Barred Rocks!!

[Tylexie]

I have a question. Are barred plymouth rocks and plymouth rocks the same? Do they have the same egg productivity/behavior/personality? Because I contacted a store that said they had plymouth rocks but that they didn't get barred rocks. Any advice will be helpful. Thanks!

 

[Tylexie]

Also how do you tell a barred rock from another breed of plymouth rock? I want to make sure I get barred rocks from the hatchery and not any other type of plymouth rock.

 

[DesertChic]

I have a question. Are barred plymouth rocks and plymouth rocks the same? Do they have the same egg productivity/behavior/personality? Because I contacted a store that said they had plymouth rocks but that they didn't get barred rocks. Any advice will be helpful. Thanks!

Also how do you tell a barred rock from another breed of plymouth rock? I want to make sure I get barred rocks from the hatchery and not any other type of plymouth rock.

There are several varieties of Plymouth Rock - White Rocks, Buff Rocks, Barred Rocks, Penciled Rocks, Partridge Rocks..... Each of them has different feathering and there's typically differences in ideal weights as well. White Rocks and Barred Rocks are probably the most common, especially at feed stores, with the WRs typically growing larger than BRs.

The WRs were crossed with Dark Cornish to create the Broiler industry birds that you can now raise from chick for meat purposes, and which are the primary source of chicken found in grocery stores today. They must be butchered at a very young age, typically be 8 weeks, to prevent them from suffering serious health issues, such a broken legs, congestive heart failure, breast blisters, etc that result from their excessively fast growth.

I've raised hatchery BRs and have found them to be excellent layers with decent, friendly personalities, though all of my cockerels/roosters have proven aggressive. I know a quality breeder of WRs who raises some of the most beautiful and friendly birds I've ever seen. Believe me, there's a huge difference between hatchery and breeder quality.

I've also raised WR hens from a local breeder who's only worked with the birds for a short time, but already managed to improve upon their quality over hatchery stock. The hens have grown as large/heavy as some of the roosters of my other large fowl birds and while friendly in nature, have not proven affectionate. My best broody hen to date is one of my WR hens, and while she doesn't lay X-LG eggs, her two sisters do, and they lay often even in their second year.

Both breeds have proven tolerant of the excessive heat here in southern AZ, and also show good cold tolerance.

 

[DesertChic]

Quote:
The spot atop the head is supposed to be white or pale grey, not yellow. The only yellow that should ever appear on these birds should be in the legs + feet and their beaks. If your birds are showing yellow down as chicks, then I suspect they've been crossed with something else.

Would a store carry a "mutt" or hybrid? It's certainly possible depending upon where they're getting the chicks. Most feed stores get the bulk of the chicks they sell from large hatcheries, but I know of several in my area that also get birds from local farms and breeders. There's also the distinct possibility of chicks being mis-labeled or even other breeds getting mixed into the shipment. I once ordered Austra-White cockerels and received a very bizarre white pullet in my shipment. I thought she was an AW, but she had crooked toes, bulging eyes, an abnormally small head and sickle tail feathers like a cockerel would have. Since she never gave me a single egg inside of a year I finally butchered her and discovered that she had no reproductive organs at all. None. Hatcheries get bad reputations for inbreeding for a reason.

You also need to keep in mind that the feed stores selling the chicks can make mistakes too. I've yet to encounter many people working at feed stores that actually know much about the individual breeds of chicks they sell, and I've often taught them more than they could ever tell me. I once spent an hour teaching people at a local feed store about Naked Neck Turkens, my primary breed, because they received a shipment of chicks and had them in quarantined, thinking that they were deathly ill because of all the feathers "missing" from their necks.

The only thing I know for certain is that your all-black chick is NOT a pure BR. It's either a hybrid, in which case it's probably a pullet, or it's a different breed entirely and the gender may still be a mystery.

 

[Tylexie]

Thanks everyone! I got 6 chicks, one of which is a barred rock. So far she is super sweet, calm and friendly.

 

[Shadow920]

I have a question. Are barred plymouth rocks and plymouth rocks the same? Do they have the same egg productivity/behavior/personality? Because I contacted a store that said they had plymouth rocks but that they didn't get barred rocks. Any advice will be helpful. Thanks!

the are the same thing

 

[Shadow920]

The spot atop the head is supposed to be white or pale grey, not yellow. The only yellow that should ever appear on these birds should be in the legs + feet and their beaks. If your birds are showing yellow down as chicks, then I suspect they've been crossed with something else.

Would a store carry a "mutt" or hybrid? It's certainly possible depending upon where they're getting the chicks. Most feed stores get the bulk of the chicks they sell from large hatcheries, but I know of several in my area that also get birds from local farms and breeders. There's also the distinct possibility of chicks being mis-labeled or even other breeds getting mixed into the shipment. I once ordered Austra-White cockerels and received a very bizarre white pullet in my shipment. I thought she was an AW, but she had crooked toes, bulging eyes, an abnormally small head and sickle tail feathers like a cockerel would have. Since she never gave me a single egg inside of a year I finally butchered her and discovered that she had no reproductive organs at all. None. Hatcheries get bad reputations for inbreeding for a reason.

You also need to keep in mind that the feed stores selling the chicks can make mistakes too. I've yet to encounter many people working at feed stores that actually know much about the individual breeds of chicks they sell, and I've often taught them more than they could ever tell me. I once spent an hour teaching people at a local feed store about Naked Neck Turkens, my primary breed, because they received a shipment of chicks and had them in quarantined, thinking that they were deathly ill because of all the feathers "missing" from their necks.

The only thing I know for certain is that your all-black chick is NOT a pure BR. It's either a hybrid, in which case it's probably a pullet, or it's a different breed entirely and the gender may still be a mystery.

yeah i went to tractor supply the other day and asked if they had any cochins. and the guy said he didn't know he wasn't a chicken expert. i would have known turken chicks.

 

[SewCluck]

Here are my BRs. Both are supposed to be pullets. We'll see. We've had them for about 2 weeks. Bought them at a local feed store before they had any feathers/barring. I think they were about 1 week old.

Photobombed by CutiePie our Blk Australorp

BR1

BR2

 

[DesertChic]

Here are my BRs. Both are supposed to be pullets. We'll see. We've had them for about 2 weeks. Bought them at a local feed store before they had any feathers/barring. I think they were about 1 week old.




Photobombed by CutiePie our Blk Australorp



BR1





BR2

Their darker coloring definitely suggest pullets, but those combs are developing quickly. Wait another week and post side photos of their faces. By the time my BRs were 3-4 weeks old it was VERY obvious that two were pullets and one was a cockerel.

 

[junebuggena]

Those look like Cuckoo Marans chicks. Barred Rocks have yellow skin. Both look female at this point.