Plymouth Rock thread!

[Wynette]

halo, I agree. I don't understand why the size seems to be getting so much bigger with some varieties. I wish I could understand.

It's like this with most all livestock; I showed horses for many years, and my last few years, I showed a small filly who was orphaned at birth (known to be even smaller than their counterparts raised by their mother). To get her in the show ring and used to be hauled, I showed her as a yearling and two-year-old at halter (conformation, which is what we show our chicks in). She consistenly placed 5th or higher, which was unheard of. Most ALL top 5 placings are the huge ones - the more muscling, the better, it seemed. Once, a judge told a breeder friend, about my filly, that it was a shame she wasn't bigger, as her conformation would have placed her in top 2's in the halter classes if she'd have been bigger. So stupid! If her conformation was good enough to have placed her higher, why weren't the judges doing so? I honestly didn't care, as she was a pleasure (riding) horse, anyway, but I guess it's just another example of "bigger being better."

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
They no longer weigh them because of the time it takes. Poultry shows are not bench shows where the birds are brought up to the judge as in the old days. The judge is in the rows of cages and it would be too hard to take birds out and weigh them. It is just an educated guess when we judge if the bird meets the correct weight or not. Most judges can tell, but the only way to really DQ an underweight or overweight bird is to weigh them and if you weigh one bird in a show you would have to weigh them all. That is why you seldom see a bird DQ'd for weight. They are usually just marked down in the placings.

Walt

 

[speckledhen]

So, a Rock as huge as an Orpington would be a Rockington?

Yeah, you should be able to tell them apart (other than leg color diff, of course).

 

[Wynette]

Quote:
They no longer weigh them because of the time it takes. Poultry shows are not bench shows where the birds are brought up to the judge as in the old days. The judge is in the rows of cages and it would be too hard to take birds out and weigh them. It is just an educated guess when we judge if the bird meets the correct weight or not. Most judges can tell, but the only way to really DQ an underweight or overweight bird is to weigh them and if you weigh one bird in a show you would have to weigh them all. That is why you seldom see a bird DQ'd for weight. They are usually just marked down in the placings.

Walt

Thanks, Walt.

 

[Wynette]

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Hey, that's actually kinda catchy!

 

[fowlman01]

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There is about a 1/2 lb (Orps being 1/2# heavier) difference in the two breeds, but in the 80's the white rocks were larger than the Orps. Overweight large fowl seem to take care of the problem themselves after a bit. The birds can get big, but the legs can't hold them up when they get too big. That is what happened last time the Rocks got too big.

Walt

 

[Wynette]

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VERY interesting - yet another advantage we BYCers get in having a member like Walt - finding out all this background information, which can be helpful to us all in making decisions to move our lines forward!

 

[kpsullivan]

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Most of mine are a tinted pink color to a medium brown.

 

[sherylreno]

everyone! I have 2 BR's, my DH & I love this breed so much that we want more of them later on. They are so sweet and nice. My eggs are dark brown with the pink tint, I always know their eggs when I see them. They don't miss a day very often either.

 

[speckledhen]

My big blue Orp rooster is probably a bit too large, probably about 13 lbs now, so I think I'd be scared of my BR if he got anywhere close to that big!

Thanks, Walt. Good to know.