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Barred Rock

Very tame nice breed that gives you big beautiful brown eggs. They aren't that loud and the...
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Average
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Brown
Breed Temperament
Kind, Skittish
Breed Colors/Varieties
Barred (black and white)
Breed Size
Large Fowl
APA/ABA Class
American
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Barred Rock Rooster​

The Plymouth Rock a.k.a. Barred Rock is a very popular duel-purpose American breed, known for their excellent laying ability, general hardiness, and calm good nature which makes them a good choice for small backyard flocks and homesteaders.

Chickens called "Plymouth Rocks" were shown as early as 1849, but that flock disappeared and later strains from several different breeders combined to form the foundation of today’s Plymouth Rock breed. Mr. D.A. Upham of Worcester, MA is credited as being one of the primary influences on the breed, he first exhibited his birds at the Worcester, MA poultry exhibition in 1869. His birds are generally acknowledged to be the ancestors of the breed we know today.

A number of different breeds are reputed to have gone into the formation of the Plymouth Rock, including Dominique, Brahma, Black Java and Cochin. The breed gained a great deal of popularity quickly and the Plymouth Rock became the most popular farm chicken in the United States up until WWII.

The original color of the breed was Barred and early in the breeds history the name "Plymouth Rock" implied a barred bird. Barred varieties remain the most popular color today. As more color varieties were developed, the name Plymouth Rock became the designation for the entire breed, which can now can be found in other colors including White, Buff, Partridge, Silver Penciled, Columbian and Blue.

The Barred Plymouth Rock was one of the breeds used as the foundation for the commercial broiler industry in the united States in the 1920's and the White Rock is still often used as the female side of the Cornish Rocks or Cornish Cross type commercial broiler cross.

They are single combed, quite winter hardy, and the hens are good layers of brown eggs. They are occasionally broody and make good setters and mothers.

The Plymouth Rock breed was recognized by the APA in 1874 and is on The Livestock Conservancy's Recovering list.

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Barred Rock chicks

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Barred Rock Juvenile (pullet)

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Barred Rock hen
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Latest reviews

BarredRock412
Pros: Great with kids, friendly, aware of predators, quiet.
Cons: Eats more than our two RIRs combined, often gets pecked on by others.
I love my barred rock. We bought her off craigslist from a breeder when she was about four months old. She's great with kids, loves being picked up and has never attacked, and absolutely LOVES people. Her feathers are extremely soft and she has a lot of fluff. She is very trusting and will fall asleep in my lap. The only time she is ever loud is if she sees a predator, she will squawk loudly and hide when she sees anything in the sky- airplanes, crows, literally anything. She doesn't even trust the family dog. She is a great layer but eats so much... it's shocking how much of a foodie she is. Since she is so docile, she is at the bottom of the pecking order and gets pecked on by the others. If you're looking for a family-friendly bird and great layer, I would highly recommend the barred rock.
Purchase Date
August 2020
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kbroom
kbroom
These Barred Rocks are so beautiful. I'd love to have those. I'm still in the decision stage. So far, I think I'll start out with just two babies. I'm still working on their coop. I have the actual core, but I must fence in underneath the back upstairs deck. It will be 20X20 X10. That should give them plenty of room. I was going to let them be free range, but after watching some videos, where a man said, "If you're going to be free range, just understand that you're going to have some dead chickens," I decided to keep them in a large cage. Their coop will be inside.
DesertGrrl
Pros: - Very gentle and calm birds.
- Makes cute sounds
- People friendly
Cons: - Don't do well in hot weather/climate.
- EATS A LOT OF FEED
My Barred Rock is totally awesome!
Does well with my other chick.
Very chill and laid back and loves sitting on my shoulder nicely.
She doesn't bite and is overall an amazing bird.
She will run up to me if I'm near the coop.

The Bad:
- My Barred Rock is very intolerant to hot weather (mostly black feathers is probably why) and will pant and have wings out (I live in the desert, but my Delaware does fine in this weather).
- Eats a lot of food almost non-stop.
They have a huge appetite for food.
Purchase Price
Free. Was a gift.
Purchase Date
Sept. 26, 2020
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RosiePosey
Pros: Great layer, easy keepers, larger sized.
Cons: Aggressive
We keep free-range chickens that just go in the coop at night so it's important to us to have a fairly protective rooster. Oreo is a fantastic protector of his ladies and treats them all well. He's fought off the neighbor's cat, a fox, and a hawk so far that we've seen. The downside to that is he sometimes thinks he needs to fight us off too! Somedays he's sweet and will eat out of your hand. The next day you round a corner or get out of the car and he's flapping up at you trying to get you with his spurs. The hens are aggressive with the other girls in our mixed flock too. The leghorns can hold their own but nobody else wants to be near them. They do lie a good sized egg consistently and for our purposes, they work. I probably wouldn't recommend this Roo for a more pet-type boy nor the hens for a mixed flock that is cooped as they may beat up the other girls.
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IslandRockFarm
IslandRockFarm
Same happens with us! They are great producers but they are mean hens. We had to move a couple hens to a different coop because they would bully, feather pluck, and wouldn't allow them to eat. This happened though after a mink attack where some hens died, and may have shifted the power dynamic.
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Sealizrus19
Sealizrus19
My hens are mean bullies too. Will probably never get more again...
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Comments

dg14
Yes they do. mine are still maturing but my last ones were great layers!
 
