Well he's no prize winner. He doesn't have good Rock type---no rounded breast, wings are way down. The hen pictured on their website looks like typical hatchery cuckoo patterned hen. Look at some of the nice heritage BR hens pictured on this thread and compare. As far as prize winners, those are...
Here, I haven't had any that start crowing that early so it has not been an issue. I would think that there is a fine line between choosing slow and fast maturing birds. Sometimes I think the Barred Rocks mature too slowly and to me that doesn't make for a great dual purpose bird if you have to...
Yes, you can't get a huge chick out of a small egg. But if the genetics are there, they will catch up in size. A lot of my BR lay smaller than I'd like, I am working on that.
I just put this ad up if anybody is looking for Barred Rock chicks. They need to be shipped on 4/14, so time is of the essence!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/969206/standard-bred-barred-plymouth-rock
I sell and ship newborn chicks. Hatching eggs are such a gamble when they are shipped. You think you are saving money, but a lot of times it turns out to be bust. The eggs can get shook up so much, they don't hatch, a % could be infertile or die during development. Chicks are much less of a...
Hi all, I have not posted in a while, been too busy. Now we are having one of those rare, for us, days of continual rain! So stuck inside. I wanted to give an update on my Barred Rocks. The predator (never caught it) that killed most of my young cockerels and my Stukel male that I used to cross...
I just got back from the Tucson show and my large fowl Barred Rocks were the only ones entered
Of course they did not win over the White Rocks. I took 1 cockerel and 3 pullets. I am excited, though, because I got a new Stukel cockerel to replace the one that the predator took a couple of months...
Last year I went a little overboard with how many chickens I entered in a show. I got a lot of apple boxes---they are heavy cardboard, with another cardboard that sleeves over top of the box. So except for the bottom and top, they are double cardboard. I took a hole saw, drilled 3 1" or so holes...
Thank you for posting the photo of the cushioned female. I find it just as helpful to see what traits to breed away from, as well as photos of more ideal birds. This year, I'm finding a lot of pullets to cull that have their back sloping forward. Will try to take some photos of those soon.
He was still alive and standing this morning. I gave him a partial baby aspirin, some water with Red Cell in it, and 4-5 small globs of Nutrical. I know chickens can bounce back from some amazing injuries. Still nothing in my traps but there was a bobcat wandering around the yard this morning. I...
I am sure having a hard time this year with my Barred Rocks. Today, after coming home from a poultry meeting, I found one of the three remaining cockerels huddled by the fence with his head and upper neck completely bloodied down to the meat. He was only in with 2 others in a large 10' X 17'...
Thank you Fred and @speckledhen . A predator that takes a few and eats what they take is a lot easier to deal with mentally than one that causes such carnage. I hate the waste, as well. Put out some feelers to see if anybody wanted the carcasses to feed to their dogs, but no takers. I've got the...
I haven't posted here in a while. If you remember, I was trying two outcrosses with the Good Shepard line of BR, one with a Duckworth male and one with a Stukel male. Well today was a huge setback. Something, probably bobcat, dug under the pen last night that housed all the cockerels of those...
George, thanks for confirming to others what a hot place it is here! Usually about 5 degrees cooler in Tucson than Phoenix. Still plenty hot. The evaporation from trees and grass makes a difference, even when it is humid. When a cloud comes over and covers the sun, it is like night and day. We...