New Hampshire has its very own breed of poultry, called New Hampshire Reds.
Somewhere around 1915, a few New Hampshire farmers took Rhode Island Reds, and began developing them to improve their body size for meat production. There does not appear to have been any introduction of any other breed. Birds that were observed to have quick growth, fast feathering and early maturity were used for breeding stock.
If you compare the New Hampshire and the Rhode Island Red side by side, you can see that the New Hampshire version has a deeper, broader body. Both birds produce brown eggs.
The New Hampshire Red may end up a bird of the past. In 2003 there were fewer than 5000 breeding birds left with ten or fewer breeding flocks.
Janice
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