How do I know if my birds are heritage or production barred rocks, and how much does it matter?

[JordantheRooster1]

In may I bought chicks from a local feed store. I was planning on creating a business advertised as heritage chickens. I also wanted to have chickens that would reproduce naturally. Is there a way to tell if they are heritage or production barred rocks? If I asked someone at thee feed store would they know there is a difference?

 

[JedJackson]

From a feed store you can safely assume that they are production barred rocks, but that doesn't mean they aren't heritage chickens. It just means they've been bred for egg production, and not for showing. So if you raise your own chicks from them, be honest about that. It's not going to matter to the vast majority of people, because showing chickens is a pretty rare activity and most people just want eggs.

 

[JordantheRooster1]

Thank you so much! Is there a strain of barred rock that isn’t heritage though?

 

[house1917]

In my experience, Heritage Barred Rocks have extremely defined barring and both hens and roosters have darker grey/black color. Too, the barring is much narrower than hatchery varieties.

If you source some they’ll likely not be as productive layers as hatchery varieties as they’re bred for pattern not egg volume.

PS- I’ve never owned any but they’re on my future list for sure. Need to get over my Wheaten Marans phase first.

 

[JedJackson]

Thank you so much! Is there a strain of barred rock that isn’t heritage though?

It really depends on how you define the term 'heritage', and that varies from person to person. Sometimes you will see hatcheries selling what they call heritage Rhode Island reds, which are different from production RIRs. So in that case what they really mean is RIRs bred to the breed standard.

But in most cases when one calls a breed 'heritage' they simply mean an old, popular breed in a certain area, and nothing to do with whether it is bred for show or production. I wish that we could dispense with that word altogether when it comes to chickens because it is confusing. Far better to go with the words 'show' or 'production' rather than 'heritage', in my opinion.

 

[JedJackson]

In my experience, Heritage Barred Rocks have extremely defined barring and both hens and roosters have darker grey/black color. Too, the barring is much narrower than hatchery varieties.

If you source some they’ll likely not be as productive layers as hatchery varieties as they’re bred for pattern not egg volume.

PS- I’ve never owned any but they’re on my future list for sure. Need to get over my Wheaten Marans phase first.

I agree with this, but in many cases people selling what they call heritage birds are selling production birds. So I don't think it is universal. Most people want good layers and for them the term heritage only means it is a breed connected with local history.

 

[house1917]

Say it louder for the people in the back!!!

 

[JordantheRooster1]

okay makes sense, thank you all

 

[JordantheRooster1]

I thought that if they were not heritage than their offspring would go off like they were hybrids, but I guess that is not true thanks

 

[RememberTheWay]

I thought that if they were not heritage than their offspring would go off like they were hybrids, but I guess that is not true thanks

It depends on whether it is a stable breed or not. Any heritage breed recognized by the APA is going to breed true, hybrids do not. But there are newer breeds that have accomplished true breeding that are not yet recognized.