Barred Rocks!!

[slordaz]

here is some goo articles from here so you don't accidently feed or plant something on your property and kill off your chickens

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/627282/comprehensive-list-of-poisonous-plants-and-trees
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

here is also some of the things I feed my free ranging flock , but anytime your introducing new things I would recomend one thing at a time, we've tried alot of things some they refused to eat so probably not good for them.
I make sure I remove seeds from apple and watermelon just to be on the safe side
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[slordaz]

i got 5 barred Rock chicks last spring at Tractor supply. they were supposed to be all hens. turns out i had three roosters in the bunch, and only two hens, and i lost one hen to avocado shells. don't feed your chickens avocado! it is poisonous to chickens. anyway the three roosters are lighter than the hens. the hens are almost black and the roosters are more gray. i know it's bar spacing. my question is are the roosters always lighter than the hens in barred Rocks? because i could see the difference in the bar spacing the day i got them so now i suspect you can tell roosters from hens at a very young age with barred rocks. i'm 2 years new to chickens, and these are my first barred Rocks.

when buying chicks there are a couple ways they sell them, sexed aka pullets but they can be wrong or straight runs which is how they came out of the egg and you are just as likely to get a pullet as a cockrel, if they sell them as pullets you may be able to get them to replace roosters that were sold as pullets. Best thing you can do is ask the person selling them to you

A barred rock rooster always looks whiter than a hen same as little ones also their comb comes in bigger and starts turning red sooner a hens usually doesn't until she changes from pullet to hen stage from my experience. the one rooster we got out of our first hatch from the flock was quite noticeble by 5 days old, he was already making crowing motions frequently even though couldn't get the crow actually out

 

[DesertChic]

here is some goo articles from here so you don't accidently feed or plant something on your property and kill off your chickens

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/627282/comprehensive-list-of-poisonous-plants-and-trees
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

here is also some of the things I feed my free ranging flock , but anytime your introducing new things I would recomend one thing at a time, we've tried alot of things some they refused to eat so probably not good for them.
I make sure I remove seeds from apple and watermelon just to be on the safe side

I just want to emphasize the importance of cooking any potato product, including the skins, before feeding them to your chickens as they are toxic to chickens when raw.

Additionally, no eggplant, including the green plant itself, for the same reason. Highly poisonous.

 

[Shadow920]

here is some goo articles from here so you don't accidently feed or plant something on your property and kill off your chickens

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/627282/comprehensive-list-of-poisonous-plants-and-trees
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

here is also some of the things I feed my free ranging flock , but anytime your introducing new things I would recomend one thing at a time, we've tried alot of things some they refused to eat so probably not good for them.
I make sure I remove seeds from apple and watermelon just to be on the safe side

my chickens will eat water melon, seeds, rind and all with no problem. i gave them avocado shell, and two of them ate it very eagerly and died. so if they won't eat something it just means they don't like it. i threw a lemon in the coop and my cochin took one look at it, shook his head and walked away. he's very snooty.

 

[usernameA]

Does Alamo Hay and Grain have good Barred Rock chicks????

 

[junebuggena]

Does Alamo Hay and Grain have good Barred Rock chicks????

Is that a feed store? If so, you're not going to get show quality. Feed stores order from the big hatcheries. Hatchery barred Rocks don't have good quality barring. They are still good layers, and are pretty, fun birds to have; but they aren't outstanding specimens of the breed.

 

[realsis]

Hi friends, I just ordered for April five female barred rock birds. they will come with marks administered already. I've always had, and still have silkies. my question is are barred rock a good friendly breed??

 

[DesertChic]

Hi friends, I just ordered for April five female barred rock birds. they will come with marks administered already. I've always had, and still have silkies. my question is are barred rock a good friendly breed??

In my experience, yes. I love my Barred Rock girls...though I have had some difficulties with the cockerels at times. They both got invited to dinner. But the girls are assertive without being mean and are outstanding layers. Actually...my BR girls are the only large breed girls my little Silkie gets along with. Everyone else scares her.

 

[slordaz]

Hi friends, I just ordered for April five female barred rock birds. they will come with marks administered already. I've always had, and still have silkies. my question is are barred rock a good friendly breed??

I have BR 4 hens and a rooster in a mixed flock, there is 1 hen I do have to watch with the more docile breeds and new additions, She was a quick learner though too. she got put in lock down and not allowed to go out with the others to free range for the 2-3 days per incident and she quit being quite so aggressive. . The roosters are not so good with people but great protectors if your free ranging, only reason the rooster didn't get sent to freezer camp is how well he protects his hens, we have to watch closely if we are out there and he has to be locked up if people are out visiting. You better be wearing shoes he knows or he will attack them lol.

 

[nowlifehappens]

just had four chicks hatch and papa is a barred rock. i also have 3 BR hens and 4 black sex link hens. not sure whose eggs i grabbed but the pic is the result. can anyone tell if they are BR chicks or a mix?