The PR was developed by crossing RIR's and New Hampshire Reds. I'm new to this, and the only difference I see in pictures (I have a PR) is the PRs seem to have darker, bigger tails, but that's a very newbie observation. I'm sure someone on here can give you better feedback.
Most hatchery Rhode Island Reds and Production Red are going to look real close to the same.. There are two lines of Production Reds. The first are bred solely from Rhode Island Reds (Just like the New Hampshire) The second are a Rhode Island Red that have had some Leghorn blood added (They tend to have more White in there tail and hackles) In my opinion, A Rhode Island Red crossed with a New Hampshire is no more a Production Red than a New Hampshire is. (The New Hampshire was bred solely from the Rhode Island Red ) Chris
My production reds have white flecking throughout their feathering, have lighter colored feathers than a RIR...more like a NHR, but do not have the body size of a NHR. They also seem to be less hardy than the typical RIR or NHR. Mine were raised in a pen, debeaked when they were little and fostered out to me after they were 2 yrs. old....I find they don't forage well but this could be due to the debeaking they've endured or the earlier life of being confined to a building and no outside access.
My Production Reds from the feed store are now pretty large and don't have any white on them, and I thought for a while that they were RIR's one thing about them though is they tend more toward cannibalism/feather picking, at the least, if they don't get enough protein in their diet. I add extra treats like Black Oil Sunflower seeds and yogurt every day, and sometimes scrambled egg, to bump up their protein intake.
I adopted these hatchery girls when they didn't know what to do with them after a school experiment. They were said to be hatchery RIRs. Crummy, very old photo. XD Which do they look like to you guys?
The only way to know for sure is to ask the folks that bred the specific birds in question. "Production Red" is a vague term that can mean different things to different people.
