Chicken Breed Focus - Plymouth Rock

[TwoCrows]

More chick pics....

 

[Chickenchick11]

I have three White Plymouth Rocks, they're sweet birds and lay plenty of brown eggs. They don't seem to be quite as curious or in your face as my Rhode Island Reds. My RIRs will follow me EVERYWHERE around the yard, but my WRs prefer to relax under a bush or tree.

(One of them was molting when I took this picture.)

 

[dawg53]

Barred Rocks are my" favorites, Black Stars are a close second. My experience with BR's is that they are the best "all around" bird a person could own. Specifically, I've found them to tolerate heat and humidity extremely well and are good layers for the long haul.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Just had hatchery stock but they have been a nice friendly breed, they do seem to want to be underfoot (guess they know where the feed is coming from) really good all around birds, good winter layers. Picture of my Partridge girl (from McMurray).

 

[Kelsie2290]

2 of my original 4 chickens were Barred Rocks. I still have one of those girls left. She's about three now. She still lays a few times a week and has a big personality. She's #2 in my 8 hen flock. She is always "talking" about something, to me or to the rest of the flock. I've never had any hens raise chicks, but she makes that "mothering" call frequently to bring the rest of the flock to her if she finds a particularly tasty thing to eat while foraging around. I've often seen Barred Rocks on the "cold hardy" list of breeds. She does pretty well, but she does usually get a touch of frostbite on her comb tips every year. She loves to pose for pictures:

Pretty hens! Love the picture of the girl with the Pumpkin and the one sunbathing.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Chicks in the brooder....

Adorable chick pictures, nice to see what they grew into.

 

[Kelsie2290]

I have three White Plymouth Rocks, they're sweet birds and lay plenty of brown eggs. They don't seem to be quite as curious or in your face as my Rhode Island Reds. My RIRs will follow me EVERYWHERE around the yard, but my WRs prefer to relax under a bush or tree.

(One of them was molting when I took this picture.)

Nice flock! The one hen in the nest box looks so serious about laying that egg!

 

[deacons]

Pretty hens! Love the picture of the girl with the Pumpkin and the one sunbathing.

Actually, I think the pumpkin picture shows their curiosity. I happened to have my phone with me when that hen saw the pumpkin for the first time, and she was fascinated by it. This was her full investigation:

You can just see her thinking, "What in the world is THIS?"

 

[Emmasoria]

This is my 5 week old White Rock. Her feathers are unbelievably soft and fluffy compared with my RIR. She is a little shy still, but pretty calm once I hold her. I'm a beginner and chose the breed (after a lot of research) primarily for cold climate hardiness, friendliness (I have two kids who are very excited about our chickens!), good egg-laying, and for being a good beginner-bird in general. She seems happy with us so far! Loves when I feed her small earth worms. Was a pro at dust-bathing from the start and seemed to teach the RIR how to do it. I'm exciited and proud to be raising my beautiful "tween" ladies!

 

[ValiantFarmAz]

I have a small flock of 24 hens. They are extremely docile, friendly and inquisitive. I raised them from day old chicks, making sure to handle them every day. The girls are fed certified organic feed and scraps from my organic garden. They reward me with an 82% lay rate!! I have not had them through a winter here in Arizona yet and am not sure how their production will be with shorter daylight hours come winter.
I do have a misting system in the run to help them keep their cool in our warming temps. (91-94 this week). The Coop and run are shaded by native trees and I am adding a shade cloth in the next couple of weeks.
I am definitely happy with having Barred Rocks for my first flock!!