The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[cmom]

Not only the balancing act of a young male it is also the female submitting correctly. If you up your protein that might help. I know that in one breed I have I have to use a higher protein to get good fertility.

Rob, I don't think protein is the issue either for fertility. I have been feeding my birds 21% protein. I have recently changed their feed (FRM Show Gold Trio) from the grower which is 21% to the maintenance which is 12½ %, mainly because I don't think they need the extra protein during the hot months here and I had talked to Matt's dad and he told me they switch from the grower to the maintenance after the breeding season until late summer months when the birds start their molts.The only real issue I had was with my RC RIR male. He is one year old this month. My other males seem to be doing the job especially my Reese males.

Alieda

 

[Matt1616]

OH MY GOSH,

You may all disagree with me and that is fine. Everyone has opinions. I will never tell anyone what to or not to do with their birds/animals but when the time comes that I have to start plucking/trimming feathers from a chickens butt to get fertile eggs then I'm out of the chicken business. Holy catfish, I never heard of such stuff.

Got to tell this story. For quite a few years I bred German Shepherd Dogs, back in the 60's. Probably about 15 years ago I decided I wanted to get some really good stuff and I bought a male from over seas and had him shipped in to me. It cost me all but $6000.00. I had a very nice female and when she came in heat I turned the male loose with her and nothing. I'm not going to go into all the details except that I contacted the breeder and he sent me a video and pictures and said that this was what they did. They actually held the female and got down on the ground and got hold of the male and inserted him into the female. Oh my gosh, I about fell on the floor when I saw what some folks do. Needless to say, I don't breed dogs of any kind anymore. If that dog is that stupid that he doesn't even know how to do something as natural as breeding a female then I sure would not want any pups out of him.

I can say that I have had 5 or 6 different lines of the RIR's over the years and the only time I have had a problem with infertility was a couple of years ago in the really cold weather and it was with my RC Reds but the weather was really cold (like -35 degrees wind chill) and I had a really hard time until it warmed up. Real recent, I had a problem with some of my older males but I know it is because their spurs are toooo long. I've watched them and can only hit maybe 1 out of 3 or 4 times. They usually end up just giving up.

Just my thoughts and everyone can do what ever they please. If a bird or anything else can't breed naturally then I don't want them. I will stick with the ones that can. I know that folks do this but me personally, I never will. I had paid $470.00 for a pair of English orpingtons a few years ago and never had one fertile egg from them. The hen ended up dying and I butchered the cock bird. Expensive meal but that is just how it goes.

This is just my two cents worth and I'm sticking to it. I've got a whole lot more to do then to be a chicken butt plucker. Just saying.

Jimmy

Lol...Jimmy, you tickle me!!! There are many breeds and lines within breeds of exhibition poultry that would cease to exist if the people breeding them did not pluck or trim the vent feathers. I currently breed 2 such breeds and had another 1 for several years until last spring.
My Reds have never been one of those breeds as I have never had a fertility issue with them. On a bad batch I usually average about 75% that will hatch and on a good batch 95%-100% will hatch.

Matt

 

[NestingHillsSC]

Lol...Jimmy, you tickle me!!! There are many breeds and lines within breeds of exhibition poultry that would cease to exist if the people breeding them did not pluck or trim the vent feathers. I currently breed 2 such breeds and had another 1 for several years until last spring.
My Reds have never been one of those breeds as I have never had a fertility issue with them. On a bad batch I usually average about 75% that will hatch and on a good batch 95%-100% will hatch.

Matt

Yea hatching not a problem. Once they make it to the hatcher I get 80 to 100%. Those sportsmans are the bomb. LOL

They are turning I think to be a very good starter pair. Just have to work through this. Just get what I can get.

 

[Rancher3535]

Rob, I don't think protein is the issue either for fertility. I have been feeding my birds 21% protein. I have recently changed their feed (FRM Show Gold Trio) from the grower which is 21% to the maintenance which is 12½ %, mainly because I don't think they need the extra protein during the hot months here and I had talked to Matt's dad and he told me they switch from the grower to the maintenance after the breeding season until late summer months when the birds start their molts.The only real issue I had was with my RC RIR male. He is one year old this month. My other males seem to be doing the job especially my Reese males.

Alieda

I do the same for feed...Game Bird Breeder Oct-May/June then switch to lay pellets of 16%. Age plays a part but usually by 9-10 months the males should be ready for the pen and by 12 months good to go.

 

[immyjay54]

Lol...Jimmy, you tickle me!!! There are many breeds and lines within breeds of exhibition poultry that would cease to exist if the people breeding them did not pluck or trim the vent feathers. I currently breed 2 such breeds and had another 1 for several years until last spring.
My Reds have never been one of those breeds as I have never had a fertility issue with them. On a bad batch I usually average about 75% that will hatch and on a good batch 95%-100% will hatch.

Matt

Matt,

All I can say is it is a good thing that we are not any closer together because no one would be able to get the smiles off our faces. Some of the things that we would be talking about would have us rolling on the ground in laughter. Folks would say that we were up to no good. lol I know to well that there are breeds that would not exist if we didn't do certain things and that is why I don't have them. lol I've done an awful lot of things with the folks that I've taken care of for over 40 years but I surely did not enjoy it. I sure wouldn't want to have to do it with any of my animals. I guess I am just to old fashioned or to much of an old hick or hillbilly whatever folks want to call me. ha,ha I could just hear my neighbors now if I would be sitting down by my coop on a bucket with a chicken turned upside down between my legs and I was there plucking feathers from around the vent area. The cops would probably show up and arrest me for chicken abuse. lol

Thank God for the RIR's and so many others that I don't have to do this with. If I was to butcher one or eat eggs from one that had it's butt plucked or not plucked I think the meat and eggs would be just as good so I'll stick with the ones that I don't have to do that with. Oh my gosh Matt, I'm getting off this subject. I'm getting to crazy.

