# RIR or Cherry Egger?



## ChickenMama53 (Dec 18, 2021)

I was given this lady already laying. I was told she was a Cherry Egger. She was so afraid and stayed in the corners. Long story short she would never get out until everyone was on roost and quit laying completely. Since she stayed in the corners she was pecked by hens and the favorite with all the roosters. She was skin and bones and nearly featherless. I think she is blind in one eye. I put her into a dog crate in the coop and gave her special food and vitamins in her water she gained weight and regrew her feathers. Her comb got darker. I tried to leave her door open to give her a choice to mingle again but every time she would end up in a corner with the flock picking on her. After 6 months she is gorgeous and happy. She stays in her own place and hosts all the chicks before they go to the main coop. She isn’t mean just reminds the littles who is the boss! 
so my question is is she really a Cherry Egger? She lays like clockwork every other day and her eggs are large!! I’m thinking of getting more like her but I’m not 100% sure of her breed. To me RIR and Cherry Eggers look the same. 
thank you for your opinions!
























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## Lillith (10 mo ago)

Would you happen to know where she was originally purchased? It seems different hatcheries have different ideas of what a RIR is supposed to look like and what a Cherry Egger is supposed to look like. For example, my RIRs from Hoover Hatchery look nothing like the RIRs from Cackle Hatchery, which has an exhibition type.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

An RIR. Never heard of a Cherry Egger. 

Looking on the Google machine it seems the hatchery is playing fast and loose with the breed name.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I've never heard of Cherry Egger neither. Looks like a RIR to me. They can lay huge eggs sometimes, but gosh, that's a whopper of an egg!


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## ChickenMama53 (Dec 18, 2021)

Lillith said:


> Would you happen to know where she was originally purchased? It seems different hatcheries have different ideas of what a RIR is supposed to look like and what a Cherry Egger is supposed to look like. For example, my RIRs from Hoover Hatchery look nothing like the RIRs from Cackle Hatchery, which has an exhibition type.


I got her from my brother in law and he said that is what she was. I will have had he 3years come this October. I have no idea how old she is but she did lay eggs occasionally at first. I know he get a lot of poultry from Cackle Hatchery and breeds them too.


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## ChickenMama53 (Dec 18, 2021)

dawg53 said:


> I've never heard of Cherry Egger neither. Looks like a RIR to me. They can lay huge eggs sometimes, but gosh, that's a whopper of an egg!


I see on Cackle Hatchery they say”Cherry Egger™ chickens are a Rhode Island Red breed.” I just didn’t know if they me one in the same or if they breed in some different way for Cherry Egger. I have one little RIR. She has been laying for awhile. She will be a year old in May I think. Her eggs aren’t close to this one!!


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

robin416 said:


> An RIR. Never heard of a Cherry Egger.
> 
> Looking on the Google machine it seems the hatchery is playing fast and loose with the breed name.


Agreed, unless the hatchery is specifically guaranteeing for SOP and exhibition, I think they experiment with a few crosses per year, many of them anyway. Maybe they are trying to capitalize on the popularity of all things egger.


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