Partridge Plymouth Rock

I'm surprised so many people are saying the breed is unfriendly/skittish. Mine are bold and the some of the friendliest in my mixed flock!

I love this breed! Although, one hen became so broody, she tried attacking me, but that I did not allow. I always grab my aggressors and pet them, hold them carry them around, grab her beak in nest if she tried to bite me. They really do quit being brats if you take action, it works for me. I ordered more for my new flock.

We got our PPR hens almost a year ago now as laying hens and they have not disappointed, they laid well, through winter and and were very hardy to the elements. My only complaints is that they are very loud and are not very cuddly, which is not a problem for us! They also showed little to no signs of broodiness, which is also not a problem for us. I would not recommend them for anyone that lives near other people or for people looking for a broody hen. If you are looking for a hardy breed that lays lovely light brown eggs, this is the breed for you. I am very pleased with my PPR hens and would recommend them highly!

She isn't real good with being had led unless she can have her feet on something and even then she still tries to get away. She is very pretty and I greatly enjoy getting her feathers when she molts, also if she were to be butchered she would have lots of meat. unfortunately she is the lowest in the pecking order and gets picked on a lot.

Got 2 in 2011. Still have 1 that turned 3 recently. The other on started loosing feathers under her neck and under her belly, then died. The other on I still have won me the best standard hen at the Middlesex county 4-H fair. She lays pretty well for a 3 year old. They were both always skittish and never could really handle them. I started with a flock of 4, 2 buff Minorcas and the 2 partridge Plymouth rocks which worked out great. They pretty much took care of themselves as I learned how to take care of them. I love their feathers!

I have had my Partridge for about 5 weeks now, her name is hazel, and she is one of the most beautiful chicks in my flock. She loves to scratch around, and dust bathe. She's calm, but royal, and very messy. She dose not love to be held as much as the others do, but if i wrap her up in my sweater, she hunkers down and falls to sleep.

Granted, I only have one in my current flock, but my partridge rock hen, Penelope, has been a stellar member of the crew so far. Even as a chick, she had a long, graceful neck and a pretty head. The breed's feather patterning is just beautiful. From the start, she was always jumping up on the feeder and water to investigate and get a better look to see what was going on around her. She has never minded being handled, and though she won't seek out your attention, she is content to have it. She recently went on a school visit with me so that the art students could use her as a drawing model. She was calm, and was a good sport about the whole thing, even laying an egg in the middle of one of the classes! In the flock as an adult, she is a the top of the pecking order, but is not aggressive with those beneath her. She just goes around and does what she pleases, and none of the other birds dispute her position. Even my guineas don't bother her! She lays pretty, lightly-tinted eggs on a consistent basis (5-6 per week). She does well free-ranging, but is ok when kept in the run as well. I would definitely recommend this breed.

Partridge Plymouth Rocks aren't the best breed. Ours are very broody and very flighty also. She is an okay layer that we know of. Our bird has wry tail, which is why I put that they breed can have "genetical problems". These birds are very pretty with there partridge coloring. Overall, not the best birds.

I gotta admit i love these birds. I have 3 hens. I have another rooster and Australop hen and everyone gets along perfectly. My other rooster is barred rock and he's in love with my girls. Definitely the dominant rooster now. My birds are only 12 weeks so they haven't laid so I can't comment to egg production. I hatched them all and had no idea what I would get! They are free range and are fantastic at keeping their bellies full. Now to be honest, they are not friendly but they are not aggressive either. They are inquisitive but not friendly. I really do love that about them. I can call them and they come to my voice and follow me. They don't like to be handled but that's fine with me because I have no intention of handling them and never will. I got chickens to lay eggs not to cuddle with. They are the perfect chickens for me. They do their own thing and are very independent. They head to the coop at 5:30 every night and tuck themselves in. They are great birds. They require very little human attention albeit, if I don't open their pen in the mornings, they sit at the door waiting. I can hear them cooing and telling me to hurry it up. They don't bother the dogs even when the dogs decide they need to have a little run at them. They have required VERY little care. Just the basics food, clean water and a nice coop. They are spoiled and get daily mealworms. They will come running as soon as they hear the bag. Love these chickens, can't wait to get more.

It's been cold here 23 degrees and they have done great. They seem to do fine in the rain as well. Again, I love these chickens.

I would rate them higher but don't know about egg production due to their age.

Our hen is very pretty, but very loud. She is a fast runner who runs away if you step in her direction. Our other hens will follow directions a little bit, but this one just ignores us. She is six months old and has yet to lay an egg (she is not a rooster) unlike her barred rock counterparts who are giving us many eggs.

