Text: Elly Vogelaar Photos: Aviculture Europe Over time, fanciers often vary the breeds they keep; they get tired of a breed or a particular colour variety or are looking for a new challenge. Yet there are fanciers who stick with the same breed for a lifetime. One such fancier is Rem Koster in Wieringerwaard (NL), who has been breeding Rhode Island Reds for over 30 years. We visited him to find out what attraction this very old American breed has for him. Rem Koster When Rem married and settled down in Wieringerwaard, he decided he needed some chickens in his life. Since childhood, when his father kept Leghorns or Rhode Islands Reds for eggs, he had been around chickens. About 1977 he began to look around for some quality fowls preferably Reds as he thought the Leghorns too flighty. An acquaintance, Jochgum IJpma, knows a lot about poultry (being a poultry judge) and advised Rem to join the local breeders club. So Rem bought some hatching eggs and built a chicken house a teeny-weeny chicken house as he could not possibly realise at the time the impact the new hobby was going to have on his life. Right: The teeny-weeny chicken house. He studied the history of the breed and devoted his time to improving his own Reds. In 1991 he passed his exams and became a poultry judge; initially for Rhode Islands, but later he widened his interest to other breeds. Rem retired from work five years ago and finds judging a pleasant way to keep busy and out and about.
Right: Rem judging the Rhode Island Red in 2004. Three years ago he decided to keep bantam Reds instead of the large fowl. Rem and his wife Ploon enjoy holidaying each spring, but with the large fowl he always had to start breeding very early in the year, as he wanted the new chicks steady and firm before he trusted them to anyone else. As the bantams mature much quicker, they can go on holiday first, then start breeding upon their return with still enough time for the birds to be fully grown for the coming show season. A bit of history Early in the nineteenth century, keeping poultry for eggs and/or meat became very important in America. Once Asiatic fowls were imported, various new poultry breeds were developed, many of which were outstanding for their utility qualities. The Rhode Island Red is one the most successful dual-purpose breeds of all. By 1850 these chickens were already kept in the state of Rhode Island and according to history books were produced by mating Red Malay cocks to common fowl hens, although there were also other strains made from matings of Brown Leghorn males and mottled hens, and other sources also mention the Red Shanghai (Cochin), Red Chittagong (Brahma) and Black-Breasted Red Malay as possible ancestors. Due to these lineages early Rhode Island Reds came in three different types of combs: pea, single and rose, which is believed to have come from a rose combed Shanghai rather than from Wyandottes or rose combed Brown Leghorn. Left: An ideal Rhode Island Red hen, large fowl. Photo: Archives Dutch RIR Club. They were very hardy, good layers of brown eggs, and the roosters which often weighed over eight pounds made desirable table birds. During the years the birds became more uniform in type and colour, although the name was only given to the breed when it was first exhibited in 1880. The Rhode Island Red Club of America was founded in 1898 and the breed standardised. This special breed club boasted some 5000 members during the 1920s, showing just how
popular the breed had become. Since the 1940s, the Rhode Island Red has been bred for more efficient egg production and it became one of the most popular breeds ever. These Production Reds were developed by crossing Leghorn blood, however the birds became smaller and lost their intense deep red colour. These Production Reds also became popular in Europe because they laid well during winter. Left: A fine Rhode Island Red bantam cockerel. Photo: Archief RIR Club. The Rhode Island Red Today, true Rhode Island Red large fowl and bantam are mostly kept as fancy fowls for exhibition, and are also in demand for the backyard. The breed is quiet and docile and lay very well. Understandably, the Rhode Island Red comes in one colour only red. There is also a white variety, although they are often considered a different breed and standardized in rose comb only. In Holland the Rhode Island White bantam is recognised. Right: One of the rosecomb RIR bantam hens, showing the desired black markings in the wings and tail. The red colour is described as an overall deep, rich, lustrous red colour, but in poorer specimens can vary from fawn-red to deep chocolate brown-red. All feathers are red, except the primary and secondary wing feathers (which should have specific black markings), the tail is also black and the lower neck feathers of the hen are tipped with black. The down must also be a rich red, not grey or bluish which,
like black body feathers, is a fault called smut. Another important characteristic of the breed is the brick shape, where the length of the body is twice as long as the depth. The body is long, broad, and deep and carried horizontally. The breast is deep, full, and well rounded and the tail is carried a little higher than the back. The legs are bright yellow. The eyes are reddish-brown and the breed is recognised in both single and rose combed varieties. Right: An excellent rosecomb Rhode Island Red large fowl pullet, showing a superb horizontal back line. Photo: Archives Dutch RIR Club. Rem on his chickens Sieme Koorn, the man from whom he had bought the first egg setting was a skilled poultry breeder, but unfortunately the Rhode Island Reds were not top quality. Rem explained, The main problem was that they had no trace of black in the wings. No matter what I tried, the black just was gone. Piet Mol, an Australorp breeder, suggested a cross with Australorps, and Rem thought he had nothing to lose. So they mated a RIR cock to his Australorp hens and as can be imagined, the offspring came in all sorts of odd colours. Rem only took the buff coloured hens and black hens with yellow legs saying, They sort of looked like real Reds, with long, stretched backs, but totally insufficient colour. They did have yellow legs though and the buffs had black markings in both the primaries and secondaries. So I mated those hens with one of my old cocks and in three years time I had birds with very good red colour AND black markings. Left: Rem in front of his chicken houses. Then in the early 1980s I became a member of the Dutch Rhode Island Red Specialty Club and the members were amazed by the quality of my Reds. One day, the club secretary, Mr. Melissen came over for a visit and I still can see him sitting at his knees in front of
