hybrid layers vs. rhode island red

PlumHollow · Post by **PlumHollow** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 2:14 pm

Can anyone tell me the lay rate difference between the hybrid layers and the RIR layers? I like the idea of being able to hatch my own but don't want to sacrifice too much production. Also, how do the RIR handle cold?

kortispoultry · Post by **kortispoultry** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 2:33 pm

When you say Rhode Island Reds, are you referring to the pure bred RIR as per the standard of perfection? Or the so called "commercial" Reds that some people call RIR, but are not even close to the real true breed?

BobG · Post by **BobG** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:07 pm

I will say from my show reds last yr I averaged 175 eggs per bird . Production reds should be much higher

kortispoultry · Post by **kortispoultry** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:19 pm

BobG wrote:QR_BBPOST I will say from my show reds last yr I averaged 175 eggs per bird . Production reds should be much higher

That is amazing Bob!! I can truly say that I have never had such good fortune, I am lucky to get 75 to a hundred out of each of my my Rhode Island Red hens in a year. Good for you my friend. Pete.

Cuttlefish · Post by **Cuttlefish** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 5:03 pm

PH, if laying is way more important to you than meat production, you'd be better off with a layer like a leghorn rather than a dual purpose breed.

BobG · Post by **BobG** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 6:30 pm

Pete, My red pullets have been laying since Mid Nov , 9 pullets getting 54 eggs a wk since Dec 2 nd very happy with production

windwalkingwolf · Post by **windwalkingwolf** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 7:48 pm

Red sex links WILL go broody and hatch chicks, at least mine always have. But not usually until 3 years old or so. The older they get, it seems, the more likely they are to go broody. It varies between birds, as it does in any breed, and I've found they need a bit of coaxing by way of leaving their eggs be until they start sitting. Golf balls rarely fool these birds, and if eggs get punted out, the count starts over. I swear they can count, and 13 eggs seems to be the magic number to start sitting on around here. Few hens can cover that many, but once they start sitting you can do what you like with their pile...reduce numbers, swap out for other eggs, etc..
The flip side is that letting hens go broody results in loss of production...2 or 3 weeks worth of eggs to be collected for hatching, then 3 weeks sitting on a nest, then 2 months raising chicks...that's a potential 80 eggs you're not eating or selling. On the other hand though, these natural breaks in laying mean the hen will still lay a good amount of eggs in her old age. So it can be a balancing act, depending on how often, and why you want to change out 'old' birds for new, and whether it's more cost effective to incubate yourself or let the hens do the work.
Production wise, rsls cannot be matched for #s and size of eggs. Followed by production strain RIR (bred for egg production not looks), then hatchery 'heritage' RIR (bred indiscriminately to make money from sales to people who think 'hybrid' is an evil word) Followed lastly by small breeder heritage RIR flocks which are often bred for looks first and over the years, egg number and size has often been left in the dust. Broodiness is even more rarely allowed or selected for across the board, and since so many are used as egg machines and then sold or freezered once production drops, their full potential is never realized. Because production numbers and broodiness have to be selected for, egg numbers and propensity for broodiness vary greatly between different heritage flocks. Not so with RSL, but not many people keep them long enough to find out which will go broody and which will not.

kortispoultry · Post by **kortispoultry** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 10:36 pm

BobG wrote:QR_BBPOST Pete, My red pullets have been laying since Mid Nov , 9 pullets getting 54 eggs a wk since Dec 2 nd very happy with production

You sure are doing something right my friend, keep up whatever you are doing, I just wish that my show birds would lay like that. (Jan) WWW, also brings up some great points, that young lady sure knows her stuff and I very much enjoy reading her posts! Pete.

PlumHollow · Post by **PlumHollow** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 7:23 pm

Cuttlefish wrote:QR_BBPOST PH, if laying is way more important to you than meat production, you'd be better off with a layer like a leghorn rather than a dual purpose breed.
0 x

I do have some production leghorns. I like them so much I wondered if there was a similar purebred in the brown egg department. I have nothing against the hybrids but like the concept of hatching my own to develop a strain that works really well on my property/management. So far it's only a concept - but that's what makes it fun.

KimChick · Post by **KimChick** » Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:09 pm

This is my experience since this past July when we first got chickens:
We have both Red Sex-Links and Black Sex-Links. The Reds were originally supposed to be meat chickens, but the hens became layers.
Compared to the BSL's, the RSL's that we have lay smaller eggs (only now most are same size as the Blacks), have laid quite a few soft shelled eggs and have eaten a few, and are "late bloomers" for laying.
Our Black Sex-Links are a smaller bird but lay large to ex-large eggs.