BR or WR......????

[TK Poultry]

i cant decide i have alot of BR's and a WR but the BR's barring is smudged and i think i can go farther with the WR hen i have!!! wat do you think?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

If you are intending on showing Plymouth Rocks, I highly suggest getting from a reputable breeder. Plymouth Rocks are a VERY competitive breed and almost reliably, a White Plymouth Rock will win over a Barred Plymouth Rock.

The reason? Getting the white coloration is easier to get correct than the barred coloration. Because of this, the size of the white rocks are much larger than their barred brethren. In my opinion, a good barred bird should win over an overly-large white bird, but that's just my opinion.

If you have a production white Plymouth Rock that you intend on showing in the "big leagues" you will soon find that the size between the two types (production and exhibition) is absolutely amazing.

 

[TK Poultry]

i dont really intend on showing many plymouth rocks but because of the reasons stated but i just want nice quality for egg sales i have more of a production hatchery looking BR and a showier WR and i didnt know which to keep!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Well, what males are you keeping for your flock? What females are in your flock?

I would try to keep the breeds pure if you are going to be selling eggs, but it's entirely up to you.

 

[TK Poultry]

im going with my WR's and they are showier but im keeping my pet BR hen so i can have barred EE's w/ the blue egg gene! and eating eggs for my aunt and grandparents


i reread your oringinal post and my WR pullet was really small i thought i did something wrong and the 4H judge didnt like her b/c of it but does this mean she would make a good show bird b/c she is a bit smaller than other more production WR's?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

No. Show birds are bred to be very, very large and conform to a standard. For some reason, in White Plymouth Rocks, some breeders have bred their White Plymouth Rocks to monstrous sizes and do very well with them. Even if the sizes are larger than what the standard calls for. I am not bashing those breeders as it takes hard and rigorous breeding programs to get birds to those amazing sizes. But if you were to compete with your bird against birds that are bred to be exhibition fowl, it would not be much of a competition.

For 4H, she should be fine, and especially as a pet. Production birds are bred in order to lay many eggs and somewhat resemble the desired breed. Exhibition fowl are bred to match a standard, no matter the egg-production values.

 

[TK Poultry]

i no my friends tower over my poor lil pullet and im buying a trio from her and working from there my plymouth rocks are very weak i do better show wise with my ducks lol the chickens give me fits sometimes!

 

[TK Poultry]

ill post pics of her so you and anyone else can see her and tell me what you think when it comes to my rocks im a lil in the dark!!! i should have put as much time into research with them as i did my other breeds!!

 

[halo]

What is it with these White rocks at the shows being so enormous? They are bigger than turkeys! That is sooo not in the SOP; who decided they could just breed bigger and bigger?

At the shows I went to last year, those white rock roos were so big they had to put them in special cages.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Tell me about it! But, then you have to think...those are the ones that are winning. The ones who want to win, breed for that so that they will win. The tails are like Brahmas anymore.


But yes....you just can't appreciate the size of these birds until you LOOK at them with your own eyes!