Rhode Island Red

In my first flock, there were three Rhode Islands from a Rural King and two gifted "RIR" from a Tractor Supply. One of those was an ISA Brown, and the other was a Red Sex Link. My two favorite hens were the Sex Link and a Rhode Island Red.

None of them ever resembled aggressive, and I never had to worry about them pecking my children. Benehime (a RIR hen) followed me all around our yard and loved being picked up and pet. She always sounded like was telling on me (Oh no you didn't!). Ginger (the Sex Link) grew to have beautiful bright orange plumage and was so docile with people that my four-year-old son could easily pick her up, hold her any which way, and she would just seem just as enthralled with him as he was with her.

While all were sexed as pullets, we still got one roo, who was eventually named Everything Is Awesome because he was just that awesome. Good rooster, gentle with the girls and growing even more gentle with them as he aged. Gorgeous, lovely bird and an extreme vicarious learner. I'm not sure if he had any instincts at all--just a big copycat If he saw anyone doing something, he would immediately attempt the same thing (didn't always work well, and he picked up a lot of bad habits from other roosters). He was extremely protective of the girls and didn't hesitate to charge animals that did not belong in the yard. He knew which cats were safe and which weren't and didn't put up with any "funny business" from neighborhood pets and strays. Never pecked or spurred anything, but the animals always knew he was serious enough that they left anyway.

Only problem I had was that they loved to get into my neighbor's yard, and he's pretty anal about his yard. Even with clipped wings, they could always find a way into his yard. Then my lovely roo picked up the obnoxious habit of crowing in the middle of the night (from another rooster), and I had to rehome them.

All of them were hand tame and would eat right from my hands (or my children's). Benehime and Ginger (the RSL) were the easiest to pick up and cuddle, but none of the RIR or mixes put up a fight when my children picked them up.

I Love Rhode Islands, They Are Great Layers And Quite Friendly, I Like The RIRs Especially

I have one RIR she is like a bff hen super nice I feel bad for her though cause the others get any treats we give them before her, the roosters are not nice though just a little too protective over their hens... Yep he had to go... Ps the RIR is less then a year old and is already a amazing layer EDIT the roosters run away that's why we don't have him anymore the dude is just gone

I have 4 RIR's and all are good layers. They follow me around all the time. They seem to do very good whether it be winter or summer. Decent sized chicken so they are dual purpose. Good egg layers of brown large eggs. They stay pretty calm. They are very curious and pretty good at foraging. In my opinion one of the best breeds out there overall.

We currently have 4 RIR hens. All 4 of them are hearty and active and love to forage. They are great layers, all of them. Although they are social within the flock they don't care for people much. They're a bit skittish and 1 of the girls is quite mean. She will consistently peck my hand and tried to dive-bomb me once. Only once though because I promptly picked her up and carried her around the yard, for a bit, until she stopped fussing and was peaceful. Since then, she hasn't dive-bombed me but still pecks me often. LOL I would get more in the future because they're great layers and I think they're pretty birds.

I have three Rhode Island Reds and I love them. They are sweet, calm, beautiful birds. They lay very well, usually giving me a egg every or every other day. They are also great foragers, often seaching for bugs and rooting around in the grass while my White Rocks sunbathe and be lazy. RIRs have gotten a bad reputation for being mean to people and other birds. My RIRs have NEVER been mean to me and I only had a issue once with one of them being a bully to one of my White Rocks and they all get along now. They can be bossy to the other hens sometimes as well. If they want they can also be VERY loud, 2 of my RIRs are extremely loud sometimes, so they may not be the best if you live in town. But all things consitered, RIRs are my favorite breed and I recommended them 100%.

My two RIRs are the favorite of my flock (followed closely by my Gold Sexlinks) - they have each been laying a solid egg per day since they started laying at 18 weeks, and the eggs have always been huge! They are very mild tempered, eat scratch out of my hand, and get along very well with all of my other chickens (except for the bullies, which they have the good sense to avoid). All in all, I am very happy with these birds and will likely always have RIRs in my flock!

This breed has been a favorite since I can remember. I had a rooster when I was ten, and still consider Harry to be the most beautiful chicken I have owned to date. We have four small hens now and they are great foragers. We have four acres of woods, and they spend their entire day free roaming, kicking up leaves, and eating tons of bugs. They also love getting into your garden, as all chickens do. When it comes down to it, they aren't afraid to show a little aggression to chase off a potential danger such as larger cats, and even dogs.

I bought eight birds from tractor supply and enjoyed raising them. I have always picked them up and handled them since they were small chicks then I go in the coop with them and they all are very friendly not so with other birds. I tried to put them in with the ducks that did not work out to good. I tried it with my barred rocks not so good neither. The funny thing I bought eight birds four are roosters and four are hens. The hens started laying at six months old with light brown eggs and dark brown eggs . It was funny listening the roosters crow for the first time they sounded like a bad trumpet player

I have 4 females, and one male. We had them since they were fairly small chicks. They've all been handled, and made to trust us. They chase rattle snakes and pick at them until they slither away. They love to be let out of their coop to free range, but go back into the coop about an hour later. They're great. The rooster seems to get upset if I hold one of the ladies for too long. He starts throwing stuff at me. The ladies different colored (loose) zip ties around an ankle to identify them. One needs to loudly announce every thing she does. She will also nip at your hand if you don't give her treats. There's another that was injured when she was a chick so she is weary of children and feet. Even with that she is very mellow and will stand on your shoulder if you let her. The other two ladies seem to blend into the background a bit. They're fun to watch and they're really nice to the other animals. My miniature schnauzer will try to attack them, but has learned she doesn't like when the rooster nips her nose. My dog did kill a chick when they were a few weeks old, and hasn't gotten over how wonderful her first kill was. So, the dog is usually made to stay in the house while the chickens are out.

