Barred Rock

My pullet Louise is scared of everything and is probably the lowest in the pecking order. She's really quiet and soft-spoken. She isn't old enough to lay eggs but I'm sure she'll be very prolific. Very hardy too.

We started our chicken adventure with 4 barred rocks about 6 weeks old, some supplies, a store-bought coop, and not a clue on how to raise them. They're very easy to care for and very tolerant of people, pets, and other birds in the flock. We lost 2 to predators, but the other 2 are the matriarchs of our mixed flock and keep the peace. They come when called, like to be held, help keep our insect population down, and give delicious rich brown eggs. We'll always have a couple of these in our flock going forward.

If I had to pick a favorite of my girls, it would CERTAINLY be my BR. Allow me to tell you why:

1) Since she was a chick, she has always been calm and handleable. She is great for kids who just cannot leave the house without petting a chicken.

2) Her laying has always been consistent and she lays beautiful eggs. Almost pinkish in color!

3) She herself is a real beauty, while still being fairly modest. She looks like a classic farm chicken.

Consensus: I cannot complain about my BR. She is truly the best!

I have one hen from last year's hatching. She is the sweetest bird. We can pick her up, ruffle her feathers, she'll take treats from your hand if she knows you. She gives us about two eggs every three days, little and pink. The only complaint I can think of is she's a follower. If the other birds are picking on someone else, she'll join in. If the coop queen decides to move into another area, the barred rock is right behind her. Other than that, she's healthy, she overwintered fantastically, and she likes being picked up.

I have two barred rocks in a flock of 13 now and am very fond of them. I like chickens that want to interact with people. I have some other breeds that seem so indifferent to me, I feel like they might just as well be butterflies in terms of how much connection there is between us - none. My BRs have personality and attitude. One of them was always the first one to great me in the brooder, the one sitting as high as possible to see what was going on around, the one who walks right up even if you don't have treats. My BRs are not top of the pecking order and they are not bullies. They are very pretty. I got them from Meyer.

I used to have around 5 or 6 barred rock hens, and they were such a blast. If you start taming when chicks, they should be very nice birds when older. Mine laid a lot of eggs, and are great foragers. Totally recommend.

These are one of the better breeds for colder climates . A good all purpose breed .

I love my barred rock hen! She is very sweet, gentle, and loves human contact! She will run up to you when she sees you, looking for a snack! She is by far the best chicken I ever had! She lays a lot of big beautiful cream colored eggs. If you are considering getting a flock of chickens, I highly recommend the barred rock! They make a great chicken for any flock!

I had 2 barred rocks, and let me just say they were sneaky little buggers! Always the second to fly the coop (pun intended) They are highly intelligent. Barred rocks can climb up the pecking order fast, and sometimes are aggressive towards other chickens, they never go after me though, but i have only had hens. These birds are pretty tolerant, they are good with children. One of mine only molt every one ore two years, and when they do it is kinda bad. Lots of feathers everywhere! One of mine eats feathers sometimes, and has earned the name Feathery. Feathery is 5 years old, and she will be turning six in the next week, and she is still laying! not regularly though. Overall, i think barred rocks will be a good edition to your flock

I highly recommend barred Rocks, they are good layers and tons of fun. Good beginner hens too. If you do get them, they will for sure become the dominant birds in your flock.

:yiipchick:yiipchick

I loved that they produce large eggs, but they were the meanest chickens I've had out of my flock.

Each Barred rock is different in more than one ways, we have 8. Some will be fairly smaller than the others, some can be quite large, some are mean, some are very friendly. They produce lots of eggs every year. They look pretty cool, and roosters are double barred which makes them look darker. There is no 1 accurate personality description for them they are all different. Very common and not hard to purchase. Probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite breed, great birds.

I will always keep barred rocks in my flock! They are great little mommas when they go broody. I have had several who will wander great distances from the coop to hide their nests from the rest of the flock, which could be troublesome in some situations. They will eat right out of our hands and allow the kids to pack them around. We have had some badly pecked by RIR's, and while recovering from her major injury, she still gave us an egg a day. We have never had an aggressive bird to others, however, our "grandma" hen, is getting a little bossy in her old age.

I will likely not be getting this breed again. Right now I have three, and they are all feather pickers. Their favorite thing to do is sneak up on their molting comrades and eat their pin feathers. Also they aren't as great layers or as friendly as we had heard. Personally the best/coolest thing about them is that they "sing." Aspen's nickname is "soprano" because she has the highest pitched peep of all my 40+ chickens.

This is Aspen Fluffy Soprano

Excellent chickens. Probably the best dual purpose purebred. Very popular here in Hawk and coyote infested eastern Oklahoma. They go broody more than other breeds, but not usually until their second year. If they don't hatch out a clutch, they will immediately go broody again after only a week or two of rest, so it is best to let them hatch a clutch if they do. I've heard that they will literally starve to death before they break. This is a good thing for me though as I prefer naturally hatched chicks. The roosters can be a bit aggressive. Not as aggressive as leghorns, but not docile at all. They will defend the hens though, so keep plenty of spares on hand.

Barred Rocks are great birds and I just love them. I have two called Marble and Oreo. Oreo is kind of shy and I'm pretty much the only person who can touch her. Marble is just a baby and loves to be petted. They do peck alot but they are great layers. They are also great for cold climates. This is just the type of chicken you fall in love with.

I've had several of these over the years, but only ONE was friendly towards me. The others bit/pecked me as chicks and turned into grumpy adults.

Our 2 barred rocks are funny! They constantly are jumping everywhere! Since birth, they were always adventurous! (Currently 13 weeks old) With the right care at birth, barred rocks make a great addition to your coop. We read the reviews and they're exactly what's listed.

I have 16 BPR hens and I love them!! I have hand raised this gagle of hens since they were 2 days old and from that day I just loved their temperament!! I ordered mine from Cackle Hatchery and they came out of their shipping box like little ball of fluff rockets LOL! My son and one of the hens when they were young are my avatar. They are almost 10 weeks old now and they still come running to me and my son and will even sit in out laps! My son can walk up to them and pick them up and hug on them... it's quite cute to watch! I recently got 2 black sex-link hens and I did not realize how lucky I was with my BPR's. Those 2 sex-links are so LOUD!! My BPR's never whisper a WORD... which is another reason why I think I don't have problems with aerial predation in an area known for HAWKS. These girls are excellent free-rangers... well mine are technically pasture raised... they don't parade around the food buckets they go out and get it and now I am hardly having to feed any food! Mine are only 10 weeks old and so they have not started laying yet so I can't wait for that of course!