The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[Yellow House Farm]

Jim, this is just my take. FWIW.

The great old breeders who made, tweaked, preserved, improved, showed, cared for, and handed down these birds were unique individuals. Yes, they read the same standard you and I still read, but each was an individual artist at work.


In short, they're different because of the different inner vision and work of great folks who came before us. They were different folks who took the birds to a place they wanted.

Or what Fred said ;-)

 

[Laingcroft]

Just adding some eye candy. Good light for photos of young reds on the run.

 

[immyjay54]

"Pure" is often over-emphasized as something singularly preferable. Of course, all things being equal, the purer they are the easier they are to work with, the more predictable, but chickens are extremely variable. I could take chicks from you, from one of your lines, and, introducing no new blood, have birds that differ from yours significantly in 5 to 10 seasons. The RIR gene pool is a huge gene pool in comparison to, say, the Dorking gene pool. I would take the variance you are witnessing--apparently all disciplined within the scope of their own strain--as a sign of vital biodiversity within the breed and a genetic acknowledgment that different breeders reading the same info interpret said info differently, and the effects of that different interpretation over a time-lapse of real-time selection leads to different strains with breed-representative variations. In short, one could read it as a good thing that they're not all identical.

From the point of view of one rather intimately acquainted with Don Nelson's stock, you have some good birds.

Thank you so much.
Jim

 

[immyjay54]

Just adding some eye candy. Good light for photos of young reds on the run.

Nice younguns. lol

 

[Laingcroft]

Wish they didn't look so rough but they free range and get into EVERYTHING. Most curious and active foragers. Going to have to start confining them soon for observation and first culling. Kinda sad when that time comes but they have to look good for the November show and setting up the breeding pens shortly thereafter.

 

[immyjay54]

Wish they didn't look so rough but they free range and get into EVERYTHING. Most curious and active foragers. Going to have to start confining them soon for observation and first culling. Kinda sad when that time comes but they have to look good for the November show and setting up the breeding pens shortly thereafter.

LOL I think you would find that they go through that rough stage whether free ranging or confined.
Jim

 

[bluebirdnanny]

LOL  I think you would find that they go through that rough stage whether free ranging or confined. 
Jim 

Yep, I agree. I free range but I am not showing, only breeding and my own consumption right now, so I really don't worry on how bare necks are etc as long as there is no damage (bleeding, wounds) and they are healthy.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Yah, they don't look rough; they look young.

 

[Laingcroft]

Yup they are young and they are also all dusty/dirty from tearing up the compost pile.

 

[immyjay54]

Yup they are young and they are also all dusty/dirty from tearing up the compost pile.

Oh but they have so much fun. Just like a child in a mud puddle. lol I remember when.
Jim