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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

MichelleT
We got 5 chicks to add to our flock of 4 the first week of May. We got 2 Easter Eggers, 1 New Hampshire Red, 1 Black Astraulorp and 1 Barred Rock. Our BR, Lilibet, was the "runt" of her group at the feed store and I was a little worried she wouldn't thrive. That is not the case, however. I don't feel like I really "know" our other chicks well enough to rate them yet, but Lilibet is the stand-out. She's always the first to come out of the coop in the morning (beating the big girls on some days), is brave enough to go in for the "treats" and is scooting out the run gate more often than not. She always gets picked up and delivered back to the run, and she clucks and complains, but it can't bother her too much or she'd quit doing it. :) At 12 weeks old she is the friendliest of our chick group and I can't wait to see what kind of hen she'll be!
 
Chickadee55
I have a Barred Rock rooster and 8 peeps. The peeps are playful and friendly but the rooster on the other hand is aggressive, mean and freaking loud. He doesn't crow, he screams all day long. Hubby hates him.
 
featherhead007
JuliaOlivia said:
I love our barred rocks. Some are shy some aren't. One of ours is very friendly. If your hens aren't very friendly don't be discouraged! They are much tamer after they lay eggs. They lay nice big brown eggs.
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MY rocks are laying now, and i've never missed a breakfast since! not to mention, one perches like a parrot .. A special built roost in my other den, she prefers to sleep closer to me because there are distractions in the coop that causes stress on her.. I have 12 chickens free ranging! I have put 296 wanted felons in prison for various crimes, none of them was for pecking out of order.... oh god i love retirement!
 
MichelleT
MichelleT said:
We got 5 chicks to add to our flock of 4 the first week of May. We got 2 Easter Eggers, 1 New Hampshire Red, 1 Black Astraulorp and 1 Barred Rock. Our BR, Lilibet, was the "runt" of her group at the feed store and I was a little worried she wouldn't thrive. That is not the case, however. I don't feel like I really "know" our other chicks well enough to rate them yet, but Lilibet is the stand-out. She's always the first to come out of the coop in the morning (beating the big girls on some days), is brave enough to go in for the "treats" and is scooting out the run gate more often than not. She always gets picked up and delivered back to the run, and she clucks and complains, but it can't bother her too much or she'd quit doing it. :) At 12 weeks old she is the friendliest of our chick group and I can't wait to see what kind of hen she'll be!
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Sadly, we lost Lilibet about 2 weeks after I posted. Necropsy showed an egg sac that didn't form (she was only 14 weeks old) and she got a bacterial infection. We'll definitely get another BR or two in the spring when we get a new batch of chicks though. RIP Lili!
 
punatiquemama
I usually have the americana,,, for their pretty green eggs, but this last season, they were not very productive.... looking for a good layer, don't need meat..... some say this is a "medium' layer (I also have Leghorns which lay a lot!) others say it is a 'good layer"....... I want to cut down on my flock and not have so many birds, so I want a breed that lays almost daily. is this the right one?
 
featherhead007
2 times my hen shown here, laid a beautiful brown egg in my hand. i knew by her squack that she was ready, but yes i know all my ladies quite well.
the egg never touched the nesting box floor. How is that for fresh!!!!
 
featherhead007
punatiquemama said:
I usually have the americana,,, for their pretty green eggs, but this last season, they were not very productive.... looking for a good layer, don't need meat..... some say this is a "medium' layer (I also have Leghorns which lay a lot!) others say it is a 'good layer"....... I want to cut down on my flock and not have so many birds, so I want a breed that lays almost daily. is this the right one?
Click to expand...
I love my Leghorns too! pure white eggshells awesome yolks.. My birds are brown, and not especially friendly as my Barred Rocks are
 
featherhead007
see my picture? i grew up, and lay eggs for my daddy.. he loves me and he even lets me inside the house, I like the worms he feeds me, but the cornbread is awesome. my name given me by daddy, is "The Rock" I love my daddy!
 
ChickenLady&aRooster
I have 3 Barred Rock pullets between 7-8 months, all 3 have very different personalities 1 is just crabby, 1 is very skidish and 1 is much more friendly although none like to be touched. They are great layers though with nice size eggs
 
Nutmeg15
I originally bought four Barred Rocks from a local breeder, and sadly only one is left as a result of animal attacks and medical issues. My remaining hen, named Twinkle Toes for the one curled toe on each of her feet, is very sweet and does not particularly like being handled but will tolerate it. She, however, is very unreliable about laying, and has not laid in a particularly long time despite still being only around 2 1/2 years old. This was the case for her three sisters, too--they laid, but not often. Not sure if that is the breed or just the particular bunch of chickens, but I adore her all the same.
 
J
punatiquemama said:
I usually have the americana,,, for their pretty green eggs, but this last season, they were not very productive.... looking for a good layer, don't need meat..... some say this is a "medium' layer (I also have Leghorns which lay a lot!) others say it is a 'good layer"....... I want to cut down on my flock and not have so many birds, so I want a breed that lays almost daily. is this the right one?
Click to expand...
I love my barred rocks. I currently have 7 hens 1 rooster, 4 pullets, 1 cockerel, and 4 chicks. I get 6-7 eggs from my hens all year long!!
 
ScottKelly1974
I have one rooster and one hen both hatched August 7. My Buff Orpington hens still boss him and the others around.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
dylan729
Views
208,953
Watchers
56
Comments
403
Reviews
235
Last update
Rating
4.26 star(s) 244 ratings

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