my pens, pondering and saying, Very remarkable, Koster, very remarkable Rem later used several cocks from other club members, trying to get more breast on his birds, but that never brought the result he hoped for. Finally, a combination of my birds with a cockerel from Wil Huernink turned out to be a great success resulting in the Big Overall Championship in 1997. Still for many years his birds were a bit lighter red than usual, but he learned that this helps to keep a perfect feather structure. When asked if an Australorp ever turned up in his strain after all these years Rem said, No, but the odd Red with white legs sometimes appeared. Left: Head of a rosecomb bantam hen. It has now been three years since the Rhode Island Red bantams replaced the large fowl. But he only has the rose combed variety. One day when I had to judge the rose combed bantams at an exhibition, I tore them to pieces with my judging. It bothered me more and more to see these birds had combs that were all wrong; ugly shaped combs with grooves. Most judges used to think, Oh, well, this is such a rare variety, don t let us be to hard on the combs. Then all of a sudden I decided something had to be done, so I judged them all insufficient. Of course everyone was furious, but I said we should really work together and try to improve these combs and of course, I volunteered to help. That s another reason why I swapped the large fowl for the bantams. Now together with four other club members we are working on it. We have crossed once with Wyandotte bantams with excellent combs; we tried several colours, i.e. white, black and buff. The first positive results are starting to show now. Breeding and caring There is plenty of room for the chickens in the four large chicken houses (not counting the original teeny weeny one). Rem has two breeding pens, with two cocks used for breeding. The cockerel is mated to the old hens, and the old cock to the pullets. This often means: father x daughters and son x mothers, so in a short time all good AND bad qualities will show. Strict selection is then required. Rem keeps a few cocks in reserve, in case one may be needed. Right: A number of young rosecomb birds, bred in 2007. Last spring he used a beautiful cockerel from Cees van Westerlaak, one of the men working on improving the bantam combs. However this turned out to be a bad choice, as with this cockerel he had almost
no fertilised eggs. Rem then tried a cockerel from Jich de Vries. Jich s strain is crossed with buff columbian Wyandotte bantam and so there are several miscoloured chicks, as you can see in the picture. Left: Several chicks are mis-coloured, as you can see. Selecting is mostly on comb, next on colour and type. As the darkest red colour tends to give problems with the feather structure, Rem prefers a slightly lighter red. Each year he hatches about 60 chicks. They have to grow full size before they can be selected on comb and colour, especially the cockerels. Then only five to 10 cockerels are kept but Rem has no problem with the excess birds he only has to hang a For Sale sign on the tree in front of his house and they sell like hotcakes, cockerels together with some hens. There are not enough remaining birds to select on other qualities, like broodiness. Both the large fowl and bantams go broody. Rem doesn t like that and with the large fowl he used to avoid using broody hens in the breeding pen. With the rose combed bantams it is the very last thing he worries about. Rem s birds have a great life. In the afternoon they are allowed out to forage in the backyard. In the evening they go inside again by themselves but he still has to check out though if they all are inside before closing the doors, as there are foxes around. One night he lost nine birds from a pen of 12. The chicken houses are roomy and clean. Along with the laying meal, Rem feeds his birds a handful of mixed grains spread in the litter. This keeps them scratching and active during the day. Rem has made a clever system against red mite; a little nap filled with oil, which prevents the red mites to climb on the roost. (See picture nest page). In winter when it freezes, he uses small electric heating plates to keep the drinkers from freezing. When the family is away on holiday, a neighbour enjoys looking after the chickens.
Left: After filling the little round nap with oil, the roost is fastened at the pin. The red mites cannot reach the roost, as they get stuck in the oil and drown. Right: This rosecomb bantam cock was used in the 2007 breeding pen. Left: These are the youngest rosecomb chicks. Right: One of the rosecomb hens in the 2007 breeding pen. Showing Rem is entering his bantams in four to five shows, varying from local to provincial shows, and of course the annual club show. In previous years, he attended more shows with his large Reds. He had great birds then and won a lot of prizes, which he all gave away, including the huge trophy he won in 1997 with Best of Show at the the Valleishow in Veenendaal. That certainly was a bizarre year at that show he was not only All-over Club Champion, but also came second, third and fourth. That had never happened before, that one person had four best in a row!
Last year he won Second Best of Show with his bantams, indeed a great step forward. One day is marked in his diary with a golden border the day he met the members of the Rhode Island Red Club. It was very peculiar to meet so many people with the same interest. Even today he enjoys the club meetings and is responsible for the Red News, the club magazine which appears three times each year. In 2000, when the RIR Club had its 80 th anniversary, Rem was asked to write a book on the breed and club history. Later he wrote another book on the breed, more aimed at the breeding of the RIR. The book is still available, but comes in the Dutch language only. Rhode Island Red Club van Nederland, Secretary: W.B. Huernink Email: franklin4@chello.nl To end with Commenting his hobby, Rem concluded, I have always enjoyed breeding the large fowls, but now with these bantams I am really having fun. Just like the large ones they are tame and confiding, but in comparison the bantams are much livelier, sharp and wily. Working towards better combs is a new challenge and quite exciting. Besides, the bantams fit better into our present lifestyle as a young-retired couple, he quips with a huge smile. Rem and Ploon, thank you for your hospitality and we hope the Rhode Island Red will continue to have a place in your lives for many years to come. Copyright 2007 Aviculture-Europe. All rights reserved by VBC