The Rhode Island Red is an American breedofdomestic chicken. It is the state birdofRhode Island.[2]: 70 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.[1] It is a separate breed to the Rhode Island White.[2]: 70
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; they were first exhibited under the present name in 1895. They were previously also known as "John Macomber fowls" or "Tripp fowls."[8]: 11
The color of the plumage of the traditional Rhode Island red ranges from a lustrous deep red to almost black; the tail is mostly black.[2]: 71 The comb may be either single or rose-comb; it is vivid red, as are the earlobes and wattles.[2]: 71 The beak is a reddish horn color, the eyes are reddish bay, and the feet and legs are yellow, often with some red on the toes and sides of the shanks.[2]: 71 Industrial strains may be smaller and paler in color than the old-type breed.[6]
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 predominantly for egg-laying qualities, and the modern industrial Rhode Island Red is a layer breed.[6] Rhode Island Reds have been used in the creation of many modern hybrid breeds.[citation needed]
The traditional dual-purpose "old-type" Rhode Island Red lays 200–300 brown eggs per year, and yields rich-flavored meat.[6][10] It is included in the Ark of Taste of the Slow Food Foundation.[10]
