I have a new breed!!

Well, not really a "new" breed at all, but another one of the very old traditional ones...Rhode Island Reds!!

I have actually been preparing for this group for a while.  I had to move out the last of my Silver Laced Wyandottes to make room.  I've done quite a lot of reading and I was pretty sure this was going to be a great addition to our farm.  I wanted the Rose Comb type because I already have enough (more than enough!!) single-combed roosters that need extra protection from frost damage.
And I wanted to be sure I was getting the real deal - not commercial lines.

Well the young group is now here, and I'm just thrilled with them!
They are the deepest, darkest, glossiest red and almost look black at times!  I had talked to some people who warned me that Reds can be flighty, but I'm glad to see this group is active but not at all flighty or easily startled.  They are calm and happy.








They are still babies, the boys are just developing their tail feathers and they still have growing to do. So it will be fun to watch them mature.  Its so fun to have a brand new breed of poultry to play with!

Nice! They look like a great start. How exciting to be moving forward with something new.
I haven't seen many of the rose combed ones before.

Very cool!

You'll love them ..............had them for years ( hard to find true reds these days ) ,awesome layers , great for  brooding , and tasty a well .............congratulations , they look great

oh lovely!  is it a rose comb with a spike or just a rose? we love our bantam rirs..would really like to have the rose comb variety in them too but it is hard to find..yes straight backs are what you want a brick shape in body type.  so fun to have something new to feast your eyes on!

Oooh la, la. Look at the deep red, love that. Yes, a beautiful Rhode Island red, that is that proper deep red is something to behold. Back on the coast I had two hens that I purchased from a friend that was into exhibition grade Rhode Island reds. They looked very much like the colour of yours Kathy, beautiful as beautiful could be. I sold them when we were moving up here, cause I really needed to figure out what breeds I was going to bring with me. They went, and I had sold some others that I have never stopped kicking my ass over. But let history pass, it must. You ahve some beauties there for surely. But really? You want another breed to work with, silly girl, seems to me that you have your hands pretty full with all the other stuff going on with your breed choices. But oh well, now I will know where to go if I ever need a quality RIR. Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

What colour is the egg please?

Congratulations on your new-to-you breed!

Congrats. Nice looking birds =)

Thank you for the comments!  Large fowl RIR's are hard enough to find, and the Rose Comb type seems even less common in Canada.   These were shipped from Ontario, but it would be good if can find another breeder with good quality, unrelated stock a bit closer to home.  
Cynthia, you are absolutely right to call me a silly girl.  I already have quite enough going on and really didn't need to have a new project!    
But I have made some changes, dropping the blue and black Orpingtons last year and then the Wyandottes so I use that in my defense when hubby questions my sanity in wanting to start new with another breed.  Also, he knows me pretty well by now, and when my heart is set on something I get pretty determined about making it happen.  He usually ends up liking the breeds after all is said and done, so its all good.  

(If the photos don't show up on here its just that the host server where I have them uploaded to is down again. I should have used photo bucket.  )

Mirycreek, they have a Rose Comb with leader.  Looks like these boys have good combs forming with that little spike out the back.  Hope it stays nice and straight.

Oh, and Cynthia they should lay an egg with med. to dark-brown shell, but these pullets are not yet laying. Can't wait for those first eggs, though!

Congratulations Kathy!!!
Those are some beautiful birds! I really like the looks of them. They seem very solid in the pictures.

if you could find good sc rirs to cross in with yours one day do youthink it would cause problems as sc are dominant?

I believe the single comb is recessive to the rose comb. That is why the odd one pops up in wyandottes. It just sits there lurking.
You could do it, if you could find some single combs that are good enough. Then really keep good data and cull anything without the comb you want.
Not sure if Kathy wants to travel that road just yet though....

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What beautiful birds. enjoy!  

nice birds
sent an email

Thought I'd give a bit of an update on my Rhode Island Reds.  This is my first year of breeding/hatching them and I'm totally sold on these birds!  The chicks have had absolutely none of those issues that can take the joy out of brooding such as pasty butts, feather picking or general stupidity.      They hatch without a problem and right away they are active and ready to go.  

My future goal is to have a nice sized flock of RIR's that are pure for Rose Comb.  But due to lack of breeding stock I've had to do some crossing with some good Single Comb Reds.  So at this point, about ½ of the chicks I raised ended up with single combs and half with Rose Combs.  So far I haven’t seen any that are messed up and don’t fit either description which was something I wondered about.  All the chicks I hatched carry the gene for RC, which is dominant.

One of the nicest things about this strain is that the majority come right up to me and seem to enjoy the company of people.  The parent stock are the same way, but I wondered if it was due to being handled regularly.  But friendliness just seems to their natural inclination.  
Here are a few pictures that shows some stages of development.

First Pic is at 3 days old:



At 3 Weeks:



At 5 weeks:



At 7 weeks:



At 9 weeks:

KathyS....

So nice to see old breeds being brought back, and brought back with class.    Those really are gorgeous birds. Congrats.

Looking good Kathy, I was also able to find some SC large fowl out east. I also purchased eggs from the States. The birds from the states are not up to my standards, so to freezer camp they go next month. When the eastern birds arrive I will post a few pics.

I really liked the ones I saw at the last show! Very striking birds.

Very nice Kathy! I know they will flourish with your guidance !

Beautiful, I love how the eyes are the blue, which will change with age I am sure, wonder what the colour is for the standard in eyes. I know all my buff orpingtons eyes are blue when young, and change to that beautiful colour of reddish bay, always wondered why the eye colour began as blue, but changed. Oh well. So nice that you have brought in beautiful stock to improve what you have, that rose comb is a wonderful thing too, so much better for the colder climates. Very pleased to hear of your work Kathy, keep it up, diligence, and in some time, you will have hopefully all pure for rose comb. I think that well bred Rhode Island reds are a marvelously beautiful bird, something about that mahogany brown. Yahoo! So keep on working hard, you will be very pleased with all your work! Have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

Ooo, they are lovely! And that's so great to hear how much you're enjoying them too. Ya just can't beat a friendly chicken in my books.  

Thank you for all the encouragement! Cindi, you are right about the eyes. Just like with Buff Orpingtons they start out bluish-gray and gradually change to the correct reddish bay. The legs also change, starting out almost white and then develop brighter yellow shanks and feet as they get outside in the grass and sunshine.

Kinda like all babies start out with blue eyes....I do find in my dominiques that if you look at the soles of their feet as chicks...ones that show yellow there will go on to have the best colored legs.