Description and characteristics of Rhode Island chickens, breeding features

This variety of chickens began to be bred 200 years ago in Massachusetts by crossing several species. The main sire was the red Malayan rooster, from which the new breed acquired dense plumage and a reddish color. At the beginning of the last century, Rhode Island chickens began to be imported to the European continent and quickly spread across it, and in 1926 they reached Russia.

Description and characteristics of Rhode Island chickens

Due to their high viability, resistance to infections, and rapid growth, individuals of this breed are the best suited for keeping in private farms.Rhode Island chickens are picky about content, food, and besides, they are peaceful, which allows you to keep them next to other living creatures.

Appearance

Chickens of this breed are distinguished by dark, reddish-brown plumage, with a bright reddish feather shaft. There are chickens with a lighter color.

The head is small, with a red or pink standing crest, brown eyes and a yellow-brown beak. The body is elongated, with a broad back. The neck is small, fluffy.

In chickens, the tail is almost horizontal to the body, in roosters - at an angle, short and magnificent. The plumage on the tail is blackish with a greenish tint.

Representatives of Rhode Island are characterized by a convex chest, small, tightly pressed wings, and strong yellow legs.

Chicken productivity

Chickens of this breed are meat and egg-laying at the same time.

Thanks to these qualities, Rhode Island birds are used by breeders to breed other breeds. The productivity indicator depends on the quality of the feed and the conditions of detention.

Meat indicators (weight of hens and roosters)

The weight of one-two-year-old Rhode Island rooster ranges from 2.4 to 3.4 kg, there are individuals weighing up to 4 kg. Chickens weigh 2-3 kg. Chicken meat is tasty and tender, with a pleasant appearance.

Egg production (weight of eggs)

Laying hens start from 6-7 months of age and are able to lay up to 170-180, and sometimes about two hundred eggs a year.

During the cold season, egg production practically does not decrease.

Eggs have a brown shell and weigh 50-65 grams.

Bird Character

Rhode Island chickens have a calm disposition, roosters are not aggressive, although they are quite mobile. Relatives rarely fight among themselves, little fuss in the chicken coop. Hens get used to the owner quickly, and let him near the eggs.

Breed Varieties

There are two more subspecies of this breed, bred at different times. They differ from each other in external signs, although they have similar characteristics of body structure and productivity.

One of the varieties - chickens with white plumage. This breed was bred much later, and in fact is somewhat different, although it is taken for crossing with brown individuals to obtain more productive hybrids.

The Germans bred Rhode Island dwarf chickens of both colors. They are distinguished by lighter plumage and egg color. Mini-hens weigh half as much as their large relatives, and lay eggs weighing 40-45 grams.

Pros and cons

The positive qualities of Rhode Island include:

tolerance for containment conditions;
versatility (meat and egg at the same time);
delicious meat;
high chick survival rate;
early puberty of chickens.

Cons are:

medium egg production;
reluctance to sit on eggs.

Chickens Rhode Island is recommended for private farms, while this breed is not bred for commercial purposes.

The subtleties of keeping chickens Rhode Island

Chickens of this breed are not considered suitable for keeping in cages, although in practice this rule is often violated. Thanks to their dense plumage, they are not afraid of cold weather and can stay outside until it drops to minus 10 C, finding food on their own.

Coop Requirements

The chicken coop should be insulated, equipped with perches (desirable height is about 80 cm from the floor), places for nests, as well as additional lighting in the dark season.

It is recommended to lay a bedding of sawdust on the floor, which will only be sprinkled in winter, and completely cleaned in summer. Regular cleaning and periodic disinfection of the chicken coop is important.

Chicks are kept at a temperature of about 30C, weekly reducing it by 2 degrees for speedy adaptation. At the age of 1.5 months they are moved to adult birds.

Aviary requirements

Birds on the run feel good, chickens of this breed simply need it. However, they are able to quickly eat all the greens they meet on the way. To prevent damage to seedlings growing in the garden, the aviary for chickens must be fenced with a net.

