Experiences with a Dixie Rainbow

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

"My Rainbow is quite the vocal girl . . ."

Mine arrived today and the main one peeping was a Rainbow (I do believe; they are unsexed). I was told a lot of peeping amounts to distress. Well, they are all quiet now (it is night time and I hope they are adjusting well. They arrived today from Hoover.

 

[bzhens]

The batch i hatched are now 10 weeks old and weigh between 3.4 and 4.9 pounds will be processed in 2 weeks very happy with them. getting plenty of large to extra large eggs from the hens

I’m very interested in getting some Dixie Rainbow chicks or fertile eggs. Did you buy your chicks or eggs from a hatchery?

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

"My Rainbow is quite the vocal girl . . ."

Mine arrived today and the main one peeping was a Rainbow (I do believe; they are unsexed). I was told a lot of peeping amounts to distress. Well, they are all quiet now (it is night time and I hope they are adjusting well. They arrived today from Hoover.

Now I do not know which of my girls are Rainbow . Talk about feeling stupid.

 

[bzhens]

Now I do not know which of my girls are Rainbow . Talk about feeling stupid.

Did you purchase them from a hatchery? If so where did you get them?

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Did you purchase them from a hatchery? If so where did you get them?

Hoover

 

[Shipgirl]

Information about Dixie Rainbows are hard to come across, it almost seems as though they don't exist. But alas they do! For those who are in the very same shoes I was in when I found out I had a Dixie Rainbow, I'll do my best to provide some good information.

Identification:
Identifying what I had was a very difficult task. I had purchased her from a brown egg layer assortment offered by Hoover's Hatchery. I scoured the brown egg layer section of the hatchery's catalog with no avail, the chick pictures did not come close to what she looked like or what her wing feathers were beginning to look like. Eventually after posting on here, I found out she is a Dixie Rainbow. The problem with identification is Dixie Rainbows have no set look to them, that is why they are called "rainbows". Each pattern of coloring is unique to each bird. However, after looking at many pictures I've come to the conclusion that all chicks are some variation of tan/brown. Some of them are more of a golden brown while others, like mine, are a lighter tannish brown. Also some chicks may be sporting some winged eyeliner, they will sometimes have a small flick of black stretching from the corner of their eye.
View attachment 1176164

( She is the girl in the front )​

Behavior:
It seems that one thing is certain: you will be getting a bird full of personality. Many Dixie Rainbows are affectionate and are sweet birds. My Rainbow is quite the vocal girl which earned her the name Jazzy. She is a complete sweetheart that enjoys belly rubs and telling me about her day even if it is incoherent chirping. Dixie Rainbows, while not directly related to their personality, are cold hardy birds meaning that Jazzy doesn't bat an eye at the New England chill. Also, she gets along fine with my other girls of various breeds but she is more of the independent type. On the cold nights she snuggles up with one of my ISA Browns, Penny. I'd like to think they are good friends but you wouldn't see them attached at the hip during the day. Lastly, I'm not sure if it is a breed standard, but Jazzy is not quite the normal pecker. Rather than making quick jabs at you, she rubs her beak and sort of "investigates".
Growth:
Due to Dixie Rainbows being a dual-purpose bird, they grow insanely fast. For those using them as meat birds, they reach market weight at around 12 weeks. I'd say that they are probably around 7-8 pounds at maturity. Jazzy surpassed her sisters within days. It always seemed she was one week ahead of the average growth. She even, at 17-weeks, has her full comb and is partially through the process of growing her wattles while my other girls are slowly but surely starting to get a noticeable comb. From a young age I could tell Jazzy was going to be big due to her giant feet and she has turned out to be quite big. As of now, I'd put her somewhere around 6 pounds. One thing to note, depending on how you look at the matter it could be a good thing or bad, Dixie Rainbows are not very aerodynamic due to their size. While Jazzy thinks she can fly, she really can't and it is a hilarious thing to watch
Egg Laying:
I can not vouch for it myself, as Jazzy has not started to lay, but Dixie Rainbows are said to lay a medium-large brown egg. It is also said that they start laying at the end of the spectrum of 20-24 weeks. I'll be sure to update this when I do start getting eggs.
Summary:
Overall, Dixie Rainbows are a joy to raise. You will be getting a large bird with an even bigger personality. If your girl is anything like Jazzy, you may get a talker who is slightly dramatic. There will never be a dull moment between complete freakouts over falling off the perch or very passive aggressive chirps.

I purchased the dual purpose assortment from hoovers hatchery and I think I have some rainbows- only time will tell. I'll just have to rule out everything else. You are correct- there is not much of anything on the internet about the rainbows- even years after original post. some of my chicks below- we will see if they turn out to be other breeds- but I have a feeling I have some rainbows (and some barred rocks!)

 

[DuckDuckSook]

I had never heard of Dixie Rainbows. Thank you for sharing about this breed. I might try to find some in the future. They are beautiful and it sounds like they have great personalities too.

 

[LaurEliz]

My first Dixie ever passed away years ago but I jumped at the chance to take two more hens a few weeks ago. They’re just as sweet and lovely as my first one. They are good egg layers too, and I love their coloration. They’re a bit darker than my first, but very similar and so beautiful.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

I'm thinking of getting some Dixies this year. Will they blend in with my barnyard mix flock?