Rhode Island Red
Rhode Island Red cock | |
| Conservation status | Livestock Conservancy: watch |
|---|---|
| Other names |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Use | dual-purpose |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Skin color | yellow |
| Egg color | brown |
| Comb type | single or rose |
| Classification | |
| APA | American |
| EE | yes |
| PCGB | soft feather: heavy |
| |
The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of domestic chicken. It is the state bird of Rhode Island. It was developed there and in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the Malay 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. It is a separate breed to the Rhode Island White.