Barred Rocks ***Addded new pics***

[horseyjess]

Last time I posted these they came out to small to really see so I am going to repost and then also in the morning try to get pictures of them standing up. What one would be better for my older daughter to use in the local county fair? That is IF I can figure out what is making most of the girls combs all floppy

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[RAREROO]

I don't know if either of them are SQ, but like I said in your last post, the one the girl in the blue stripped shirt is holding looks better to me. Did you birds come from a hatchery? Hatcheries are not concered to much with quality and that may be why yours have floppy combs. Several off my BR girls have combs like that and I will be culling them out by next Spring.

 

[horseyjess]

Quote:
No they actually are the only ones that didnt come from one at some point. The Redsex links came from TSC thus they came from a hatchery I believe. Then the BRs came from someone in town that bred BRs just for laying selling chicks etc. The roosters all are fine pretty combs but the hens. The combs were fine for the longest time then flop...

 

[horseyjess]

Here are pics I just took of them! The first two are of the one that my daughter in the blue stripes was holding and the next two are the other.
Sorry they are not the best but everone was let out of the coop a little late today so didnt want to pose lol! (oh yes and their legs are filthy but they would be caged about a month or two mos before the fair)

 

[k2chickens]

love her comb

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I'm just going to be blunt and hope I don't cause you to stress over it.

Neither bird is show quality. Both have poor barring and coloration, both lack yellow in their legs (it happens with laying hens, even the top show birds lose their yellow).

The barring is actually to the point it's looking more like a Cuckoo Marans to me, but then again, they may have Cuckoo Marans in them thanks to hatchery workers and breeders who have no idea what they're doing when putting the birds together for breeding.

The older a hen gets, the larger her comb will grow. I know, it seems far-fetched, but I have had Minorcas with very small combs in their first year, but by their 3rd year, the comb covers the entire right side of the face.

If I had to choose one, I'd go with the striped-shirt girl's, but again, neither is going to beat down a top-placing Barred Plymouth Rock bred from exhibition lines.