I'm so happy that I've given you all a good laugh. Friends tell me that I have a wonderful sense of humor and I just love chatting with you folks on here. Serious or silly I still enjoy you all.

Jimmy

 

[NestingHillsSC]

Matt,

All I can say is it is a good thing that we are not any closer together because no one would be able to get the smiles off our faces. Some of the things that we would be talking about would have us rolling on the ground in laughter. Folks would say that we were up to no good. lol I know to well that there are breeds that would not exist if we didn't do certain things and that is why I don't have them. lol I've done an awful lot of things with the folks that I've taken care of for over 40 years but I surely did not enjoy it. I sure wouldn't want to have to do it with any of my animals. I guess I am just to old fashioned or to much of an old hick or hillbilly whatever folks want to call me. ha,ha I could just hear my neighbors now if I would be sitting down by my coop on a bucket with a chicken turned upside down between my legs and I was there plucking feathers from around the vent area. The cops would probably show up and arrest me for chicken abuse. lol

Thank God for the RIR's and so many others that I don't have to do this with. If I was to butcher one or eat eggs from one that had it's butt plucked or not plucked I think the meat and eggs would be just as good so I'll stick with the ones that I don't have to do that with. Oh my gosh Matt, I'm getting off this subject. I'm getting to crazy.

I'm so happy that I've given you all a good laugh. Friends tell me that I have a wonderful sense of humor and I just love chatting with you folks on here. Serious or silly I still enjoy you all.

Jimmy

I live in the back hills of Tennessee.


This is on top of the hill I have to go over ever time I need to go to town. I live in the little valley below. I hate to say it but if my neighbors seen me plucking a chickens *** they probably would burn a cross in my yard.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
I went out this morning and looked at feathers near the vents. I have 2 breeds that have lots of fluffy feathers ~ my RIr and my BLRW. I only have 6 BLRW so I know they will get a trim come first snow. My reds I may wait and see how many of the juvies I keep.

If it was me and I really really wanted that show dog of yours I'd look into AI equipment, it sounds like they were all but doing that anyway. But I keep glancing at the AI equipment for my goats. I'm not much of a fan of a full size smelly buck in rut. So far no luck with the AI stuff though and so for both my chickens and my goats, the males have to do their part.

As for the RIR being less fertile, based on what I have seen on various processing days, the RIR are well equipped compared to the BLRW and Sumatras I have. So the RIR roo should be quite fertile.

 

[immyjay54]

I went out this morning and looked at feathers near the vents. I have 2 breeds that have lots of fluffy feathers ~ my RIr and my BLRW. I only have 6 BLRW so I know they will get a trim come first snow. My reds I may wait and see how many of the juvies I keep.

If it was me and I really really wanted that show dog of yours I'd look into AI equipment, it sounds like they were all but doing that anyway. But I keep glancing at the AI equipment for my goats. I'm not much of a fan of a full size smelly buck in rut. So far no luck with the AI stuff though and so for both my chickens and my goats, the males have to do their part.

As for the RIR being less fertile, based on what I have seen on various processing days, the RIR are well equipped compared to the BLRW and Sumatras I have. So the RIR roo should be quite fertile.

First off when I talk about my chickens now, all I have that I'm breeding is the RIR's. I have one pen with 5 hens and 1 cock bird that I collected and set 12 eggs from. These are the ones that I had such a hard time with a few weeks back. Of the 12 eggs, every one of them had a fully developed chick in, 6 hatched and 6 didn't and I think it was because of the trouble I went through with them. I collected 24 eggs from another group that have 6 hens and 1 cock bird that he was only in with them 4 or 5 days before I started collecting the eggs and of the 24, 7 of them were not fertile and the other 17 all developed. 12 hatched and and the other 5 were quitters for some unknown reason. Anyway, I don't consider this a problem of any kind.

Last year I only had 4 hens and 2 cock birds that I raised my chicks from that were from Matt and I sold quite a few day old chicks to folks and still had enough to get myself 2 nice little flocks from and unless a predator or something else gets them I will have enough to last me until I'm ready to give up. lol I am satisfied with the birds that I have and if one of those odd balls happen to hatch out I'll just eat it or sell it to a side show at the fair. lol Gotta love these red birds. Their eggs taste great and their meat is very good if we fix it right and that is all that matters to me. AND they look absolutely gorgeous strutting their stuff around my property. I've seen pictures of some of the show birds and I just sort of grin when I look at mine. Not all good birds are in a show pen and not all bad birds are in our back yards. We all do what we like and that is fine in my book. If one can help another when we run into a problem that is just great, if we try and solve our own problems that is okay also in my book. There is a lot of folks that have done more then others with these birds and that is just super duper in my book also.

The biggest thing in my opinion is enjoy what you have and what you are doing with them and try to make the best birds out of what you have to work with. OR hit up Matt for some of those Southern Ladies and Gentlemen. ha,ha. I still hear mine singing Sweet Home Alabama once in a while. Some of them that have been with me for a few years hit the wrong key now and then. They get a little of the southern draw and the northern twang mixed together. Oh my, gotta go.

Jimmy

 

[immyjay54]

That has to be the funniest thing I have ever read. I guess Ill just get what I get. Going to be a slow process. HAHA to your post. Still makes me laugh.

I've always heard that all good things are worth waiting for.

Jimmy

 

[cmom]

I hear mine singing Sweet Home Alabama once in a while too even though I don't have the original birds I got from Matt a few years ago, but all of the birds I have now are offspring of them. A fox got the girls and the cock died. I got the fox. My avatar is a male I got from Matt at the Lake City show in January.