Barred Rock

I had a couple of barred rocks for a couple of years. Each of them layed about 3-4 small (slightly larger than pullet) eggs a week.

They were extremely bossy with chickens that were below them in the pecking order.
They were excellent foragers and were extremely protective of their flock. One of them would even come after me whenever my Australorp would lose one of her babies and I was trying to grab it to return it to her.

They were never really 'friendly' and wouldn't let me touch them, but they weren't afraid to come up to me to see what I was doing. They were never pet-like and weren't productive enough to keep around. I recently thinned my flock and got rid of both of them. I may try them again in the future being as I know that each individual chicken has their own personality so I may end up with friendlier hens (that may lay nice size eggs)

I have 4 barred rock hens and love them all! Oreo was the first out of 16 chickens (5 different breeds) to lay an egg. She is at the top of pecking order, and will learn quickly. She layed one egg, stopped for a week, and has been laying one every day since.
< Oreo

Next there is Domino, who was second to lay eggs. She is almost like Oreo's twin, because they have very similar combs and wattles. She likes to get very close to the camera and peck at it, so it's hard to take a picture of her.


< Domino

Then comes Blackberry, who was my favorite as a chick, because she would flap alot in the brooder.

< Blackberry (the bigger chick)

And lastly, Nugget. She is my favorite chicken and is always curious. She learns fast, is very cute, and likes to cuddle. She will comes to you if you call her, and overall has a cute personality. She was the first ever to give us a double yolker! She is very sweet and tame.
< Nugget as a pullet in a tree


I LOVE BARRED ROCKS!! They are a must for every flock. Cold hardy, sweet, lots of eggs, and great foragers!

Beautiful birds, and were my first chickens to raise. They're good layers, easy to take care. Also have their own personalities. I only have one, her name is Love Lace, and she's different from the rest of the other chickens, she's like the female leader. One of the best breeds to have

My Barred Rocks are the best! I started out with this breed and fell in love with them! My Minerva Louise is so sweet <3 she loves her cuddles and special mommy time! If you're just starting with chickens or if you've had chickens for years these are awesome birds to have!

LOVE BARRED ROCKS!!
Very smart and friendly birds. They lay well and are entertaining!

I have had these chickens, in the past, and they were great birds. I just got a free cockerel, who is so tame, that he will let me pick him up. He will also eat out of my hand.

I have three hens - a barred rock, an olive egger, and an ameraucana. Zeke, the barred rock, is friendly and outgoing. She eats out of my hand, loves the granddaughters, and she gives me a lovely brown egg every day. If she wants to lay an egg and someone is in "her" egg box she squawks and squawks. There's nothing wrong with the other box. I wish she would quiet down!

I rescued two barred rocks in the beginning of July last summer 2013, from a poultry auction were they were sold to be slaughtered. they were defiantly pullets at the time and I was told they were 4 months old when I got them but it is now Feb and they still have not laid an egg. I am a little disappointed they haven't laid yet but happy I rescued them because they are so friendly and ended up being great birds to take to the fair. They get along great with my ducks too.

My Barred Rock hen is one of the nicest in my flock. She tends to be timid, but once you have her in your arms, she doesn't want to leave. She lays modestly, and it is winter now. She does like the heat lamp, though she's been stuck outside all night without a sign of frostbite. Overall, she's a great bird.

I have raised BR for a few years and love this breed.

I LOVE my barred rocks! Very enjoyable and I easily attached to them, they were my first chicken breed! Easy to care for, sweet, and other wonderful things! I love them! I wouldn't be crazy for chickens without them! They are little saviors for my heart! They are easy to tame and once they're tame you'd think they were angles! I love them and the one con I put in isn't too big, I still got eggs this winter. They are amazing! If you want the perfect chicken then get barred rocks!!!

My Barred Rocks were to first to start to lay out of my flock.
They are friendly and good layers. Definitely my favorite breed.

Always use to peck me when I was little. Hated them. I just wanted to pet them on the roost and they would peck me.

We started off with a mixed flock of 4 BRs, 4 Brahmas and 4 RIRs bought from three separate suppliers. They integrated well and, though the rooster was bossy, he didn't throw his weight around with the Brahma roo. They were friendly towards us and the hens laid well.

My BR Stella will be a year old in March. She just started laying in November & has been laying right through the winter at least 5 days a week. I do not provide extra light for the winter months nor heat. She has done exceptionally well in our cold winters. She is very talkative & the first to the food but she does forage in their area for food as well. During the summer they foraged more for their food when there was no snow.

Very friendly & talkative. She does like to fly over the gate when she sees me but is smart enough to fly back in after she investigates. She does not go far from the gate. Gets long well with the rest of the flock & does not pick on others. She is my daily entertainment

I would def always have BR in my flock

From my personal experiences, I dislike this breed. They aren't really very good layers and are flighty. I'm not sure if it's just the hatchery we've gotten birds from in the past or what. I've mostly read that they are pretty friendly birds but ours aren't. They do they beautiful, dark brown eggs that are very thick-shelled.

We love our Barred Rock's. They are hardy and are great layers. They are a curious and interactive with us but a little bossy with the RIR's we have.

I have two barred rocks who I love dearly! They are the sweetest things ever. The two of them will sit in my arms and fall asleep while I hold them. They are beautiful and get along great with my other mixed assortment of hens.

They are also great egg layers. Since they started laying this December I have been getting 1 - 2 eggs a day on a regular basis from them. They almost never miss a day and always lay in their nesting box.

My BRs are aggressive and loud. I had to re-home one after trying to quell her pecking tendencies for three months. I finally caught her pinning one of my Ameraucanas to the ground and pecking her (would have been to death, had I not checked on them before going to bed). It wasn't even a pecking order battle, just a vicious beat down by the top bird onto the lowest and smallest chicken on the rung. I was glad to see it go and my flock is all the better without her in it.

My BRs lay about 3-4 smaller eggs per week. My RIR, Australorps, and Ameraucanas lay almost every day, and their eggs are 20% bigger.

BRs are weather hardy. I bought them because they're supposedly docile, but that just hasn't been my experience. Stay away from this breed.

Barred Rocks were my first breed. I get large eggs every single day from almost all of them. I got them as day-old chicks from a local feed store. They came from Mt. Healthy Hatchery in Ohio. One of the employees picked six out for me. I told her I wanted one cockerel and 5 pullets. She based her choices on leg wash and fuzz color. I ended up with 4 roos and 2 pullets.

The roos became aggressive early...right around culling age for eating. I kept one roo, the one picked out AS a roo. He continuously flogged every member of my family, and after 3 months of chances given, he went to freezer camp.

The two pullets I have left are friendly but do not like to be held. I would definitely own more pullets, but never again will I have a Barred Rock roo.