THE COLOR QUESTION 



COLOR OF RHODE ISLAND REDS OF PRIME IMPORTANCE BUT MAKE SURE THE FLOCK IS NOT 

 PERMITTED TO DETERIORATE IN SIZE WHILE KEEPING UP THE COLOR-BOTH ARE IMPORTANT 



KAUFMANN 4 WINDHEIM 



AT THE present time, there seems to be much dis- 

 cussion in regard to the proper color of Rhode 

 Island Reds. Nearly every breeder has a different 

 idea as to the proper shade and the quicker the 

 breeders all come to one understanding the better for the 

 Reds. 



Many writers, breeders and judges claim that shape 

 makes the breed, color the variety but in Rhode Island Reds 

 such is not true. If the birds are minus the color they are 

 certainly not Reds. It makes but little difference how poor 

 a shape you get, if they are red, the most you can say is 

 that they are poor shaped Reds. The ancestors of every 

 great show bird that is in evidence today were birds of great 

 color, and it is color that every breeder is looking for, whether 

 he be a large or a small breeder. Shape is a great thing we 

 admit, but how many good shaped birds do you get frOm a 

 flock, and how many poor colored ones. Therefore, we make 

 the claim that color is the cue and color it must be to make 

 the Rhode Island Red the most beautiful and popular breed 

 of the time. 



Viewed from the standpoint of sixteen years of careful 

 breeding and sptudying we find that there are about eighteen 

 different shades in the male and about fourteen in the female 

 that are all red, but each one a trifle different. That leaves 

 about nine hundred and ninety nine other shades that are to 

 be found in this breed that are not red. 



With so many shades you can readily see why so many 

 breeders are divided in opinion on the one right shade. 



In all our showing having come in contact with all the 

 breeders of note in the country we have found but very few 

 who are in the right boat. This proves to me that through 

 this vital point — color, that the Reds are at the mercy of 

 the thousands that are breeding and showing them. 



The breeders must wake up to this tact and buy only • 

 the right kind, breed only the right kind, and sell only the 

 right kind or the R. I. Red will become harder to breed and 

 harder to sell. We know this is a hard rule to stick to but 

 we must all try to live up to it as near as possible. 



Surface Color 



To begin with the plumage must be dark; most every- 

 body knows that but here is where the trouble lurks. The 

 dark dirty, musty chocolate color, is not red, neither is the 

 dark dead appearing color red, but the kind of red we want 

 is the bright but rich, deep looking, with plenty of strength 

 and of the lasting kind. Both in female and male this is 

 true as the female is just as important as the male in the 

 breeding yard. 



The color must be uniform, must be even with no light 

 straw hackles; with no two or three shades on the surface 

 of the male; he must have the solid black tail that sets him 

 off. We must work up on the wing question, get the black, 

 but get it in the right place. Never breed from a bird that 

 shows the slightest touch of peppering in the wing bows as 

 that is a very bad feature. A bird with this defect will 

 throw at least ninety per cent of the chicks full of black. 



Under Color 



Last of all but most important— under color. It must 



be red as the day of smut has passed. Many breeders think . 

 smut helps to get the rich surface color but they are sadly 

 mistaken. Smut will help you to get a dirty dark surface 

 color, but not the clean rich shade that we are after. A 

 smutty feather here and there will not do very much harm 

 but if a bird shows smut so strong that you cannot look at 

 the undercolor without seeing it, discard such a bird at once. 



Mr. Breeder, smut will not help but it will do harm, so 

 cut the bird heavily that has it, no matter how good he may 

 be otherwise. It is worse in a male than in the female. 



White of course is out of the question, as a bird that 

 shows white, no matter how perfect he may be otherwise 

 is simply a cull. This we think most every breeder knows. 



Through all this color madness, however, do not let your 

 birds run down small but keep up the size because color and 

 size make the Rhode Island Red and no matter if you should 

 have all the other qualifications combined you would have 

 nothing if these two are left out. We have followed the 

 above laws as closely as possible over sixteen long years 

 and the record that our birds have made in the show room 

 is well known to every Rhode Island Red breeder in the 

 country. 



R. C. R. I. RED COCK 



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