In the enclosure it is recommended to place bowls with sand and ash, where the chickens will bathe, protecting themselves from parasites.

Age of slaughter

Up to 1.5 years of age, the egg production of Rhode Island chickens increases, and then begins to decline. At the age of 2 years, they can be sent for slaughter.

What to feed?

Representatives of this breed are picky about food. On the run, Rhode Island chickens are able to get their own food by adding greens to their diet.

Chickens

Young males are recommended to be fed more nutritious feeds than future hens, so a few older chicks are usually separated.

First feed - compound feed for chickens or millet porridge mixed with egg and finely chopped greens, cottage cheese, boiled fish. Then gradually begin to introduce new products. Babies eat dandelions and finely chopped nettles well.

Chicks are fed only with warm water.

Adults

Rhode Island chickens are not picky about feed. Adults are fed with cereals, mash, grain, vegetables or special compound feed. In the diet of birds, there should be enough barley, rye, wheat, oats, corn. It is recommended to add cake, grated chalk and meal.

Complete industrial compound feeds usually contain all the necessary ingredients.

In summer, half of the diet should be greens (carrot and radish tops, nettles, cabbage leaves), you can give chickens pumpkin or zucchini, as well as sunflower seeds.

Water is poured into drinkers to avoid tipping over. Vitamins are added to the diet periodically.

How to breed a breed?

One rooster is enough to breed a group of a dozen chickens.However, not every Rhode Island hen wants to become a hen, half of them do not sit on eggs at all. Therefore, to breed chickens, you must purchase an incubator, or lay eggs under other chickens.

You need to select eggs by carefully examining the shell - it should not have cracks or other defects. The eggs are placed in an incubator, setting the temperature to 37.6 C. Chickens will hatch from ¾ of the clutch. The chicks have a reddish color, future hens have a characteristic spot on the head already at a day old.

Chicken survival rate reaches 70-95%. Chicks grow quickly, but they don’t grow feathers right away, so they are sensitive to cold at an early age. They become sexually mature by 7 months.

Frequent diseases

From an early age, chickens are vaccinated against infectious diseases. However, this does not give a 100% guarantee against the disease, although it seriously reduces the risk of infection. Birds can get sick from poor-quality care or unbalanced nutrition.

Lack of appetite, lethargy, dull eyes and shabby plumage are considered signs of an onset of illness. It is recommended to isolate the sick individual from the rest.

Most often in chickens of this breed the following diseases occur:

Cholera. The chicken does not eat anything, becomes weak, her comb turns blue, diarrhea occurs.
Paralysis. Chickens begin to limp, the tail becomes motionless, the eyes become gray, the neck area looks constrained.
Smallpox. As a rule, the bird becomes infected in winter, the infection can penetrate through cuts. Symptoms of the disease are white spots on the skin, tongue, and oral mucosa. The chicken becomes lethargic and loses its appetite. If one individual falls ill, it is urgently removed from the house and the rest of the chickens are disinfected.
Lice. Chickens lose their plumage, worry, stop eating.
Ticks. The legs are covered with scales, swell, growths appear on them. The beak and skin become red, flaky, and itchy.
Inflammation of the cloaca (cloacitis). Laying hens get sick more often. The reason is the wrong diet. Signs of cloacitis are secretions that pollute the feathers near the anus.
Intestinal diseases. Chickens suffer from constipation, become oppressed. Sick individuals need a diet using sunflower oil.
Coccidiosis (eymeriosis). An infectious disease transmitted from newly introduced livestock. Occurs only once, but the recovered individual remains a carrier. The first symptom is diarrhea with clots of mucus or blood, tarnishing of feathers and comb.

Pullorose. It can occur in one of two forms - acute and permanent. It is an infectious disease. Symptoms: exhaustion, heavy breathing, blanching of combs.