RIR birds

The Rhode Island Red breed was developed by crossing Red Malay Game, Leghorn and Asiatic stock in the mid 1800s. It is a dual purpose medium heavy fowl; used more for egg production than meat production. They are relatively hardy, handle marginal diets and poor housing conditions better than other breeds and still continue to produce eggs. RIR are probably the best egg layers among the dual purpose breeds. Most Reds show broodiness, but this characteristic has been partially eliminated in some of the best egg production strains. They have rectangular, relatively long bodies, typically dark red in colour. The back is flat and the breast is carried well forward – characteristics, which make it a good meat producing, bird. The plumage of the Rhode Island Red is rich dark or brownish red in colour, evenly distributed over the entire surface and is well glossed. There are two Varieties-Single Comb and Rose Comb. The average weight of cock is 3.5-4kg while a hen weighs 2.5-3 kg. The skin colour is yellow and it lays Brown shelled eggs. They start laying at about twentyfour weeks of age and on an average they lay 180-200 eggs in one laying cycle in scavenging system.