The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[onarres]

Anybody has a chart on all heritage breeds? Showing physical appearance colors of feathers, shanks.... Etc...

Best you can do is buy a copy of this book.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Anybody has a chart on all heritage breeds? Showing physical appearance colors of feathers, shanks.... Etc...

It's called the Standard of Perfection. $59 delivered to your door.

http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/store.htm

 

[joelducusin]

Also you can go online or probably a library and look up The American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection which explains a lot about what you're asking about for the different breeds.

Thanks

 

[cmom]

I call it the bible of the poultry world.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Such a shame you only sell hatching eggs, lol. The day I get an incubator i need to buy some from you!!

Many, many breeders will never sell eggs. They prefer started birds. Eggs always take a huge risk in the mail. Somedays are diamonds, some days are stones.

Too many experienced breeders have had one too many horror story of shipped eggs and disappointed buyers. Plus, not everyone has the incubating and hatching skills of cmom. Far too many cases of people with no experience having horrible hatches and blaming the results on the breeder and the eggs receieved.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Anybody has a chart on all heritage breeds? Showing physical appearance colors of feathers, shanks.... Etc...

If you want to cover all heritage breeds, you definitely should invest in an APA SOP book. If you're interested in HRIR standards, here's a free online book that tells a lot about them from a judge's standpoint. It's called Blue Ribbon Reds, what they are and how to produce them. Text and illustrations are based on the latest edition of the American Standard of Perfection:

https://play.google.com/books/reade...sec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1

 

[Fred's Hens]

If you want to cover all heritage breeds, you definitely should invest in an APA SOP book. If you're interested in HRIR standards, here's a free online book that tells a lot about them from a judge's standpoint. It's called Blue Ribbon Reds, what they are and how to produce them. Text and illustrations are based on the latest edition of the American Standard of Perfection:

https://play.google.com/books/reade...sec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1

The book was written in 1922. The "latest" standard referenced in the book's title is now almost a century old. While there may be some helpful things, from a historical point of view in this book, it is no way a substitute for the Standard of Perfection, sorry.

The fact is that the Reds were still a very new breed when that book was written and there would be enormous progress made over the 50 years following it being published.
Further? We must deal with the birds we have now, as they are now.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Many, many breeders will never sell eggs. They prefer started birds. Eggs always take a huge risk in the mail. Somedays are diamonds, some days are stones.

Too many experienced breeders have had one too many horror story of shipped eggs and disappointed buyers. Plus, not everyone has the incubating and hatching skills of cmom. Far too many cases of people with no experience having horrible hatches and blaming the results on the breeder and the eggs receieved.

You are correct, not many breeders will sell eggs. I, as well as many others, don't have the luxury of affording started heritage RIR, and that's why I am so thankful that people like cmom make eggs available to the public. Anyone buying shipped eggs should be keenly aware of the risk(s) involved. At the most, the breeder can only guarantee fertility (to a certain extent), but they can't guarantee viability. Once the eggs leave the breeder's hands, the variables are far too great and far too many for any other type of guarantee. It'll always be a gamble when you rely on the USPS to safely deliver your eggs. I set 30 of cmom's eggs this evening, and it's all on me now. While none of the eggs were broken and the package looked fairly decent, I know the eggs took a bit of jarring along the way. The (mostly small) saddles and wobbly air cells make it quite evident. Is it cmom's fault? Not in the slightest (excellent packaging by the way). Did I know the risk involved when I ordered the eggs? Most definitely. In my opinion, the gamble is worth the risk. If I have a good hatch, I will have far more than twice as many birds as I would have if I had spent the same money on started birds... if I could have even gotten them. Sadly, there are many people who ignore the risk(s), and then want to blame anyone but themselves if it goes sour. I didn't need to read the disclaimer that came with my eggs... I know the score. Anyone else who plans to order shipped eggs needs to do the same... and more than that... they need to know their equipment, how to use it, and how to handle shipped eggs that arrive in less than ideal condition. That's my view on the subject... to be taken with a pound of salt.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

The book was written in 1922. The "latest" standard referenced in the book's title is now almost a century old. While there may be some helpful things, from a historical point of view in this book, it is no way a substitute for the Standard of Perfection, sorry.

The fact is that the Reds were still a very new breed when that book was written and there would be enormous progress made over the 50 years following it being published.
Further? We must deal with the birds we have now, as they are now.

It is based on an older standard book (1910?), but from what I understand, the standard for RIR hasn't changed much in the last century. Or has it? I don't have the Forty Fourth Edition... that's why I ask. Thanks in advance.

PS: I love the avatar. Are those birds boxed up to be sent to me???

 

[Fred's Hens]

If you're gonna breed Reds and exhibit them, be prepared for the long haul. Bob Blosl, the origial starter of this thread, used to ask all the time on these pages. Will you stick around with these birds? Bob always said that folks come and they go, with the average person lasting less than 3 years and they get out.

This female was shown at the RIR National meet last December in Knoxville. There was a huge field entered, over 117 Reds, if memory serves in both LF and Bantam. She placed well. Better than dozens and dozens of other Reds, while a cockerel by Matt took 1st, as he should have.

I show this female not because she's perfect, because she is not, no bird is. The goal of "perfection" is just that. A goal one always has but never achieves. This bird took me over 5 years to breed. She's in the breeding pen now and bit by bit, tiny step by tiny step, we look to make a wee bit of progress with these birds each year. You hatch a ton of chicks, clean tons of bedding and poop. You carry the feed bucket and haul water in blazing heat and waist deep snow. Yup. It's work.