The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[monnie662]

Most people don't really care about lineage or standards, they just want good layers.

I sold some cockerels last year to a guy who did not have the Nelson line birds and he was going to cross them with the Reese birds and I did try to discourage him but it was like talking to a wall. So what do you do you just sell your extras and hush even though I had read enough on here from everyone that you don't cross lines.

 

[RedRidge]

 

 Most people don't really care about lineage or standards, they just want good layers.

I sold some cockerels last year to a guy who did not have the Nelson line birds and he was going to cross them with the Reese birds and I did try to discourage him but it was like talking to a wall. So what do you do you just sell your extras and hush even though I had read enough on here from everyone that you don't cross lines.

Nope, I eat all my extras. I've gotten to the point where I will just sell to folks who I know really want them. Or at the other extreme I sell as layers with "no line or claims attached". Otherwise I eat all my extras.
We are so far from the nearest post office that it no longer pays the gas money and the 90 minutes spent packing and on the road to ship eggs.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

@Fred's Hens and any other northern breeders, Do you provide light to get started breeding before spring? If so what kind of light do you provide the chickens?
Last year I had rope lighting in the coop and I'm not sure it was bright enough.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The birds are rested in fall and early winter. No need to push them, so we do not. That all changes as January draws to a close.

We have to provide some supplemental lighting, especially for the breeding season. Here's why. We are at the 45th parallel which is half way to the north pole. Our winter daylight bottoms out at 7 hours of daylight at the winter solstice. Plus, our harsh winter, with eternal, deep snow cover means the birds are in the barn for most of the winter. We find the males need the light as much as the females.

I have the light (mini CFL) snap on at 5 am and click off at 8 am. That added three hours seems to help a lot. I don't light them up for 18 hours or anything, but some supplemental lighting is almost required for improved laying. During dark, dreary or gloomy days, I'll also leave some lights on after morning chores. They're only 8 or 9 watt CFL that don't cost much to run.

Up on the hill in Kentucky where there is no electricity, we use solar LEDs and they've also proven effective.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I'm hoping to get a batch of eggs set for the new year's hatch well the 2nd of January. But I would like some eggs for the holiday dishes in late Nov and Dec. I'm thinking the eating eggs will be coming from any of the cut from the breeder program hens. But the breeders I'm just hoping they start laying in time for a new year's hatch. After this bad winter most of my breeder chickens are still quite young.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I have auto waterers. When I do need to medicate I shut off their waterers and put out 5 gallon waterers. There water stays pretty cool. the water lines are buried under their coops.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I have my pens separated and do not cross the lines. I have found a fellow with descendants of the same line I have and will get some birds from him once in a great while. That is how I get new blood into my flock. They are the same line (Reese), just a different family. If I do happen to get a cross, I just sell females as layers and sell the males. I do have a couple of coops with pens that have my RSL and miscellaneous birds. Most people want the males just to have a rooster or to eat. I really don't care. I can't kill the birds as I just get too attached to them. I know a lot of people who raise chickens when they cull, they go into the freezer. I have killed many animals in my life but just have a problem with killing the chickens so I sell them. If they aren't pure I do not tell people they are I just sell them as layers, but if they are pure and I sell them I let the people know they are but as I discovered, most people don't care about pure lines. Most of my pure birds I take to shows to sell where people are more inclined to want pure breeds. A lot of the people I sell to want to start raising a line. They are first amazed by the color and how dark red my HRIR birds are or how white my RC RIW birds are. I don't know what line my RC RIW birds are. I bought them from people who bought them from Sand Hill Preservation. I tried to contact Sand Hill to see if they knew but no one ever got back to me. Since I don't know the line. I have been breeding my own. I do not breed siblings, but will breed father to daughters and mothers to son. My RC RIW original cock bird died a few months ago. Found him dead in his coop one morning. Nothing visibly apparent as to why. He was a good fellow and gentle with the gals.

 

[monnie662]

I have my pens separated and do not cross the lines. I have found a fellow with descendants of the same line I have and will get some birds from him once in a great while. That is how I get new blood into my flock. They are the same line (Reese), just a different family. If I do happen to get a cross, I just sell females as layers and sell the males. I do have a couple of coops with pens that have my RSL and miscellaneous birds. Most people want the males just to have a rooster or to eat. I really don't care. I can't kill the birds as I just get too attached to them. I know a lot of people who raise chickens when they cull, they go into the freezer. I have killed many animals in my life but just have a problem with killing the chickens so I sell them. If they aren't pure I do not tell people they are I just sell them as layers, but if they are pure and I sell them I let the people know they are but as I discovered, most people don't care about pure lines. Most of my pure birds I take to shows to sell where people are more inclined to want pure breeds. A lot of the people I sell to want to start raising a line. They are first amazed by the color and how dark red my HRIR birds are or how white my RC RIW birds are. I don't know what line my RC RIW birds are. I bought them from people who bought them from Sand Hill Preservation. I tried to contact Sand Hill to see if they knew but no one ever got back to me. Since I don't know the line. I have been breeding my own. I do not breed siblings, but will breed father to daughters and mothers to son. My RC RIW original cock bird died a few months ago. Found him dead in his coop one morning. Nothing visibly apparent as to why. He was a good fellow and gentle with the gals.

I only plan to work with the one line I have but I don't really want to kill the roosters either I also get attached, but do have a friend that wants to kill the three largest cockerels and I will let her, may be the one and only time she does this, will be a learning experience for her, and someone from BYC has contacted me about the young cockerels so I hope I'm out of the young cockerel business until Spring. I also was wondering about the lights too so I'm going to try that if someone will be tell me what kind of lights and where to buy especially the solar LED. I am proud of my Reds and my little flock is slowly growing. And it is a pleasure to work with a nice rooster and not have to watch your back

 

[Fred's Hens]

Been working for years and years on some old line Kittle birds. Finally seeing improvement in the tails. Tail length is much improved and tents are widening. It's been slow progress. The feathers are also getting much closer to correct. They're now black with a fine outline of red. This is not been easy.

I remember when Jimmy showed some female tail feathers from this line a few years back.

It's been a slow grind, Jimmy, but we've not thrown in the towel yet.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Here's the young males from that same project line. Again, improvement is seen, but still lots of work to do. Sigh.

These are the two finalists. The rest were very tasty.




This one is carrying his width to his tail pretty good. Now, if he would just grow a tail.