The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[Chris Herzog]

Hey Chris, I dropped a sack of flour. ha,ha. If you'd ask the chickens they'd tell you what it is and that they don't like it. lol Go ahead rub it in. I was sweating also but it was from breaking ice out of all the fountains and carrying buckets of warm water from my basement to fill them back up. lol The worst part is having to have really hot water to melt the ice in the little trough before I can turn the tops off. grrrr Oh well, I think I heard someone say that we really love this hobby. I just can't remember who it was that said it. I'd bet it was Jeff. ha,ha
Jim
Oh, I don't know if my grass needs cut or not. I can't see it. lol

Jim,
Yea I don't know how you guys do it up there but when it's over 100 down here for weeks at a time I'm usually wishing I were up near you. Because we worry more about the heat in the summer then the cold in the winter, we have to build our coops a little different then what you guys do. A few months ago I built some open air breeding pens for my NH's and this past week I built another set for my Reds. I have a little trim work left to do on it, but I'm happy with it. I still need to build at least one more like this but this is what I have so far.....

Chris

 

[immyjay54]

I think it was more like we have to really love this hobby.... LOL

yeah I could see where it could have been me, Jim ha ha

Well I wasn't quite as hot as Chris was down here today, no shorts but I was loving it though but we will get some cold stuff coming here this next week but still all in all ya'll northerners can have the white stuff, me no likee

that was a good picture you posted earlier I need to go visit your profile here and see the latest pics, has been a spell since I looked,oops hehe

Jeff

Hey Jeff,
I always have to say some funny little thing about/to you when I think of it. I know you don't get mad. I think you and I sort of carry one of those crazy genes in our blood. lol Thanks for the comment on the picture. I've added quite a few new pictures to my site lately. Just wait till spring/summer comes. Got me a new camera last week and I really like it so I will be adding and changing a lot of the pic's on my site. ha.ha.
Got to go. Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday.
Jim

 

[OSUman]

I stumbled upon this today, I thought it was interesting I didn't go much farther then the table of contents but in the table of contents there are three sections, R. I. Reds as Exhibition Fowls, R. I. Reds as Utility Fowls, and R. I. Red Egg Farms. It also has their origin, their history, and how to judge them.

http://openlibrary.org/works/OL7547891W/Standard-bred_Rhode_Island_reds_rose_and_single_comb

 

[Robert Blosl]

D. E. Hale, editor. Contributed to by the best known and most expert breeders and judges in America. Fully illustrated. Text and illustrations are based on the requirements of the 1910 edition of the American standard of perfection.

I have read this book many times plus the others that where written in that time frame. Those where the early days of R I Reds and most of the birds looked like the ones from the hatchery we have today. Those have reverted back to what they had back then. They did not get any real good looking bird till about the 1930s. Then it was not till really the 1950s when Harold Tompkins, Mrs. Donaldson and others got them to the level we have today.

When they pushed egg production over 200 eggs per year on a pullet they lost their type and color.

Harold felt his strain would make the most money all around if they lay ed about 190 eggs on a pullet year per 100 females.

Today we just need to worry about type type type and then color and hopefully if they have good feather quality they will lay well regardless what comb they have. Each strain is different. My old strain when I pushed them looked and lay ed liked Harold's old strain of the 1950s. Its simple to do just takes about five years to reach your goal of doing it. bob

 

[Tarps]

Chris, what are the dimensions of your breeding pens? How many birds will you put in each pen? Those are some nice looking pens.

 

[Chris Herzog]

Tarps,
Thanks! They are 6' x 12' devided into 3, 4' x 6' pens. I made them to put one male and one hen but could put a trio in them if I wanted to.

Chris

 

[immyjay54]

Jim,
Yea I don't know how you guys do it up there but when it's over 100 down here for weeks at a time I'm usually wishing I were up near you. Because we worry more about the heat in the summer then the cold in the winter, we have to build our coops a little different then what you guys do. A few months ago I built some open air breeding pens for my NH's and this past week I built another set for my Reds. I have a little trim work left to do on it, but I'm happy with it. I still need to build at least one more like this but this is what I have so far.....

Chris

Chris,
These are super nice for breeding pens. Gosh, I would settle for all of these that I could get only I wouldn't divide all of them. lol That would work then cover them with tarps or plastic of some kind for the winter. They can handle the cold pretty well. It's me that can't take it to well anymore. lol If it wasn't for the water freezing, I wouldn't mind it at all. I just hate breaking the ice.
I really like all your pens that I've seen so far. Keep up the good work there buddy. Your doing a fine job.
Jim

 

[catdaddyfro]

Chris,
These are super nice for breeding pens. Gosh, I would settle for all of these that I could get only I wouldn't divide all of them. lol That would work then cover them with tarps or plastic of some kind for the winter. They can handle the cold pretty well. It's me that can't take it to well anymore. lol If it wasn't for the water freezing, I wouldn't mind it at all. I just hate breaking the ice.
I really like all your pens that I've seen so far. Keep up the good work there buddy. Your doing a fine job.
Jim

LOL Yeah that's what his wife tells him too with a smirky smile while all the time wanting to REALLY say; you're using up more and more my horse pasture too so on and so forth LOL J/K Chris I couldn't resist it man! I like those coops too when you get bored come on over and build some here as I've about gotten my old original coop 'bout broke in and need some more to start wearing the new off of. have a sawmill right down the road too LOL

 

[immyjay54]

LOL Yeah that's what his wife tells him too with a smirky smile while all the time wanting to REALLY say; you're using up more and more my horse pasture too so on and so forth LOL J/K Chris I couldn't resist it man! I like those coops too when you get bored come on over and build some here as I've about gotten my old original coop 'bout broke in and need some more to start wearing the new off of. have a sawmill right down the road too LOL

Oh my gosh Jeff, when I saw this I had to get into old pictures. Your old coop looks like something that would have went with my G Grandpa's place. Now mind, we are going way back. These pictures would have been in the 1800's. My dad was born in 1897 and this was his grandpa and grandma's home.




g grandma standing on their porch. ha,ha. Talk about being an old hick. That's me. lol

 

[Fred's Hens]

Christmas morning, chicks hatching. Good cup of Starbuck's Christmas blend coffee, quiet house, wood stove glowing. Great Christmas morning.

Set eggs back on the 5th and 6th. Grandkids coming in tomorrow. Looks like some of the chick's aren't going to wait. Oh well, papa's enjoying them anyhow. Merry Christmas everyone.