The Rhode Island Red is an American
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of
domestic chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domestication, domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey junglefowl, grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster ...
. It is the
state bird of
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
. It was developed there and in
in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
with brown
Leghorn birds from Italy. It was a dual-purpose breed, raised both for meat and for eggs; modern strains have been
bred for their egg-laying abilities. The traditional non-industrial strains of the Rhode Island Red are listed as "watch" (medium conservation priority, between "recovering" and "threatened") by
The Livestock Conservancy
The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...
. It is a separate breed to the
Rhode Island White.
History
![Rhode Island Red Rooster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Rhode_Island_Red_Rooster.JPG)
The Rhode Island Red was bred in
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
and
in the second half of the nineteenth century, by
selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant mal ...
of birds of Oriental origin such as the
Cochin
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
,
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
,
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
and
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
with brown
Leghorn birds from Italy. The characteristic deep red
plumage
Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
derived from the Malay. The State of Rhode Island celebrated the centenary of the breed in 1954, when the
Rhode Island Red Monument
The Rhode Island Red Monument in the hamlet of Adamsville of Little Compton, Rhode Island, at the intersection of Main Street, Adamsville Road, and Old Harbor Road, commemorates the Rhode Island Red breed of chicken, Rhode Island's state bird. T ...
was raised at the William Tripp farm, in
Little Compton, Rhode Island
Little Compton is a coastal town in Newport County, Rhode Island, bounded on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by the Sakonnet River, on the north by the town of Tiverton, and on the east by the town of Westport, Massachusetts. The pop ...
.
The name of the breed is ascribed either to Isaac Champlin Wilbour of Little Compton at an unknown date, or to a Mr. Jenny of the Southern Massachusetts Poultry Association in 1879 or 1880. In 1891
Nathaniel Borden Aldrich exhibited some as "Golden Buffs" in Rhode Island and in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
; they were first exhibited under the present name in 1895. They were previously also known as "John Macomber fowls" or "Tripp fowls."
The first
breed standard
In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...
was drawn up in 1898, and was approved by the American Rhode Island Red Club in Boston in 1901; the single-comb variety was admitted to the
Standard of Perfection
The ''American Standard of Perfection'' is the official breed standard for the poultry fancy in North America. First published in 1874 by the American Poultry Association, the ''Standard of Perfection'' (commonly referred to as "the ''Standard''" ...
of the
American Poultry Association
The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932.
The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respo ...
in 1904, and the rose-comb in 1906.
Characteristics
The color of the plumage of the traditional Rhode Island red ranges from a lustrous deep pink to almost black; the tail is mostly black. The
comb
A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...
may be either single or rose-comb; it is vivid red, as are the earlobes and wattles. Birds have red-orange eyes, reddish-brown beaks, and yellow feet and legs, often with some red on the toes and sides of the shanks. Industrial strains may be smaller and paler in color than the old-type breed.
Use
![Nine day old RIR chick](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Nine_day_old_RIR_chick.jpg)
The Rhode Island Red was developed as a dual-purpose breed, to provide both meat and eggs. Since about 1940, it has been
selectively bred
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant mal ...
predominantly for egg-laying qualities, and the modern industrial Rhode Island Red is a layer breed. Rhode Island Reds have been used in the creation of many modern hybrid breeds.
The traditional dual-purpose "old-type" Rhode Island Red lays brown eggs per year, and yields rich-flavored
meat
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
.
It is included in the
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...
of the
Slow Food Foundation
Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and reg ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Chicken breeds
Chicken breeds originating in the United States
Little Compton, Rhode Island
Symbols of Rhode Island