Rhode Island Red

The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of chicken developed in the early 1900's. Their ancestry goes back to birds bred in Rhode Island, hence the name. The Rhode Island Reds are very good layers of brown eggs and can produce approximately 230 eggs per year. They can begin laying as early as six months of age. The colour can vary from a brown-red to a deep chocolate red. The Rhode Island Red is a good choice for the small flock owner. Relatively hardy, they are probably the best egg layers of the dual purpose breeds. Reds handle marginal diets and poor housing conditions better than other breeds and still continue to produce eggs. A good dual purpose medium heavy fowl which is used more for egg production than meat production because of its dark coloured pin feathers and its good rate of lay.