Rhode Island Red Rooster Crowing in Barnyard Ceramic Ornament

Rhode Island Red Rooster Crowing in Barnyard. Developed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, early flocks often had both single and rose combed individuals. It was from the Malay that the Rhode Island Red got its deep color, strong constitution, and relatively hard feathers. The Rhode Island Red were originally bred in Adamsville, a village which is part of Little Compton, Rhode Island. One of the foundation sires of the breed was a black-breasted red Malay rooster which was imported from England. This rooster is on display at the Smithsonian Institution as the father of the Rhode Island Red breed. In 1925, the Rhode Island Red Club of America donated funds for an elegant monument to the Rhode Island Red in Adamsville. (The monument is now on the National Register of Historic Places.) A competing monument to the Rhode Island Red, claiming its creation not for the poultry fanciers, but for the farmers who grew them commercially in great numbers in Little Compton, was erected by the state in 1954 a mile or so (about two kilometers) south of Adamsville. Rhode Island Reds are used in the creation of many modern hybrid breeds, mainly due to the prolific egg laying abilities of the Rhode Island Red.