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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

Madpolak
Started with chickens last spring from Murdoch's and ended up with one Barred Rock. Turned out to be a Roo. He's very active and keeps up with the five Sexlink hens I have. He can be a little nasty so I started to keep I pail of scratch by the door that I go out of into the yard. Now he views me as a giant food dispenser and leaves me alone while I gather eggs and do other tasks. I am incubating 9 cross eggs right now. Excited to see what I get.
 
holyshihtzu
I am in Colorado also and I purchased 2 barred rock chicks. I am very new to chickens, I don't know the age but they have a few spurts of baby feathers left. Do you know if they can go outside with 2 silkie hens?
 
TREX
They sure do love to talk! In fact I'd say my 2 ladies are downright loud sometimes.They chatter every time I go out to the coop and every time someone else lays an egg! They are so cute though.
 
Shalva
I think they would be fine and a really nice chicken with others of a similar temperament but my orpingtons are very very docile, that is what the breed is known for and these guys are to bossy for them.... also I watched them target my polish and that just can't happen. I like a peaceful docile flock and honestly they are just bossy... not aggressive... just bossy and it isn't working out in my docile flock but if your girls are better at taking care of themselves they are nice birds
 
ccrow
Maybe it's the individual personalities... one of my BOs is the bossy one:)
 
snusnu95
My girl is the opposite, she must be special. She is very passive (she's at the bottom of the pecking order) and fairly silent, also she's the flightiest chicken I have, our Araucana is calmer. But Plymouth Rocks are sweethearts, even my girl who is opposite in personality.
 
TREX
So my first hen is laying and she is quite obnoxious with the egg song.Not only does she do it before she lays,she does it during and after and when all my other hens lay.I'm going to wait on my other BR hen to start laying to see if its just her but if not I would not recommend this breed for tight suburban yards where you need to stay under the radar.
 
The Mother Hen
I love BRs! They are super adorable, yet I have a few that are a little feisty. I still love them even if they can get a little mean with the younger chickens.
 
DuginMT
Of my 12 pullets one of my grey barred rocks was the second to lay, at 19.5 weeks. A Black Australorp beat her by two days. My two rocks are very friendly and get along well with the rest of the flock, which includes RIR's, BO's, BA's, and EE's. Also I think they are pretty birds and give your flock some "salt and pepper". Also I like the fact that they were once the most popular American barnyard chicken.
 
BarredRockMom
We have 6 beautiful Barred Rock ladies & love them as well! And having talkative hens must be part of their makeup, because ours have talked to us from the beginning, too. We have 3 that like to sit on us & do so regularly, though the other 3 will climb from the roost to our laps for a short time. Whomever gets to us first gets a shoulder & last on gets the lap unless we both go in to sit with the girls. They're great little hunters and companions.
 
whitt910
Mine are so talkative! I have one hen that I have to beat into the coop because she will go and jump on an egg so I can't get it, but that's the only time she sits on it and talks the entire time. They're very talkative! I really didn't think I would like chickens so much but I love them. They're so interesting and I love watching Chicken T.V. as we call it at my house.
 
chickennoodle77
Barred Rocks ROCK! No questions about that! I grew up around them and I used to have one that actually rode on the back of my saddle when I rode my horses. Now I live in Oakland and my favorite chickens which come out to greet me every morning are the Plymouth Barred and the Brahmas! Love them!
 
frank53061
I have only one Barred Rock and she Rules the yard chickens and Turkeys.
I notice that when people post pictures of there chickens I seem to spot the one Barred Rock in a lot of peoples flocks.
 
jerrey
with my 19 girls i have 1 roo he will not leave the girls along i like to hear him crow, any ideals
 
whitt910
Well it's normal for them to go after the girls. Not only is he their protector but he is mating with them. At first they are rather rough trying to get them to mate cause they don't quite have it figured out, but give them a few weeks and he will get it down pat.
 
Bill Matthews
Rated #22 by whom...Barred rocks are at least in top five for any purpose..Eggs, meat, beauty, you name it..
 
desertegg
I have two Barred Rocks that are 9 weeks old. They are a LOT more adventurous than my older Easter Eggers. They squeeze out of the back yard, and yesterday my neighbor found them on her front porch. The EEs never go very far from their coop.
 
kingsfarm
Hi, I also like Barred Rocks have 14..they have developed into a large size for dual purposes...my regret is the 2 roos that I had were mean, attacked children and adults alike...had to cull both, will NOT have BR roos again...Have Buff Orpington roo and RIR coming up and Black Astrolorpe that is really the best one .. does his duty because I have sooooo many BLACK chicks running around.... love my Astrolorpe..
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
dylan729
Views
208,578
Watchers
56
Comments
403
Reviews
235
Last update
Rating
4.26 star(s) 244 ratings

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