I wasn't sure I'd like them but have found them to be attractive and friendly so far.
Hardy robust little birds.
I wanted to add that with time I am liking these birds more and more.
Friendly,intelligent and very aware when it comes to winged predators.
They just get prettier and friendlier with time.
I would definitely buy this breed again.

I breed these birds. Temperament from some hatcheries are not that great. I got my starter flock from Mt Healthy. They did great were of two strains. One being more heritage stock and one more production stock. I have since added birds from another breeder. I have not noticed the skittishness others have mentioned. My farm dog could walk among them with no problems. Even had had squat for her to put her paw on their back like I would do with my hand. Even had a couple hens that would sit on my lap if I sat on a chair, there idea not mine. Egg size varies from med to xlarge. Color varies also from some hatcheries from light brown on hens to the darker brown. Legs should be yellow on both hens and roosters, though hens leg color will get less the more they lay. Mine have free ranged in snow and still layed. Heat of summer they will drop off of production but do not have any other problems with heat. My first rooster were very calm and I have not had any of mine attack me or my family. This can not be said of all hatcheries Partridge Rocks though. These color line of Plymouth Rock is very broody. I had out of my first 23 hens 10 go broody first year. They are good moms and teach chicks how to range well and what to be warry of in predators like hawks. Rooster are good with chicks from broodies. Adult hens are tough on cockerals until they get almost a year old but pullets they are OK with most of the time. I bought this color strain just because I planned on free ranging. I wanted long laying life span. I have hens now 5 years old that still lay 4 to 5 eggs a day for me. But I feed a 20% protein feed along with their free ranging. We have butchered a few and had a decent carcase. The Partridge Rock is not as big as the Barred Rock but only by a small bit. Hatchery chickens are smaller than heritage breeder stock. But there are not many breeders of this color strain. Most hatcheries do carry it. This color strain is well worth owning specially if you want a broody.

So far we have 2 Partridges in our flock of six and one is a male and is a female! They are only about 3months old so we don't have any eggs yet but we can't wait! The hen is smaller than the rooster by a decent amount and she is small than our white rocks! She doesn't like to be touch and squaks at us when we try to pet her. She will let us pick her up and play with her some so she isn't too bad. She can be sweet when she wants to She's a fast little thing that's for sure. The rooster is sweet and eats a lot! He isn't dominant over them at all though. The female white rocks are dominant over him. He just started crowing today! I can't wait to see how they mature. He is already getting some green tail feathers and has some orange starting on his neck. he is by the far the most beautiful bird we have. I will update my post once they are grown and we get some eggs!

Beautiful girls that are an excellent addition to friendly flock of backyard layers. Raised mine from a day old and she's sweet but I couldn't give her five stars because she doesn't love petting or being held like I'd expect from a hen handled and raised like she was.

We got 5 partridge plymouth rocks and these girls are awesome! As friendly as our light brahmas, beautiful coloring and great layers. I will be adding more!

Our Partridge Plymouth Rock is very friendly and doesn't hurt anyone unless they hurt her. She stands her place in the pecking order, and everyone knows she's the top. She lays large, cream colored eggs and is VERY broody, even in the wintertime. I love her!

I love this breed. I purchased them through nature's hatchery I ordered 25 sold 7 and gave the rest to my broody hen to adopt. This breed is great for free range their darker color seems to blend with ground and never lost one while free ranging. (did loose two to a coyote who dug under the electrical fence into their pen one night). their pencil feathering is beautiful. Rooster is very sweet he was raised with my young kids holding him (ever have a 9 to 10lb rooster hop on your lap to cuddle?) during the summer months we take them off feed and let the free range they actually get really fat that way! Great bird lays all winter long, beautiful feathering, nice bird, non aggressive roosters, good brood hen out of 2 1/2 years with this flock 4 hens went broody all hatched 90% or better. My favorite breed.

Partridge Plymouth Rock. I thought I was getting a pullet but, they pulled a Roo. Of all the birds I thought if this one could be a Roo,I'll be lucky. That was an early and brief thought. Green, orange, red, yellow feathers. Iridescent classic looking Rooster from Farmyard scenes galore. I wanted the classic barnyard. What I didn't count on was a resistant to our kind socialization of any sort. 8 other different breeds we got with him and they can all be picked up, held...you name it. He was so persistant with our hens and got in fights with the two other cockerels that he was raised with. In the end, I often saw him on his own most of the time, and when trying to "rejoin" the flock in another location, it wouldn't take long for them to leave him, again and move on. It broke my heart but I thinned out the flock by one and it was him. I went with the good personality Roosters and the ones that kept the flock in some sort of harmony. He wasn't even that great of look out for the flock when he was head Roo for a short period of time because he incessantly harrassed the hens. They are totally beautiful. And if you are just breeding and spreading some color to a flock this is probably a great choice. But that's about it from my experience.