The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[RoseMarie1]

I agree with this. I sometimes hear people say they want new birds from a different line to bring new blood into the line they have and it makes me cringe. I believe that you need a partner like Fred's Hens and bluebirdnanny are partners. I have been partnering with Matt. I have seen vast improvements in my birds and as Fred said you will hatch a lot for a few birds worth breeding.

OK I'm confused. I thought you could only breed so many times with the ones you have before you start having problems in it. Matt lives fairly close to me as well. I don't know of anyone else around to get any from but trying to learn all these things.

 

[cmom]

Quote: My original birds came from Matt too. They had pretty much stopped laying but have started up again recently. My pullets are laying like gangbusters.

Quote: It is an old rabbit hutch I modified to use for my broody's. There is another cage around them (chicken tractor).
right now I have a small coop in it because I have my Leghorn family in it. I stow the wheels on top.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I now have 3 families of Reds. I got another male from Matt in January. I am picking my best girls to put with these boys. I band all of my birds so I know who is from who. I am in the process of setting up my breeding pens now. I have some already set up but have a couple more to do. I have a blind Rose Comb Red who was a slow developer but now is really handsome but he can't mate the girls because he doesn't know which end is which. I think his testosterone is getting in gear but he can't see. Right now he is in with the Rose Comb girls but I can't put any other males in there because they try to challenge him and really freak him out. I had a lot of males but kept taking them to shows and swap meets and finally sold all of the boys I had for sale. I have one gal that wants one and he is the last one I'm going to sell. That will leave me with 15 males, 7 SC RIR, 4 RC RIR, 3 RC RIW, 1 Leghorn. I have 16 until I sell my last boy that's for sale.

 

[onarres]

Hello everyone,

Well I started my 2 girls on extra lighting 2 weeks ago and 1 of them has started laying 1 egg a day, 4 days in a row, each with a small twist at the pointy side, the other just 1 egg that was a bit on the thin shell side. I didn't expect them to lay for another week, but happy to see them start, especially since I need eggs for the bator to grow the flock. I'm gonna wait another week to see if things stabilize
The eggs that i did get weighed in at 50g, the low end of medium. My concern is getting enough good sized/shaped/shells for hatching. I have been feeding them layer pellets 16% protein, (some dried meal-worms and cracked corn in very small quantities to keep them from getting bored/low stressed)
I fermented some feed and gave that to them today, they seemed to like it and the extra moisture seemed like a good idea.

I was wondering If anyone could share some good info so I could get these 2 hens in line with each other for shell quality, I just have 1 incubator so I cant adjust it for ideal conditions if 2 sets of eggs are too far apart in difference.

I have some time before I put them with their dancing partners, I had them with the roosters because of unfinished living arraignments and I'm waiting 4 weeks for that to clear up, 1 1/2 weeks to go.
As always any input would be appreciated, I'm a newbie first time hatching and hoping to get the highest hatch rate I can, especially since I just have 2 girls to work with.

 

[cmom]

Hello everyone,

Well I started my 2 girls on extra lighting 2 weeks ago and 1 of them has started laying 1 egg a day, 4 days in a row, each with a small twist at the pointy side, the other just 1 egg that was a bit on the thin shell side. I didn't expect them to lay for another week, but happy to see them start, especially since I need eggs for the bator to grow the flock. I'm gonna wait another week to see if things stabilize
The eggs that i did get weighed in at 50g, the low end of medium. My concern is getting enough good sized/shaped/shells for hatching. I have been feeding them layer pellets 16% protein, (some dried meal-worms and cracked corn in very small quantities to keep them from getting bored/low stressed)
I fermented some feed and gave that to them today, they seemed to like it and the extra moisture seemed like a good idea.

I was wondering If anyone could share some good info so I could get these 2 hens in line with each other for shell quality, I just have 1 incubator so I cant adjust it for ideal conditions if 2 sets of eggs are too far apart in difference.

