0431f373_one-patch-drama-queen.jpeg
0431f373_one-patch-drama-queen.jpeg

Barred Rock

Very tame nice breed that gives you big beautiful brown eggs. They aren't that loud and the...
Overview Reviews (235) Gallery
Leave a rating

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
20170905_152814.jpg

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.

ca7cc23e_chicks3.jpeg
Barred Rock chicks

BR pullet.jpg
Barred Rock Juvenile (pullet)

c0764186_20130908_163728.jpg
Barred Rock hen
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: RooRoo523, LMN1966, SapperSix2019 and 24 others

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
  • Like
Reactions: RooRoo523 and SacredWaves
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
  • Like
Reactions: RooRoo523
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.
  • Like
Reactions: kbroom
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.
  • Like
Reactions: kbroom
Sealizrus19
Sealizrus19
My hens are mean bullies too. Will probably never get more again...
Read more…

Comments

ZebraChicken
My barred rocks are ok. They eat there eggs ocasionally, peck at each other, and totally flip out if there is a new chicken introduded. I have 9 hens. They are good layers but hate hot weather.
 
hosspak
What is the difference between a Buff Barred and a Buff orph? Those hens look just like my Buff Orph.
 
kschicks2013
I have no idea....When I first saw them I immediately thought they were Buff Orps but the woman I bought them from said they were buff rocks.
 
slatts
I'm not sure understand the complaint. Why wouldn't you get rid of the BOs, if they are the ones that are having problems in the pecking order. Sounds like the Barred Rocks are a bit on the agressive side, but otherwise good birds.
 
ChickieChris
I have a flock of 6 but only one is a Barred Rock. They are only 5 weeks old but my BR girl is by far my favorite! She comes right up to me and likes for me to pick her up. Sits on my lap, sits on my son's shoulder, makes this really cute noise in the back of her throat. I don't know how to describe it other than it sounds like she is contented. She is sweet....very laid back!
 
ChickieChris
I have a flock of 6 but only one is a Barred Rock. They are only 5 weeks old but my BR girl is by far my favorite! She comes right up to me and likes for me to pick her up. Sits on my lap, sits on my son's shoulder, makes this really cute noise in the back of her throat. I don't know how to describe it other than it sounds like she is contented. She is sweet....very laid back!
 
LoftinFarmOK
I picked 3 chicks from Orscheln's back in March to start my flock...one was a Barred Rock and I named her Oreo as well! She is great. Loves attention and good with my toddler. Also---My Name is Shelbi too! are we name twins?
 
HerBee45
We have one Barred Rock and she is definitely the most fun bird we have. Always has something to say (probably should have called her Chatty Cathy..lol), the most curious..has to see what we are doing, where we are going and fascinated by our watches or anything else we wear, hahaha. Loves to be picked up and snuggled and while not as good with recent pullets we brought in she is definitely NOT a bully like our Rhode Island Red...more like a kindly school ma'rm. Love all our little flock but Georgia is special.
 
The Yakima Kid
Mixed flocks seem to be prone to these sorts of problems; which is why I have decided to only keep one breed and one color at a time. Peace in the coop is more important to me than having a rainbow of biddies in the yard.
 
sarahnicole
I have a four month old Barred Rock named Shadow. :) She does like to talk and follow me around, but what she REALLY likes to do is bite my fingers! She is a sweet birdy but unfortunately does not to like to be picked up. I can't wait until she starts laying. :)
 
bhaugh
I have a barred rock hen that is not much to look at, but has a good personality and lays consistently. I taught her to do tricks even for treats. They are bossy no doubt but their personality makes up for it.
 
S
I have two Plymouth Barred Rock hens, and a Plymouth Barred Rock rooster. The rooster is quite the good-looking fella, and one of my hens is very plump and pretty. But she became very dominant, and I had to seperate her from my other hens as she was puling all their feathers out. But I still love them, they are great layers, and my rooster is very protective of all of his girls! They are very smart, and know very well what the sound of a plastic bag means! I'm hoping to be able to put my hen back with the other chickens one day, but she needs to be taken down a notch or two first.
 
Amy Sue
my BR was a very hardy hen- she survived 2 coop attacks, disappeared into the corn field for 2 days- CAME BACK UNHARMED and still told my Buckeye what to do!! LOL she was even the boss of my rhode island red rooster!! i miss her dearly, her stubborn nature got her killed- :( but she never pecked at the other chickens- never aggressive!
 
Cheryl1948
Out of 15 chickens, 2 are Barred Rock, Eve and Esther. Eve is the sweetest chicken I have. She comes to me and talks to me and wants me to pick her up and hold her. Esther is not as loving, but will let me pet her. Eve has full tail feathers, but Esther's tail feathers look like they have come out except for a few sticking straight up. There are no bald spots, just not as many feathers as Eve. I read that they go thru a "juvenile molt" before they start laying eggs. I hope that is what has happened to her tail feathers, and, that they will grow back in full soon. Your rooster is pretty.
 
Cheryl1948
My two Barred Rocks, Eve and Esther, are sweet. Eve, (my avatar) always comes to me and just talks and talks, as if to say, "don't pick anybody else up, just me!" She is definitely the friendliest of my 7 different breeds. She is 17 weeks old, so she is not laying eggs yet. From the other comments it sounds like she will be a good layer.
 
Sixpets
Thanks mine are like 8and 6 weeks your chickens sound great
Eve is beautiful
Barred rocks are awesome
 
D
I have one barred rock, and she is top of the pecking order, and picks on my RIR. She isn't very friendly, but can be a real sweetie at times. I like this breed.
 
hellbender
I'm not a Bard Rock fan but you can stop most 'flogging' by proper handling when they are mere cockerels. When they first start acting aggressive, Pick them up, hold them firmly but gently and just carry them around for a few minutes and set them back on the ground. One time won't stop most but a little diligence and time will. Based on long experience. If I killed every cockerel that bowed up against me, I'd not have the great flocks of layers that I now enjoy.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
dylan729
Views
209,080
Watchers
56
Comments
403
Reviews
235
Last update
Rating
4.26 star(s) 244 ratings

More in Chicken Breeds

  • talkinboutchickens
    White plymouth rock
    With a super kind temperament and 4-6 eggs per week, you really can't go wrong with this breed!
  • Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies
    Showgirl Silkies
    A showgirl silkie is a silkie with no feathers on their neck.
  • shelbyw
    Olandsk Dwarf
    Bright, social birds. Beautiful Plumage with speckles covering the body. Roosters rarely fight...
  • ChickenWhisperer101
    Wyandottes
    These birds are usually overall friendly, are good layers, and are very pretty.
  • Capto Veritas
    Australorp
    The Australorp is a docile, friendly, and easy going chicken. Several people find them great for...

Share this item

Back
Top Bottom