A little heresy here. Professor Dryden commented in the early 20th C. that the "type" for Barred Rocks did not bode well for their use as utility birds. He felt the standard birds were too large and too much emphasis was put on barring and other features in the show ring.
Interestingly enough, although the standard disapproves, the dark markings on the legs of pullets were an important feature to the practical poultry man since they made sexing easier, when combined with examination of the head spot. For decades the standard called for equal barring on both pullets and cockerels, and this continued for a few years after it was determined that barring is sex related - so breeders had separate dark and light strains for producing the genders separately for the show ring.
I am not an opponent of showing poultry; I just wish show standards included some utility points. There are a lot of very beautiful birds that lay less than 100 eggs a year, or have too much abdominal fat to make a good carcass. This is one reason that many once useful breeds have become "heritage" and doomed to survive only in show circles. Dryden noted then that the excess abdominal fat would disappear if breeders focused on egg production and utility meat production.
Take a good look at a Decorah or Privett utility bird. They may not be glamorous, but some are still used in commercial farming, especially pastured operations.
Interestingly enough, although the standard disapproves, the dark markings on the legs of pullets were an important feature to the practical poultry man since they made sexing easier, when combined with examination of the head spot. For decades the standard called for equal barring on both pullets and cockerels, and this continued for a few years after it was determined that barring is sex related - so breeders had separate dark and light strains for producing the genders separately for the show ring.
I am not an opponent of showing poultry; I just wish show standards included some utility points. There are a lot of very beautiful birds that lay less than 100 eggs a year, or have too much abdominal fat to make a good carcass. This is one reason that many once useful breeds have become "heritage" and doomed to survive only in show circles. Dryden noted then that the excess abdominal fat would disappear if breeders focused on egg production and utility meat production.
Take a good look at a Decorah or Privett utility bird. They may not be glamorous, but some are still used in commercial farming, especially pastured operations.