I have some time before I put them with their dancing partners, I had them with the roosters because of unfinished living arraignments and I'm waiting 4 weeks for that to clear up, 1 1/2 weeks to go.
As always any input would be appreciated, I'm a newbie first time hatching and hoping to get the highest hatch rate I can, especially since I just have 2 girls to work with.

You could make a homemade incubator/hatcher. I made one out of a styrofoam cooler and it works great. I have the ¼ x ¼ over 1 x 2 inch welded wire in it, It makes it more rigid. I have a temperature sensor on the other end that is why my thermometer shows two temperatures. This was before I modified it and had one bulb in the bottom on one end but still had a fan blowing across the bulb. I put the paper towel in the bottom to catch the chick poop to make for easier cleaning. I have several of these thermometers so I have them numbered. I hope this helps. It's not rocket science and the temperature can vary some. A broody will get off her eggs around 15/20 minutes every day to eat, drink and poop and the eggs still hatch. Good luck and have fun...

The humidity is lower here because I just took the hatched chicks and their shells out and the bulb was in the bottom. It is a 15 watt bulb

I originally put a dimmer switch on it to control the heat. The 2 cords coming out was, one for the fan and one for the light. I did change that to one cord.

After modifying, mounted the bulbs on the side with a wafer thermostat and the fan blowing across the bulbs. I put foil in the bottom. The bulbs are 15 watts. I put two in in case one burned out. It has happened when I had it with the single bulb in the bottom. I did put some holes in that have tape over them on the outside so I could take the tape off for more air. You can see a couple in the top right of the picture.

 

[Fred's Hens]

As you can see in the last photo, I incubate in "small" batches (12-24 eggs). But, I hatch in a larger foam box. Why do I do this? For the reasons you're concerned about. With single matings and small pair matings, you might only get 10-12 eggs a week and you do want to set fresh eggs.

By using two incubators, you can keep the asembly line going. The hatcher gets them on day 19. Plus, by not hatching in the incubator, it stays cleaner and likely has less chance of biological bacterias and so on.

The Brinsea Octagon is fine, but honestly? The home made one matches it in effevtive hatch rates. Making incubators and hatchers is a fun hobby. A hatcher is a simple thing to build. Just need proper heat, moisture and air. It's not rocket sceince. Since the eggs aren't turned the last three days, you don't even need a turner. I make these for around $20 or less, just depends.

 

[cmom]

Thanks Fred for the great idea. I have several of those coolers I got from a veterinarian friend of mine that drugs came in. They will work perfect.

 

[NestingHillsSC]

Put my Heritage Reds in the breeding pen. Need to hatch for myself, plus I have 100 people wanting them. Never going to happen.

 

[Fred's Hens]

To all the folks who want "real" Reds.

Here are some pointers, for what it is worth.

