Plymouth Rock

I have had 2 rocks just flip.

One day fine and a year old and laying up a storm...the next morning dead.
Out in the yard X-chicken for no apparent reason.

We just bought two chicks about three weeks ago and they are so cute!

A solid bird all around; excellent and reliable layer with a docile, gentle disposition.

MY PEBBLES IS STILL A CHICK BUT SHE MAKES ME SMILE EVERYDAY

They are great egg layers. very friendly they follow me around as soon as I go outside they meet me lol. They lay large light Brown eggs.

I sadly still have 11 roosters. I will keep my PRock fondly called Rocky. He along with all his friends are all great roosters to have around. Never been spured by any of them. Rocky is very loyal to me and trusting. If he is upset he will come to me and tell me his problem. LOL. He was hatched under a Silky hen.

I have 3 from spring 11 and 1 from summer 11 have 20 eggs due to hatch in 20 days.

Friendly breed, not only with people but also with other chickens. Ours had a "best friend" who is an extremely flighty and nervous bird, she does a wonderful job of calming her down.

Great chicken, easy to raise, great egg production.

I love barred rocks, my favorite breed. They do very well cooped or free range prolific layers of large eggs and are hilarious to watch.(my favorite past time)

Oh my, these birds are varied. First, there is Sabrina. She is a large, docile hen and was the first to lay an egg. Klutzy (aptly named) is my puppy chicken. Cranky and Flopsy are on the grumpy side (I think they're bluffing) but they lay regularly. Moose is gorgeous and makes the most feminine little coos.

These are beautiful, friendly, personality-filled birds. They reliably lay gorgeous brown eggs.
Thank you Cackle Hatchery!

Started with two, but one escaped the cage and our dachshund wasted her. The other started laying at 16 weeks and lays large eggs almost daily, even in winter. She's very friendly. My favorite!

We got this chicken with others from a landlord, as it was left by a former tenant.
This girl is the survivor from a opossum attack.
Not only does she lay excellent eggs, she's also layed all winter, etc.
We let her out of her new house, with a door, and let her back in at night.
She'll come running to greet us like a dog, or any other pet.
She doesnt share her feed well, and will push the pheasants around.
This is the best chicken we've ever had. We'll get more chicks tomorrow.

They are very pretty birds, yet my roo attacked me, probably because he was a hatchery chick, so just be careful....

I have three Barred Rocks and I plan on getting more but the only problam I have found is that they can be mean to a new bird. Another problam about them is they don't sit on eggs offen, but the odd one does, out of my three one sits on eggs.

The plymouth rock is a wonderful choice for the homestead flock. With strong feet and legs and an alert demeanor, these birds are excellent foragers, rustling as much as 90% of their own feed during late Spring and Summer. Egg production is year round and consistent. Most hens went through a fast molt, dropping handfuls of feathers in a day and returning to production quickly. Eggs are firm-shelled, large to jumbo in size, with very good quality. Hens normally are very good about using nest boxes, but they do occasionally sneak off to the brush to lay their eggs. Some birds would take to the trees, but most were too heavy to easily reach a roost in a tree/rafters.

No hens went broody for us, though barred rock crossbred hens would set eggs. Most of the Plymouth Rock strains are conveniently camouflaged, lessening problems with predators. Older hens spent more time at the feeder and tended to lay on the fat, with most of our old hens being culled before their 3rd birdthday.

Carcasses are about average compared with purebred yard chickens. Crossbred stock with a Plymouth Rock parent produced fast growing cockerels who would reach slaughter weight weeks sooner than purebred cousins.

Great personalities in these birds. Very hardy and consistent layers. No chance in them ever setting on eggs. They don't waste any time in the nest.

Ok, so I just have 4 chickens. 2 of them at Barred Plymouth Rocks, and that was really by accident. But I'm glad it turned out this way. What an interesting and varied personality! I guess it's one reason I am attracted to them in particular. My Julia is at the top of the pecking order, always leading the way, and always the first to find the higher ground for a look-out. In contrast, my Carmen is last in the pecking order. She is much more willing to make a pal of a human, while Julia could really care less unless it means getting to a treat first. I call Julia "Julia The Opportunistic Chicken." If she could start a business I think she would. The thing is, she'll let you know it. It's nice to know where the chickens are hanging out in the yard sometimes, but they sure are loud about it. Loud about everything, especially when they are put out for me leaving them in the pen or not bringing a treat along soon enough.

I ordered 25 straight run from Marti Hatchery several yrs ago. This was my first experience with poultry. Lets just say it was great and 25 years later i'm still facinated with chickens.