Plymouth Rock thread!

[Yard full o' rocks]

Hi Scott
Thank you for the information. I will definitely keep this breeding plan in mind.

When you get a chance, google "line breeding in poultry" and there are some charts there that might help you

 

[Silver Rock]

Hi Scott
Yes I have downloaded many pages of breeding information off the internet and I also have many poultry book on breeding poultry. I hope to get the weight of my birds to the Standard in the next 2 to 3 years. When the weight comes to breeding true I will start the Double Mating system to improve the color patterns. In using the Double Mating system I will be useing multiple breeding pens. In doing this I will have multiple blood lines.

 

[speckledhen]

Pics of two of my Stukel line Rock hens, 2 year old Ida and her niece, 1 year old Druscilla. Sorry about the molt and rooster-damaged feathers.




Ida's sister, Dottie, raising her two little DelaRock sons:



My oldest Barred Rock hen, Amanda, daughter of a McMurray hen. She is going on 7 years old and is currently laying, even with seriously arthritis hip joints. She is larger than most hatchery type BR hens.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Beautiful speckledhen!

 

[Retrieverluvr]

14 weeks old. Supposed to be two hens.......Hmmm........The one with the comb and waddles coming in dosen't act Roostereeee at all! What feather patterns should I look for? They are totally identical in every other way.....

 

[ohju1ia]

how do you manage to weigh your live chickens?

Silver Rock

I find that the weight gain in my Rocks varies tremendously based upon the time of year they were hatched.  I try to hatch everything from my breeder pens in Dec and Jan (keep in mind I am in NW Ga and winters are not too harsh here).  I find that time of year gives me the largest framed birds PLUS they are nearly grown when the heat/humidity hits around June.

I don't normally weigh my birds at all until around 4 months with a target of 5lbs + on pullets and 7lbs+ on cockerels at 6 months.  Cockerels are extremely slow to mature, so don't jump to conclusions too soon.  In my line, cockerels are still gaining weight and filling out at 1 yr old.

As for yellow legs, the color you want comes from a chemical compound called "xanthophyll".  I find that most green, leafy vegetation contains xanthophyll and the more I free range my birds the better their leg color.  My birds range daily on clover, chickory, wheat, rye, kale, fescue, iron clay peas (all depending upon the season).  Corn does contain some xanthophyll as well, but I don't think you want to feed your birds as much of it as it would take to make a difference.

At 7 weeks old I personally think its way too soon (given your limited numbers) to make many decisions.  If I recall you have 7 cockerels and 5 pullets, correct?  At this point I would cull ONLY if you see a significant DQ or a serious issue with vigor.

If so, in your shoes, I would set my goals to keep

 - the best 4 pullets (perhaps selecting based on double mating if you are going that route) Call them 1, 2, 3, 4
 - the best 2 cockerels.  Call them X, Y

Next season start 2 family lines
Breeding pen 1 - Cockerel X and pullets 1,2 (or whichever)
Breeding pen 2 - Cockerel Y and the other two pullets not used above

Hatch as many as you can afford to feed and toe punch them according to the pen they came from.  When I got started, I'd hatch 125-150 per yr.  Your going to need some numbers of birds on the ground before you will begin to pick up the differences you see in type between birds.  From the birds you hatch, set your goals for the year and cull down to your best 3-4 pullets and 1-2 cockerels that best meet your criteria for that year.

Hope that helps

 

[cbnovick]

14 weeks old. Supposed to be two hens.......Hmmm........The one with the comb and waddles coming in dosen't act Roostereeee at all! What feather patterns should I look for? They are totally identical in every other way.....

Still look to be both definitely be female despite comb/wattle differences. One is just maturing quicker most likely

 

[speckledhen]

Still look to be both definitely be female despite comb/wattle differences. One is just maturing quicker most likely

They do both appear to be female, though some males who are not pure BR will be dark like that. If it's 100% BR, then she is early maturing.

 

[BlackPanther]

I had a Plymouth Rock/Orpington hybrid hatch yesterday. It came from my splash PR rooster and buff Orpington hen, and surprisingly, it is two-toned! It is blue on the back and yellow underneath, and has blue wings with yellow tips!
I'm hoping it is female...

Those blue chicks I got some while back are about three months old now, and it looks like four of them have turned into splashes! Looks as though I have two hens and two roosters there.

 

[chickenpooplady]

I had a Plymouth Rock/Orpington hybrid hatch yesterday. It came from my splash PR rooster and buff Orpington hen, and surprisingly, it is two-toned! It is blue on the back and yellow underneath, and has blue wings with yellow tips!
I'm hoping it is female...

That sounds really cool! Pictures please?