Rhode Island Reds are a popular dual-purpose bird performing well as both egg layers and good meat birds.
Many people looking to raise their own flock will be recommended Rhode Island Reds for a good reason.
With this being said, are these birds aggressive towards people? Each other?
Rhode Island Reds are a breed generally not aggressive towards people. But individual birds, especially roosters, might be aggressive. They are known to be productive and excellent all-around birds. They are also more aggressive than many other breeds and might bully other hens in your flock.
Read on to learn how to lower aggression in Rhode Island Reds and keep them healthy.
This minimizes problems in the long term, and answer some questions about these heritage birds.
How To Minimize Aggression In Rhode Island Reds
If you have any aggression issues in your flock or are worried about your poultry becoming aggressive, then there are certain steps to take from time to time to keep your aggressive chickens in line.
Individual personalities can vary from bird to bird.
If you’ve never dealt with an aggressive rooster or a broody bird, you might be surprised at the pecking and chasing those animals can do.
The first step is to establish yourself at the top of the pecking order, whether you have a backyard flock or a commercial operation.
If a bird is attacking you, you’ll need to assert dominance.
Now asserting dominance does not mean you have to hurt the chicken, but be prepared to pick them up by their feet and hold them until they stop squawking.
You might have to do this a few times for them to get the message, but making them understand you won’t deal with their aggression is important.
You might get away with distracting aggressive birds with food in a different corner of their coop or outside long enough to clean or collect eggs or whatever you need to do.
If you attempt to curve aggression in certain birds and they keep coming at you with their beaks, talons, and spurs, then it might be time to decrease the flock by one.
Sometimes a particular hen or rooster will be a constant threat to yourself or your children, and your pets need to find a purpose as meat birds.
How To Keep The Right Environment For Rhode Island Reds
Providing a comfortable living space will also significantly reduce aggression and prevent most health issues from becoming a problem.
To start, you’ll want to keep a minimum of 3 Rhode Island Reds because they are social animals who require a flock.
3 hens who are all about the same size and raised together will be your best bet to combat aggression.
If you are interested in breeding your own chicken flock, one rooster and 4-5 hens are a good start and will keep the rooster from pestering an individual bird too much.
Too many roosters will cause them to be aggressive, and they might focus more on each other than on breeding.
If you are looking for an incubator to hatch your chicks, this Manna Pro Harris Farm Incubator on Amazon will hold 22 eggs at a time which is plenty to start raising your chicks and comes jam-packed with features.
Brooding boxes should be provided at least one for every five birds but the more, the merrier.
Clean food and water should also be constantly provided so the birds do not have to fight for them, which can only cause more aggression.
Finally, a coop and as much outside space as possible will keep them happy.
Rhode Island Reds love to forage for insects and seeds outside and will be happiest with plenty of grass to sift through.
Further Reading: How well do Rhode Island Reds get along with other chickens?
How To Identify A Rhode Island Red
Identifying a Rhode Island Red is pretty straightforward as they have a lot of characteristics to set them apart from other breeds on top of being one of the most common breeds.
They have been largely bred for various characteristics and can range from one specific heritage breed to another.
General characteristics include yellow skin, red combs, red wattles, and red ears.
Comb varieties come in either a single comb closely matching the spiky combs you might associate with your typical chicken or rose combs forgoing the large prominent spikes.
Hens will lay large light brown eggs throughout most of the year and can lay well over 200 eggs in their prime.
Colder months will result in laying slowing down without supplemental heat and light but giving them a resting period is a good idea to improve the long-term production of the hens.
Depending on the genetics of your flock, you’ll find roosters to weigh 7-7.5 pounds and large hens to weigh up to 6.5 pounds, making them above-average-sized birds.
What Are Rhode Island Reds Good For? Meat? Eggs?
We mentioned that Rhode Island Reds are one of the best choices for a small flock to offer meat birds and prolific egg layers.
However, there are some things to consider about this.
First, Rhode Islands are primarily sought after as egg-laying hens as the primary function of this breed with a high, consistent egg count.
With only a half dozen birds, a reasonable expectation would be 2-3 dozen eggs per week as long as their feed is enough to keep up with their production.
Rhode Island Reds are not the best meat birds, so production is your main focus.
Cornish Crosses, Jersey Giants, and other broiler species will far outpace the growth rate and reach a larger size than Rhode Island Reds, making them superior if raising meat birds is your primary purpose.
If you are starting a flock for a small farm operation or just to have some fresh backyard eggs, then Rhode Island Reds make a great choice for beginners who will serve two functions and keep you and your family well fed.
Further reading: Are Rhode Island Reds good for meat?
