I am no longer working with the Kittle line at all. If anyone is wanting this line please contact Donnie at the above mentioned phone number.
I will be leaving this page up for a short time but will be deleting it so if you need any information about the Kittle birds please contact Donnie.
I will be leaving this page up for a short time but will be deleting it so if you need any information about the Kittle birds please contact Donnie.
I got my start with this line from Donnie Baker, West Virginia, who got his foundation breeders from Mr. Wilfred Kittle, Burgettstown, Pa. Mr. Kittle has been and still is (as of today) raising this line of RIR since 1938. Yes, he is in his 90's. The foundation lines of these birds consist of the Reese, Swanson and Rademacher lines. http://www.wvdoubledfarms.com phone is (304) 790 2386
At the present time, I am planning on raising my other lines of RIR's. Donnie and I have become pretty good friends over the past year or so and I can get more of this line if I decide to raise more of these and if I need more I can get them from Donnie. I am no longer working with the Kittle line at all. If anyone is wanting this line please contact Donnie at the above mentioned phone number.
I will be leaving this page up for a short time but will be deleting it so if you need any information about the Kittle birds please contact Donnie.
At the present time, I am planning on raising my other lines of RIR's. Donnie and I have become pretty good friends over the past year or so and I can get more of this line if I decide to raise more of these and if I need more I can get them from Donnie. I am no longer working with the Kittle line at all. If anyone is wanting this line please contact Donnie at the above mentioned phone number.
I will be leaving this page up for a short time but will be deleting it so if you need any information about the Kittle birds please contact Donnie.
My group of RIR from Donnie Baker were hatch 6/23/2011 I really don't want this line to die out.
Photo taken 11/26/11
Photo's below were taken 1/31/12 I just can't seem to get a good picture of my cockerel. Every one that I've taken makes him look terrible. He just doesn't seem to cooperate like the pullets do. Oh well maybe another day.
12/1/2012
Donnie delivered my new flock of these birds this morning. Don't want to let this line just die out. Will be posting some pictures later of the breeding flock that I will be using for 2013 birds. These birds were hatched 2011 and are to be around 16 months old. The hens are in molt so are a little rough looking but the cock bird is pretty nice. I will try to get some nice young from this group this coming spring/summer. Photo's below are what Donnie sent me to show me what I was getting. I will post some pictures when the hens are through their molt.
Top 2 pictures are of the group that I got. Bottom 2 pictures are of some of the young pullets produced by them 2012.
Donnie delivered my new flock of these birds this morning. Don't want to let this line just die out. Will be posting some pictures later of the breeding flock that I will be using for 2013 birds. These birds were hatched 2011 and are to be around 16 months old. The hens are in molt so are a little rough looking but the cock bird is pretty nice. I will try to get some nice young from this group this coming spring/summer. Photo's below are what Donnie sent me to show me what I was getting. I will post some pictures when the hens are through their molt.
Top 2 pictures are of the group that I got. Bottom 2 pictures are of some of the young pullets produced by them 2012.
12/1/2012
Just got a couple shots of some of what I will be using as breeders for 2013 season from this Kittle line. These hens are still going through molt so don't judge the feathering to hastily. Donnie dropped these off to me on his way to Mr. Kittle's to pick up his new birds.
Just got a couple shots of some of what I will be using as breeders for 2013 season from this Kittle line. These hens are still going through molt so don't judge the feathering to hastily. Donnie dropped these off to me on his way to Mr. Kittle's to pick up his new birds.
Mr. Kittle and Donnie
This is a picture of Mr. Wilfred Kittle and my buddy Donnie Baker taken at Mr. Kittle's residence when Donnie went to get some birds 12/01/2012. Mr. Kittle told Donnie that he is cutting way back because of his age. This ole gentleman was born Jan 24, 1921 and said he has been messing with these reds since 1938. I'd bet that Donnie feels a little proud to have met Mr. Kittle.
Pictures taken 1/30/2013 These birds seem to look a little better since they went through their molt. Egg size compared to golf ball.
5/5/2013 This information was copied/pasted from BYC that was posted by Fredshens
Cindy,
Mr Kittle was dedicated to the Reds like few others. You can probably count on one hand those who ever did it longer than he. Wilfred Kittle put a lot a birds back into Europe, following WWII to help the folks over there recover. There are so many people who got Reds from him over decades and decades at his Pennsylvania farm and seed store.
His birds were bred to what HE wanted and what HE looked for. His birds were often more of the garnet color, not the deeper shades. Like a lot of older guys of that generation, he had his own opinions about what his Reds should look like and how they should lay eggs. He did it his way.
When we got some of his birds a few years back, they had fallen backward. Over the last few years, we've pushed them hard for improvement and slowly, they are responding.
We're very grateful for Jimmy's help in sending us some eggs this year and for the two chicks that hatched.
To be very, very honest, I wasn't at all sure if we wanted to put another 2 years into these birds, but with what we hatched this year and the addition of Jimmy's pair, I am much more hopeful moving forward. There is still work to do.
Fred
Cindy,
Mr Kittle was dedicated to the Reds like few others. You can probably count on one hand those who ever did it longer than he. Wilfred Kittle put a lot a birds back into Europe, following WWII to help the folks over there recover. There are so many people who got Reds from him over decades and decades at his Pennsylvania farm and seed store.
His birds were bred to what HE wanted and what HE looked for. His birds were often more of the garnet color, not the deeper shades. Like a lot of older guys of that generation, he had his own opinions about what his Reds should look like and how they should lay eggs. He did it his way.
When we got some of his birds a few years back, they had fallen backward. Over the last few years, we've pushed them hard for improvement and slowly, they are responding.
We're very grateful for Jimmy's help in sending us some eggs this year and for the two chicks that hatched.
To be very, very honest, I wasn't at all sure if we wanted to put another 2 years into these birds, but with what we hatched this year and the addition of Jimmy's pair, I am much more hopeful moving forward. There is still work to do.
Fred
3/19/2014 I have a few of these hens left that I had raised a couple of years ago and I am going to cross a different line male over them a little later this year and see what I come up with. I have some absolutely gorgeous cock birds and I just have to try my luck with these. I have read so many articles on this line and it has gotten my curiosity running wild. If I can get what I'm thinking that I will out of these I will be very well pleased. If this works out, okay, if not then I guess I will just give up on them. This line is such good layers and if I can get the type into them, I will be very pleased with the venture. My records of what I'm doing will be kept in a private page on this site and if it works then I will open it up.