The Rhodebar thread!

[RedRidge]

So would you bother breeding the f1 females at all?

And have you ever considered a RIR male over F1 Females? Although the males would be only single barred, half of those would be heterozygous wildtype. Just a curiosity and something I had considered since I have 2 exceptional rir cocks.

 

[nicalandia]

So would you bother breeding the f1 females at all?

And have you ever considered a RIR male over F1 Females? Although the males would be only single barred, half of those would be heterozygous wildtype. Just a curiosity and something I had considered since I have 2 exceptional rir cocks.

yes if you have exceptional RIR cocks,use your F1 females, they ill give you near exceptional e+/eWh B/b+ you can chose from, all of the males will be e+/eWh B/b+ and heck even the e+/eWh females would be useful as e+ RIR are useful too(if bred to good RB males) remember that these BC1 to RIR will have much much improved type which will only help the breed

 

[RICHIEBARKER72]

here is a better picture

 

[SerenityAcreslw]

I have two Rhodebar cockerels they are 8 weeks. I'm playing with the idea of breeding them. Only problem is I have no females. The females I bought died within 3 days of purchase from coccidiosis, besides they were wheaten and poorly marked. These boys barely made it. I'm seeing that a lot of people are crossing to Rhode Island Reds. Is this just for fun or an added benefit? If I do decide to breed should I find Heritage Rhode Island Red hatching eggs or Rhodebars from a different line (or at least a different source)?

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

I have two Rhodebar cockerels they are 8 weeks. I'm playing with the idea of breeding them. Only problem is I have no females. The females I bought died within 3 days of purchase from coccidiosis, besides they were wheaten and poorly marked. These boys barely made it. I'm seeing that a lot of people are crossing to Rhode Island Reds. Is this just for fun or an added benefit? If I do decide to breed should I find Heritage Rhode Island Red hatching eggs or Rhodebars from a different line (or at least a different source)?

IMO always buy actual birds from local breeders. If you cross a good (and that is saying a lot) RB cockerel over HRIR pullets, all the females will essentially be improved RB and can be crossed back to the (good) RB cock. Then you're going to need some other bloodlines. From 100 hatching eggs you might get 1 (RB) or maybe 5 (HRIR) that are worth breeding. Photos of your cockerels from side, front, back, and top views straight on posted here will be helpful. Many RB are not what they should be, like your deceased pullets (sorry).

 

[RedRidge]

 
I have two Rhodebar cockerels they are 8 weeks. I'm playing with the idea of breeding them. Only problem is I have no females. The females I bought died within 3 days of purchase from coccidiosis, besides they were wheaten and poorly marked. These boys barely made it. I'm seeing that a lot of people are crossing to Rhode Island Reds. Is this just for fun or an added benefit? If I do decide to breed should I find Heritage Rhode Island Red hatching eggs or Rhodebars from a different line (or at least a different source)?

IMO always buy actual birds from local breeders.  If you cross a good (and that is saying a lot) RB cockerel over HRIR pullets, all the females will essentially be improved RB and can be crossed back to the (good) RB cock.  Then you're going to need some other bloodlines.  From 100 hatching eggs you might get 1 (RB) or maybe 5 (HRIR) that are worth breeding.  Photos of your cockerels from side, front, back, and top views straight on posted here will be helpful.  Many RB are not what they should be, like your deceased pullets (sorry).

Correction here...
A Rhodebar cock over RIR pullets are NOT improved Rhodebars! They are mutts. But, they are mutts who have genetics you can work with to get back to pure Rhodebars with enough generations of proper breeding and culling.
Your RB over RIR create a generation called F1s who "can be" your first step toward that improvement if you keep the correct ones.

Yes finding a decent RB cock is difficult, but not near as difficult as finding quality RIR pullets. Most RIR are not quality standard bred birds - most are hatchery bred that offer little to no improvement to the RB breed.
I personally think it's more important to find high quality RIR females for this project than it is to find a high quality RB male. But there is more than one way to skin this cat. ;-)

 

[EledaWV]

Our first Rhodebars, 1 week old! Extra pairs available lol, great hatch!

 

[malndobe]

Does anyone in Southern California have quality RIR or Rhodebar pullets/hens available? We had an incident over the weekend and dogs killed over half of my chickens, including all my Rhodebar pullets. My roosters were all in a "bachelor pen" and are fine, but if I don't find some girls to pair them with, I'll probably just butcher them. At this point I have about 15 roosters of various breeds, and only 6 hens, mainly Wyandottes.

I'd also consider shipping chicks from out of the area, not interested in shipping adult birds (to expensive)

 

[RedRidge]

Our first Rhodebars, 1 week old! Extra pairs available lol, great hatch!

Looks like that little pullet may be a keeper. I would cull the cockerel.

 

[nicalandia]

Quote:
the male looks to be e+/eWh to me but it could be the lighting and pic view, better pics would do him better justice