There are pictures of the chickens in my online album. Oh! And this flock cleaned up the locust infestation we had earlier in the summer. It was incredible.

My RIR isn't aggressive at all. She is actually at the very bottom of the pecking order. Because of this, she does fly pretty high up to escape the other birds. She follows me around and talks to me. I love watching her chase butterflies and moths when I let my flock out to free range. I get a pretty light brown egg every day.

They are a great breed for long lasting health and laying, everybody has a fit over how great the Red Sex Link is but I find the Rhode Island Reds eat less, are twice as hearty and low maintenance and lay for at least a year longer before requiring replacement pullets.

The only thing is their aggressiveness. I solve this by keeping them in a flock of all Rhode Island Reds. They have good foraging instincts and are wary of danger.

I have two of these beautiful yet plain hens. They're both a good size and lay wonderful eggs. They aren't shy at all and sometimes are a bit aggressive, so I can understand how some people might judge them because of that. They're wonderful birds, really, and mine let me snuggle them. They're like the glue that keeps my flock together and in order.

I did have one RIR that wasn't very out-going. But the one I have now is the loudest, most aggressive, outgoing, and did i mention she was also the queen of the flock. I also love her autumn colored feathers.

"Red Racer" is a Kind RIR hen to us & the 5 other hens we keep, all 6 chickens were raised together from chicks. She is always more alert as to what I am doing & is the first out of the coop & in. She comes over to me & lets me pick her up & hold her, one day there was a loud noise as we were sitting relaxing in the back yard & all the hens ran to the shadows against the house and "Red" ran over to us so she was in between our legs, I had to laugh! I highly recommend this good natured chicken!
Forty years ago I had a RIR hen & a female duck & they were buddies.



The sistas;
1) Araucana/Americana, "Easter Egg Chicken" (Baby)
2) Barred Rock (Zebra)
3) Black Australorp (Jet)
4) Buff Orpington (Scout)
5) Rhode Island Red (Red Racer)
6) Silver Laced Wyandotte (Spot)

one of my two chickens is a RIR and, admitedly, both of them run toward me if they're out and I go to them, which is so cute! she loves being hugged and never struggles. She loves pecking around my feet or at my toes. I'm worried she go for my varicose veins though... If the ducks are within attacking distance she's fine if there's a fence, but if not she's unpredictable and you don't see it coming until it's too late. I'm hoping it's just because the ducks are new and that things will get better

This breed is wonderful for eggs and you don't have to feed them much. They are very curious and smart. They are good scavengers. They are not extremely friendly but they are not aggressive.

Rhode Island Red is a breed with two sides, the hatchery or production red which isn't really a Rhode Island Red and the heritage purebred type which is much better.

Purebred heritage Rhode Island Reds are by far the better option. They will give you plenty of eggs (not as much as the production red but still plenty). They are very good for meat, especially the cockerels. They are very calm and gentle. Hens often go broody. They are brilliant foragers and love grass and free ranging. The breed is hardy and disease resist. They really do look after themselves. On top of that they look beautiful around the garden. Rhode Island Reds truly are the full package, I'd you get the real thing.






Production reds or hatchery Rhode Island Reds do lay slightly more eggs but they have hardly any meat on their bones. Cockerels are nasty buggars and hens hardly ever go broody.

We have 3 adult Rhode Island Reds in our flock. We started with a RIR, an Easter Egger and a Polish. I wouldn't have identified any of them as being highest in the pecking order; they were all buddies and it was pretty peaceful. Then I adopted 2 adult RIRs (they came with them names Betty and Veronica) from a friend, and everything that I read about new birds getting picked on left me unprepared for them to arrive and step up to the top of the pecking order. They bullied my 3 around for a week, until my RIR joined their clique and the 3 of them have been top of the pecking order ever since (we now have even more chickens than just the EE and Polish).

I am glad they integrated into our flock well, and the other chickens usually just stay out of their way. Betty, Veronica and Apple Jack are the queenly trio, and want first food, first water, and plenty of personal space from the other chickens. If the 8 week old chicks come too near, the largest RIR will peck it squarely on the back, and once even yanked out a beak full of feathers. They are all decently friendly to people, however, and usually if I reach out to pet them, they stay put and let me pet their back and neck for a few seconds before they dash off. My kids catch them and carry them around, and once in arms, they are gentle and easy to handle. They are pretty big birds too, though I've never weighed them.


Betty


They are my 3 brown egg layers and every single day I can count on at least 2 brown eggs, and often 3. One of the adopted RIRs lays an egg so big I can't close an egg carton for extra-large eggs around it if it's inside. I thought it would be a double yolker the first time I got one, but it wasn't and never has been. Just one GIANORMOUS egg. The other lays a pinkish brown egg. The third, Apple Jack (our original RIR) lays a bumpy brown egg that occasionally has speckles on it. They are lovely and taste delicious. I am pleased that they are such dedicated layers. The original RIR even laid throughout most of the winter, only stopping for about 5 weeks in January-February. I don't know how Betty and Veronica do in the winter yet.

I would never want to have a minority of other-breed chickens in a small flock, but in my experience, as long as the other chickens out number the RIRs, the Rhode Islands can't get too aggressive because they can't chase them all at once. But (for example) 3 RIRs and 1-2 chickens of another breed would probably be bad news. They seem to be able to tell who looks the same as them, and exclude those who don't! (Racists? Breedists? LOL).

I love my Rhode Islands they are vary friendly. When i pick one of mine up the set her down she starts pecking my boots and legs.I love that because they will stand up for themselves.But the other breeds that i have don't stand up like my Rhode Islands.If you get them as baby chicks and take good care of them they will be grate chickens.Handel them a lot and it should help .