1. Use proper APA/ABA language. For heaven's sake, don't ask for "hens" when you mean pullets and DO NOT ask for "roos" as breeders don't actually raise marsuplials. We breed birds. Use the proper term cockerel for a young male or cock(bird) and older male. It is simply imperative to use proper terms or most breeders simply "dial you out" and ignore your inquiries: end of story. To be foretold is to be forwarned. Is this rude? No. It is simply the reality and you can either sink or learn to swim, the choice is up to you.
2. Breeders are now hatching chicks. That is what breeders may offer you this time of year. It's late winter/early spring. Last year's crop of semi-mature birds were all sold off last fall when the breeder made her/his selections. Do not expect mature birds this time of year as breeders won't have them. To expect otherwise is to display a lack of understanding of the cycle of breeding, hatching, grow-out, selecting, showing and selling off excess stock.
Many top breeders sell excess pullets/cockerels on the sales floor of the exhibitions near you. Go to the shows!!!!! They're all listed, by month and location at PoultryShowCentral.
3. If your breeder isn't a member of the RIRCA and/or well known in the APA/ABA yearbook and/or exhibition world think twice. Lots of folks propigate far less than standard bred poultry. Take your time and start with great birds or all you'll have is sub-standard, near hatchery stock cull birds. 90% of the folks selling Reds are NOT breeders and wouldn't have a clue about how to breed birds properly. They've merely propigators, which anyone can do, and are looking to sell birds/eggs/chicks. They'll often brag about who they got their birds from or whose "line" they are. Blah blah blah. Don't put a lot of stock in any of that. It may shock you to know that there are likely less than 20 top breeders of LF Reds in the entire US.
4. Many, many breeders, of all kinds of breeds, will not sell fertile eggs. Backyarders and rip-off website egg sellers often do for the sheer profit. Don't be offended by a top breeder informing you they do not sell eggs via shipping. There's a very good reason why not to do this, so take it a positive sign the breeder is sincere about their birds.
5. Ask the breeder questions about the size of their breeding pens. If the breeder has a "rooster" (sic) over 14 females? That's a propigator, not a breeder. If the "breeder" you're talking to doesn't use proper terms such as cock, hen, cockerel, pullet? Yeah, you're not talking to a breeder, rest assured.
Ask your breeder if they exhibit. Ask them if they're a dues paying member of the APA/ABA or RIRCA?
6. Do not let the first words out your mouth be, "What line do you have?" Allow the breeder to tell you about her/his birds and why they like the birds they have. Spend time listening, less time trying to speak.
7. If all you want is some reddish females to lay lots and lots of eggs in your backyard? You DO want those production reds, not true bred Rhode Island Reds. Real Reds are very good layers but will never, ever lay like the hatchery/feedstore stuff. Be realistic about what you really want birds to do for you. Do you intend to learn about breeding? Do you intend to exhibit your results to have your birds judged?
It takes time to learn about the breeding/exhibition world. Join the APA or ABA, join the Reds Club, attend sanctioned exhibitions in your area. It takes four years, sometimes five years, to get through college. It takes just about that same amount of time to learn about this breed, it's history, the lines, the breeders and exhibitors and who is who in this world. The internet is full, stuffed full, of really crummy information. Much of it is simply wrong or based on backyard caliber information.
8. Avoid the concept of "Heritage". Until this johnny-come-lately concept gets sorted out? It's largely a marketing gimmick and a huge bungled mess of confusion. There is a small element of truth in the term, but right now? Avoid the concept almost entirely as it is currently being abused as to have zero meaning whatsoever and folks are getting ripped off right, left and center.
9. In the Red's Club shield, at the top of this page, see the motto. Meat-Standard-Eggs. The "standard" refered to there is not the size of the bird, but the Standard, the breed standard for the bird. That standard is well defined. Unless your potential birds are bred to that standard, they aren't "real" Reds. Period. Do yourself a HUGE favor and buy the standard. It will be bundled in a book, along with other breed standards and sold by the American Bantam Association and/or the Amercian Poultry Association. It is amazing that folks will spend a ton of money of wrong headed things yet complain the Standard costs them $59 postage paid. Folks, the Standard is the Bible, so-called, for serious poultry people. Read the words of the standard, not just the photos or pictures included.

This is a magnificent breed, truly. If you get serious about a breed, the Reds can provide a life time of enjoyment.

Much of the material above is quite honestly distilled from (this thread's starter) Bob Blosl's own words; lessons he shared, while still living. Bob was no minor diety and didn't know everything about breeding birds. (who does?) But, his heart was passionate for the breed and he'd surely be pleased to see folks still falling in love with the breed that so captured his imagination.


There are only a handful of really top breeders who drift through this thread and may not have the time nor inclination to post very often, but they're here and would be glad to answer your questions. They will not likely correct every tid bit of "mis" information that sometimes gets posted here as that too is too taxing and time consuming, after all, anyone can post in here.
.
Just give some of them a chance to get back with you.
And remember… listen, listen, listen to what they share.


Fred
..

 

[cmom]

Going to a show Saturday. Showing a SC RIR male, a RC RIR male and female and a RC RIW female. I hope Matt is there. He usually shows there too. Hopefully I will see him since my birds came from him. He is so knowledgeable and I learn something every time we talk. Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks.