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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

emmaie892000
I finally broke her of it recently. She started laying again within the week actually haha. Thanks for the advice though.
 
Chook Kingdom
I have four Barred Rocks, three roosters, Dawson, Prince, Coco, and a hen, Loti, (still need to get rid of the other two roosters), and I also found them to be quite the companion to! One of my cocks talks to me! He comes up and gives me a series of 'coco' sounds after every question I ask!

Thanks for the positive review on my favourite breed!
 
giannini
My original 6 chicks were 2 Barred Rocks, 2 Rhode I Reds, 1 Buff Orp., 1 Silver Lace Wyan. They were a day or two old. Those were the only ones I had for the first 10 weeks of their life. They all got along, and there was no dominance to speak of. Then I rescued 2 pullets the same age as the 6. 1 White Leghorn, and 1 Welsummer. Of course there was the establishment of the pecking order at first. It's been about 3 weeks now, and the Barred Rocks are still giving the White Leghorn a little trouble, but all in all it seems to be calming down. I guess I've been lucky they get along as well as they do.
 
Virus
I simply started the truth I know. I actually just lost my two roosters :`( and once we fix the pen plan to get two more. Though they could never replace Buckey and Dumpling it was nice having them. The crowing was very relaxing.
 
Virus
No, a fox has babies every year near where we keep the roosters and I think she was taking them out for a hunt. There was a hole in the fence and all I found was piles of feathers with blood and skin on them. We're going to reenforce the pen and get a new coop before we get more. I do miss them though, they were friendlier than any of my other chickens.
 
Chook Kingdom
My Barred Rocks are my favourite, so I would miss them too! I don't have foxes, the only predator I have is crows, and the odd hawk.
 
Virus
We have hawks too. But we put netting over the pen so they aren't a problem.
 
Virus
I let my hens free range because they have a fence and a lot of tree coverage. The boys however stay in a covered run because where I live you can't have roosters so I moved them to my dad's farm. And there are plenty of predators out there.
 
Chook Kingdom
That sucks that you can't have them around! Do your hens stay close to the hen house at least? My hens wander everywhere without the rooster, even get lost! But it's nice you are satisfied with your Barred Buddies!
 
Virus
My RIR hen, Chica is the alpha chicken and leads everyone around. The girls live in the backyard of my house, its not huge and I only have 4 chickens right now and a duck so its a perfect size for them. They don't stay too close to the coop but run back at the slightest sound of danger. Oh and it does suck that I have to move the boys, my neighbors didn't care about the crowing. They even thought it was nice but its the law. :/
 
SandyM
My barred rocks are amazing! Friendly, confident and smart. They can be a little bully-ish to the smaller ones but when they are out free ranging it's easy for everyone to sort themseflves out.

We have Hawks as well, but I also have a lot of trees. The second anything flies over they take cover under trees or bush. Smart girls.
 
Virus
Mine do the same thing, rush under bushes or to the coop. Chickens are smarter than most think.
 
Virus
That's what I'll probably do, the girls aren't quite big enough to take on a full grown rooster yet nor do they lay big enough eggs. Once their ready and I get some roos then I will be breeding them and selling chicks.
 
Chook Kingdom
I'm breeding Barred Rocks too! Not many people in my area have this sleek US imported bird here where I am so I'm hoping people will go crazy over them next time I sell!
 
Virus
I'm not selling only barred rocks, I'm also breeding my RIRs and my ameraucana bantam. I also don't know what breed of rooster I will get. I'm going to post an ad on this website for any who has a rooster and needs it gone that I want two.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
dylan729
Views
210,286
Watchers
56
Comments
403
Reviews
235
Last update
Rating
4.26 star(s) 244 ratings

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