Blue Plymouth Rock

[Newyorkrita]

I thought they were supposed to lay brown eggs.

 

[jspeese]

I'm getting some this week from Jenks Hatchery. It seems that there is conflicting information about the exact makeup of this cross. The ones I'm getting are Andalusian X Barred Rock hybrids. There seems to be several different names for this breed/cross too: Sapphire Gem, Blue Plymouth Rock, and possibly others. Anyway, they sound cool and look pretty so I thought I'd try some.

 

[gypsylady32]

I got 3 Blue Plymouth Rock pullets today...4 wks old. Got them from Poultry Hollow in TN. I'm super excited to see what they turn out to look like as adults. The pics don't do the color of these chicks justice. They are a lovely lavender grey color. Super sweet temperament! Hopefully they are the perfect addition to my 2 barred plymouth rock hens.

 

[gypsylady32]

They look beautiful! I ended up with 3 B Australorps and 2 Blue Ply Rocks. They are 1 week apart with the blues being younger at 4 weeks. I will post pics soon! Also is it typical for the price of chicks to go up as they age? I ended up paying 10$ ea! It was from Poultry Hollow and after her fire 2 years ago she no longer ships.

I just got 3 blue plymouth rocks from Poultry Hollow!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

They should not be called blue plymouth rock as that is an actual variety of plymouth rock breed. What the hatcheries are selling are not them.

 

[Melissa Malone]

Today I was looking at baby chicks at Family Farm and Home and they had a brooder bin labeled
"Rare breed pullets"
"Blue Plymouth Rocks"
I have never heard of them before.
Has anyone on this forum had them before or have them?

I have a Blue Plymouth Rock and she is very sweet.. Shes a pretty big bird with beautiful feathers

 

[jspeese]

I guess there is some confusion as to which is a Blue Plymouth Rock and which is a Sapphire Gem. I think sometimes the terms are used interchangeably, although not necessarily accurately. It is my understanding that the Sapphire Gem is a sex-link hybrid created by crossing an Andalusian (not sure which color, but I believe splashed) rooster with a barred Plymouth Rock hen, which produces all blue/lavender chicks. Like most crosses with barred Rocks, I believe that the cockerel chicks have a white spot on their head, whereas the pullet chicks are solid blue/lavender. The pullets develop solid beautiful lavender blue plumage, and the cockerels are (at least partially) barred. This spring, I ordered pullet chicks from Jenks that they call Blue Sapphire Plymouth Rocks (gets more confusing, no?), but in the description they say they are a cross between an Andalusian rooster and a Barred Plymouth Rock hen. So I believe they are the same thing that other hatcheries call Sapphire Gems. And I bet there are other names out there as well! They are a beautiful shade of lavender blue and are just starting to lay. This beautiful color, plus the fact that all pullets will develop it, is what inspired me to get them. If you order heritage breeds of blue chicks you're going to get black ones and splashed ones in your order, and I don't think they are particularly pretty. If Blue Plymouth Rocks are an actual breed (i.e., not a hybrid), you will probably get a mix of blue, splashed and black chicks, just like you would with Blue Cochins, Blue Andalusians, etc.

 

[Poodlemum]

I got 3 Blue Plymouth Rock pullets today...4 wks old. Got them from Poultry Hollow in TN. I'm super excited to see what they turn out to look like as adults. The pics don't do the color of these chicks justice. They are a lovely lavender grey color. Super sweet temperament! Hopefully they are the perfect addition to my 2 barred plymouth rock hens.

Oh wow, my Wyandottes are so much more developed at just turning 4 weeks! They’re almost fully feathered. Glad to see my Sapphire Gems/“Blue Rocks” might be slower. They need to stay inside a bit longer lol

 

[jspeese]

This past Friday I got 6 blue-laced red Wyandotte pullet chicks from our local feed store to go with my 6 point-of-lay Sapphire Gems. I had ordered 10 Sapphire Gems, but the post office beat them up so bad that only 6 made it. The 6 that made it are beautiful, but all in all it wasn't one of my best chick experiences...it's NO fun at all watching chicks die. The hatchery (Jenks) made good on it and said I wasn't the only one...it's the post office's fault, but to get more birds I would've had to order another 10, and I didn't want that many. So I opted for a refund and decided to hold out until the fall chicks came in locally. I've seen lots of photos of blue laced red Wyandottes and I know there can be variation in the amount of colors and lacing, but I'm hoping at least some of these 6 will look as pretty as they do in the photographs. Main thing is they all seem to be healthy, eating and drinking.