Rhode Island Red
Chicken
The Rhode Island Red is the classic American homestead chicken, developed in the Northeast in the late 1800s and now a fixture of backyard flocks worldwide. Hardy and productive, hens lay 220 or more brown eggs a year and the breed doubles as a solid meat bird. They're friendly and confident — active foragers that can be assertive in a mixed flock, sometimes topping the pecking order. Exceptionally cold-hardy and low-maintenance, they're an excellent, dependable pick for beginners.
Weight
Large fowl (Standard size)
Bantam (Miniature size)
How to spot it
- Comb
Single
Rose - Single comb (a rose-comb variety exists)
- Earlobes
- Red
- Legs & feet
- Yellow legs with a reddish line down the shank, four toes
- Plumage
- Deep rust-red, almost mahogany, with black tail feathers
- Look for
- A long, flat, brick-shaped body — the classic "oblong" outline — in dark red with a black tail
Ancestry
How this breed was developed. Historical records, not crosses to make today.
- Bred from
Malay
Brown Leghorn- Contributed to
Chantecler
New Hampshire Red
Malay — which is where the deep colour comes from — plus Shanghai, Java and Brown Leghorn. Shanghai and Java have no breed records here, so they are named only in passing.
Varieties
Single Comb
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105 providers currently list Rhode Island Red.
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