Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-20
ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF
RHODE ISLAND REDS
Points on Matng-Standard for Color
and Shape-Defects
and Dangers

Several Asiatic breeds were brought
to Rhode Island In 1886 to 1850 on the
ship Huntress. These breeds were prob
ably the Shanghai, Red Malays, Cochin
Chinas and a red variety of Chitta-
gong. The male bird of the Cochin
Chinas was a reddish yellow mixed,
while the hen was a reddish brown.
The great Malays came from the
Peninsula, down in the southern part
Of Asia. In Little Compton. r. l., the
Red Cochin China cocks and the Red
Malay cock birds were selected to
cross the flocks of fowls forty to fifty
years ago, just as they are today. The
old settlers back on the coast at the
present day in speaking of their fowls
call them the Red Malays.
How to Mate
The first thing is to know the breed
ing of the birds you wish to use as
breeders. By this 1 do not mean that
1t is necessary to know the pedigree
for eight or ten years back, but IL you
do so much the better (as L have used
line breeding in my yards for ten years
pasD. My experience in breeding the
Reds has been to use only birds that
come nearest to the standard require
ments as they make the best breeders.
Some of the Red breeders argue we
must use the double mating, viz,
cockerel and pullet matings to pro-
duce the standard color in both
males and females. In my experience
l find 1t unnecessary, as 1t is a fact
that like begets like, so it is in mating
your fowls. l experiment each year by
selecting the best birds in my flock and
mating them together to see what they
will produce. In the females we look
first to shape, next size and color, a
great many times in selecting hens 1
like best as breeders, you would not
take a second look at them in regard
to them producing fine colored birds,
as they have been through a heavy
season of laying, and therefore their
plumage has faded considerable since
they were pullets, as the Reds are such
great layers. the strain on their sys-
tenn takes the life from the color of
the feathers.
Still their constitution has the vigor
and strength, and will produce excel
lent stock. On the other hand, If you
have a hen that will go through the
laying and moulting season and still
retain her red color, you are to be con-
graduated for owning such a bird.
Select your hens with as good head
points as possible. For color and stam-
ma we depend on the males, and for
surface color, which is always visible.
At the same time we try to have the
under-color as huch salmon red as
possible, free from smut or white in
any section of the body, but in case l
must use a bird in my breeding pens
with either of the above defects, / pre-
fer smut to white, as l consider that
one of the most serious defects there
is i'm a Red You must breed to dark
red males if you wish to produce red
females, which are always in great de-
mand. If you use males light in color
you need look for nothing more than
buff females, but avoid extremes in
color of males and females-that is, not
to use too dark a male with light
colored females, as it will cause un-
evenness in the color of your flock.
All the good points cannot be ac-
complished in one year. 1t Is a well
known fact that the Rhode Island Reds
have been bred for the past fifty or
sixty years, and they say they are still
in their infancy, but their great
strength, strong constitution and lay
ing qualities can be excelled by no 9TH
er fowl. 1t Is our desire to breed for
show qualities and at the same time
retain the great egg yield. A great
many customers make sad mistake
by buying utility stock and expect
show birds from same-always buy the