inside and out, I have steps and banks. Very little level ground here to walk on. Oh well, I'm sure going to try and remedy this in the next couple/few months before winter hits again.
Later my friend
Jimmy

 

[monnie662]

Can't write to much Fred because the vision is still a little weak. Glad I know the keys on my keyboard or I wouldn't be on here at all. I did learn a few things in typing class way back when. lol
You are so right Fred. I had 11 different pens with water fountains that were constantly freezing last winter. As I said a while back in a post that I was going down the back cement steps carrying a 5 gallon bucket of hot water from the basement to the coops and down I went. Oh my, I was crippling around for a couple of weeks from that one. Sure did let me know that I wasn't 25 anymore. ha,ha.
I went through 3 winters with all the different lines before I accepted the fact that I'm getting a little to old for all of this. Everywhere I go,, inside and out, I have steps and banks. Very little level ground here to walk on. Oh well, I'm sure going to try and remedy this in the next couple/few months before winter hits again.
Later my friend
Jimmy

We had some cold weather here in the South with frozen buckets, water hoses, etc. Also have a hill behind my horse barn that I have to slide down when the weather is muddy and it makes you realize your age when you finally stop rolling. lol. So take care Jimmy, love my Reds from you everyday I look at them.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Folks often ask how I manage to get down to just the essential breeders and a egg layer or two for the house each year. If you had our winters? I believe you'd quickly understand. We had 60 sub-zero nights last year, although, for sure, it was a that rare "polar vortex" winter.

All I really need, in any strain, is access to my two cockbirds and my 3 or 4 choice females. That's it. Then, crank out a lot of chicks, 60-70 chicks from March 1st to early May. Besides, breeding partners also have the birds so it doesn't all fall just on me anyhow.

At our age, Jim, caring for excess numbers through the winter? No, no. Those days are over.

I know we're in the middle of summer, but those winds of November will blow soon enough.

 

[desertmarcy]

Hey Jim. It's hard to explain to folks how tiring it can be trudging through a brutal winter, what with feed and especially hauling water and keep the birds hydrated. I know you had a tough winter and we're all glad you made it through ok. I think winter is one of the greatest cures for the disease of having just a few too many birds.

Take care of yourself, Jimmy. Hope you're feeling a whole lot better soon.

Hey Fred, in my neck of the woods, it's the brutal summer that cures that disease

 

[Fred's Hens]

Hey Fred, in my neck of the woods, it's the brutal summer that cures that disease

Having been in your neck of the woods in July and August, on many occasions, I absolutely concur. It's just as bad, on the opposite extreme.

 

[desertmarcy]

Question for those of you on here who have the Reese/Mohawk line of RIRs. I went through my pullets from this year yesterday, put different colored zip ties on them that correspond to hatch date so when I look at them, I know their age and can compare same age.
Anyway, found quite a few of them with stubs. Not big stubs, but tiny feathers between the toes. Some had only one or two, a couple had 3 or more and between more than two toes. Now last year, I did see a few birds with stubs and I sold them as layers, didn't keep any that had stubs. I had a couple of this year's cockerels with them too, they were butchered. I was told this is not a common problem with the RIRs. I do not know where these are coming from, has anybody else with this line seen this? Mine are pure, got my original stock from Matt1616, so I know they haven't been mixed with anything.

 

[RedRidge]

Monday, I'll be shipping two boxes of 4 chicks in each box, to a friend in TN. He'll be receiving 4 K's and 4 P's. These boxes each about $16 and the postage, Express, will be around $50 a box. If that sounds expensive? I'd just say that is likely less than two tanks of gas costs to drive somewhere and return. 4 week old chicks are about ideal to ship, as they are hardy enough and four of them fit nicely into these single nest size boxes. My personal guidance to folks, for what it is worth? Go this route. Forget shipping eggs as those are such a crapshoot. This is great way to get a good start. Well worth the relatively small investment, in my mind.

This is great! I have found no other person in TN raising standard bred Reds. Please don't hesitate to give them my contact info. Wish more people would raise them here.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I met a nice couple that is planning to visit you Red Ridge and get some of your rosecombs comb this fall.

@Fred's Hens are you getting a dip in the summer temps this week, we are it is going to be less than 60 at night. I can't recall a July when the pool was so cold swimming was miserable. But I have not used the pool very much this July.

@immyjay54 I hope you get feeling better. If you decide that you need to re home some adult or young adult birds, I'm interested. I really love the reds and I now have a setup that would make it easy to keep two lines distinct.