Rhode Island Chickens

What chicken breed is named after a state? The Rhode Island!  There are two distinct breeds of Rhode Island chickens, the White and the Red. 
The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of domestic chicken. It is the state bird of Rhode Island.  It was developed there and in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the Malay with brown Leghorn birds from Italy. It was a dual-purpose breed, raised both for meat and for eggs; modern strains have been bred for their egg-laying abilities. The color of the plumage of the traditional Rhode Island red ranges from a lustrous deep pink to almost black; the tail is mostly black. The comb may be either single or rose-comb; it is vivid red, as are the earlobes and wattles.  Birds have red-orange eyes, reddish-brown beaks, and yellow feet and legs, often with some red on the toes and sides of the shanks. Industrial strains may be smaller and paler in color than the old-type breed.

The Rhode Island White originated in 1888. It was developed by John Alonzo Jocoy of Peacedale, Rhode Island by crossing White Wyandottes with Partridge Cochins and Rose Comb White Leghorns. The breed had some popularity in the US until the 1960s when their numbers began to decline. The breed never came close to the overwhelming popularity of the Rhode Island Red.

When Amaretto brought out the Barnyard Birds there were three starter bird breeds. One of those starter breeds was the Rhode Island White chicken. 

The Rhode Island Red chicken, a trait bird, came out with the 2.0 Barnyard bird update. You could get them by breeding two new starter birds or any bird with a starter bird. 

Both of these Barnyard Bird breeds can be passed on.