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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.
Sealizrus19
Sealizrus19
My hens are mean bullies too. Will probably never get more again...
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Comments

Chook Kingdom
You'll probably want roosters that match the breeds. I also breed Nankin Bantams, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, Flarry Eyed Greys, and trying Leghorns.
 
Virus
I'm hoping I'll be lucky and end up with barred rock and ameraucana bantam rooster like I had before. I also know a few people with roosters that they can lend.
 
Chook Kingdom
I got contact with wild chicken farmer who got every breed in the book! It's nice they'll lend them though. I hope I don't lose the Barred Rock roosters though, 'cause she don't have Barred Rocks.
 
Virus
How does your rooster act around you? I've always heard roosters are the meanest birds but all the roosters I've encountered have be the sweetest little creatures.
 
Chook Kingdom
My Barred Rock roosters are very gentle! They talk with me and everything! My Americana Rooster is very, very gentle! Any person can pick him up and he doesn't flinch! The Jersey Giant roosters are gentle, but a bit skittish. The Rhode Island cock are still quite young, but they're quite the pest! The Silver Leghorn roosters attack me and the other hens, I'm thinking of looking for gentler ones. The Columbian Cochin rooster is skittish as well, but doesn't attack. The Columbian Rock rooster is a pest as well, not to humans, but to my older hens. The only ones that have attacked me were the Silver Leghorns, the Alohas, and the New Hampshires.
 
Virus
I suppose that it depends because my ameraucana rooster was a sweetheart as well. Though non of my chickens practically like being picked up them do like just sitting with me and they all eat from my hand. Non of them have ever attacked me either.
 
Chook Kingdom
My roosters enjoy being held! Maybe yours will begin to, sometime. Sven, the Silver Leghorn, takes treats from dogs!
 
Virus
Are they alright? I was pretty lucky my roosters never fought. Dumpling the bantam tried to fight the girls all the time but not Buckey. They got along better than the girls!
 
Chook Kingdom
They're very nice, huh? My roosters are very nice as well as the hens. Some come up and talk with me about food and stuff. One comes up to me and asks for coco, we all know he really doesn't know what he wants but, I reply to him by saying "No coco for you!" and he replies, "No coco!" It's quite amusing! Nice to know people are enjoying the breed as much as I do. I haven't written a review on them, but I probably will sometime today.
 
beginnergirl
Never thought I could be so amused and attached to a bird. I just put a bowl of water with frozen peas and corn in it and my smart barred rock hen was the first one to fish for peas and the only one to stand in the water on this 95 degree day. I haven't been able to translate her talking but she certainly can have a lot to say at times.
 
kaycountry1016
7.5.15
Enjoyed your article re barred rocks. I have 2 of them; they're friendly. Of my 9 chickens that are 10 weeks old, the two rocks are the only ones that will come up and take food from my hand. They also like to jump up on the back of chair while I'm sitting in it. They act with sense and are not flightly and scared. Good bird.. Will be glad when they start laying.... Kay in NC
 
AZGurl
Questions: Are you giving away three girls or two girls and a rooster? Where do you live?
 
Oliver Douglas
The rooster has been re-homed. We are keeping all three hens and a low profile. We live in Butte County, CA
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
dylan729
Views
229,540
Watchers
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Comments
404
Reviews
235
Last update
Rating
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