alica31
I love my 3 barred girls! Wonderful layers and very friendly. They are free range during the day...if I need to check out random squawks --- all I do is call the cat! Chicks come running when they hear
"KITTY....kitty.....kitty...."
 
alica31
I love my 3 barred girls! Wonderful layers and very friendly. They are free range during the day...if I need to check out random squawks --- all I do is call the cat! Chicks come running when they hear
"KITTY....kitty.....kitty...."
 
alica31
I love my 3 barred girls! Wonderful layers and very friendly. They are free range during the day...if I need to check out random squawks --- all I do is call the cat! Chicks come running when they hear
"KITTY....kitty.....kitty...."
 
song of joy
Sounds like you have wonderful hens! That's a great laying rate for winter. How old are they and where did you get them?
 
christinamae5
I got them from our local farm/feed store as day old chicks- Its called Runnings.... They are almost a year old- I got them in March of 2014. I hate that its so cold here though! Most of my eggs freeze before I can get home from work to get them!!!
 
chickincrazy
Mine are VERY talkative, but I like chickens that way. Their cluck is smooth and pleasant, and the birds themselves are great layers. They can be bossy, but think of it this way, SOMEONE has to take charge of the flock. Why not the lovely Barred rock? :)
 
PoultryVines
I agree with you !! My barred rocks lay very well. Even through the winter I was getting at least 5 eggs a week. They love to be wherever I am in the yard. They start calling to me when I come out the backdoor and squat at my feet for me to pet them.
 
EricandJeri
Same here! I have 4 barred rocks and 2 of them are lap chickens! Unfortunately they all look exactly alike so I don't know who to pick up, I have to wait for the 2 friendly ones to make the contact with me.
 
RouletteRun
I just got 5 Barred Rock chicks through the mail this morning. I'm looking forward to raising them. So far they seem OK with being handled, but I'm trying to limit handling for a couple days to let them adjust to their new home.
 
Nardo
I have a Barred Rock and she acts like your chicks. She is a good layer, but wants all of the food! She is sweet but tries to boss the others.
 
Oliver Douglas
Barred Rocks can be great additions to any flock. My little rooster, who will be going elsewhere eventually since we can't have them in city limits, keeps the girls in line...but backs down when all three of the hens give him the business. And that's why polygamy is illegal....three wives...what could go wrong? A lot....
 
deemathes
If you don't mind a question...we are new to "chickening" and have a BR chick in the flock we are raising. She is just as sweet as can be, but you are not the first person who said they can be bossy. (We knew this, and chose her anyway. :) ) Question being, do they start sweet then turn as they mature, or is there a chance we just got a gentle one and she'll stay that way? They are sooooo pretty...
 
hippiestink
This is one of those "mixed bag" breeds. Your mileage may vary. Where I've had some very mean and bossy BR hens, I've also had hens sweet as buttons. It really just depends on the bird. Some start nice and turn mean, whereas others it's the opposite. Barred Rocks are great for meat or eggs and are decent starter birds IMO. Depending on the personality of the bird determines their disposition I've found. I just prefer the consistently gentler Bantam breeds.
 
Diannastarr
O GOSH , yes i have 4 barred rocks,,funny & affectionate , they answer me back when i talk to them , they talk back is such a cute way ....lol..they talk to me when i go out looking for eggs in the coop and they are all so sweet cooing at me and being interested in my collecting the eggs...lol.. one thing i have found out about the barred rocks is they love to sleep together, so i built them a good size platform with round wooden edge bars along the edges of the platform , they love that platform and sleep side by side holding onto the round edge bars for perches, they are the one chicken breed who will keep each other warm by gathering together in the cold, unlike other breeds , i had heard about as a child & all about how entire coops full of chickens all were frozen to death .? gosh how horrible is that...? so its apparent that barred rocks seem smarter then the average chicken....lol..!! they are a lot better at all things chicken is what i have observer of them ...! but my 4, have been mean....lol..bulling & pecking at my wyandotts for no reason...? so i have to play yard guard to stop the pecking. my goodness the barred rocks are a tough , resourceful & hardy breed and around people they are quite a lot of fun , i think having all barred rocks would be the better idea since they seem to get along together well...!!! no matter what those 4 hens are always out free ranging together, side by side.
 
evagay
I read that you need to cool their breast off to stop them from being broody... This lady would put hers in a rabbit hutch with a wire floor so the cool air would circulate around them there by cooling them off. Somebody told me to dip mine in cool water.. This lady I read about says she does not do that. She puts them in the rabbit hutch, then puts them back with the flock. If they are still broody she puts them back in the hutch( broody breaker she calls it) Hope this helps you. It will take them a couple of months to go back to laying... :(
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
dylan729
Views
209,934
Watchers
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Comments
403
Reviews
235
Last update
Rating
4.26 star(s) 244 ratings

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