Plymouth Rock thread!

[cybercat]

Quote:
Thanks. I think I may try the ones from Ideal this year.

Pam do not buy from ideal if you want good stock partridge rocks. Most of theirs is mixed with something else or just plain bad breeding. Walkswithdog got hers from there and had to scrap all of them after breeding for they did not breed true. That is the problem with the real big hatcheries. They try to meet demand so make chicken breeds that look like true. I know Privette gets from good breeders, sandhill sells out fast. Meyers and Mt Healthy are good also even MM is if you do not mind a more aggressive line though some say they have breeding problems with mixing too. But your small hatcheries are your best bet.

Most colors other than Barred and White are very rare and hard to find good stock on. Even with hatcheries breeding them you will still have to cull and breed up to get real great quality. This is one reason I chose to stick with just one breed for that is my goel to breed my Prs up to the SOP. So far from what I have seen I have ok stock but next years breeding offspring will tell all. There are just No breeders of the other colors because they do not place well in the show ring. Many of the other colors have to have 2 seprate lines 1 male1 female to get good show stock. But once you go that route you loose feritility. Which is not what all of us want for our chickens. I will not be breeding show stock per say but more heritage stock with production kept up front and important to the overall chicken.

You can find breeder of the heritage stock but you have to belong to the ABLC or the SPPA and get their breeder list which only goes out to members. Another goel of mine this comming year is to join.

 

[cybercat]

Quote:
Every color of Rocks have yellow legs. There can be some slight dusty of grey or black but they must be yellow. If not then most lily they are mixed. You can tell easiest by the bottoms of the feet. I have seen many with dark legs or even white which means they are not yellow. Skin is to be yellow also. Yes, even the black,blue and splash are to be yellow.

 

[Barred Rocker]

This is Brewster my 4 month old roo strutin his stuff

This is Sissy, she's the queen of the coop

 

[CountryMom]

Quote:
Thanks. I think I may try the ones from Ideal this year.

Pam do not buy from ideal if you want good stock partridge rocks. Most of theirs is mixed with something else or just plain bad breeding. Walkswithdog got hers from there and had to scrap all of them after breeding for they did not breed true. That is the problem with the real big hatcheries. They try to meet demand so make chicken breeds that look like true. I know Privette gets from good breeders, sandhill sells out fast. Meyers and Mt Healthy are good also even MM is if you do not mind a more aggressive line though some say they have breeding problems with mixing too. But your small hatcheries are your best bet.

Most colors other than Barred and White are very rare and hard to find good stock on. Even with hatcheries breeding them you will still have to cull and breed up to get real great quality. This is one reason I chose to stick with just one breed for that is my goel to breed my Prs up to the SOP. So far from what I have seen I have ok stock but next years breeding offspring will tell all. There are just No breeders of the other colors because they do not place well in the show ring. Many of the other colors have to have 2 seprate lines 1 male1 female to get good show stock. But once you go that route you loose feritility. Which is not what all of us want for our chickens. I will not be breeding show stock per say but more heritage stock with production kept up front and important to the overall chicken.

You can find breeder of the heritage stock but you have to belong to the ABLC or the SPPA and get their breeder list which only goes out to members. Another goel of mine this comming year is to join.

Cyber, I have been the route of breeders here over the past year looking for Partridge Rocks and other breeds also. Needless to say I am rather burned by them. I have also learned that many of these great quality birds do not breed well, have major faults or so not produce well for egg production. So, that being said, I would rather look at the hatcheries for birds. I am not a show breeder or exhibitor, but a livestock owner who wants color for my egg production. It does not mean I won't breed them, but I don't have to have the best quality that doesn't lay...because that is worthless to me. Besides, my so called high dollar breeding stock hasn't been that fantasticly great that I am sold on breeders only. My hatchery birds to date haven't produced horrible birds despite what everyone claims they would. I have purchased birds from Ideal and from MM. Personally, MM sent me a bunch of SLW that were junk and mean. My SS were OK from them. I figure they are about the same in quality if not Ideal being a bit better. I will look over the other hatcheries you mentioned. Most people that are just starting out in the Partridge Rocks I have pmd here have gotten them from hatcheries because they ran into similar situations as I have. I don't mind culling and working on the hatchery line if they are easier to obtain and have a better chance of egg production. I am sure my views are not the norm here, but my experience this year has really openned my eyes unfortunately.

 

[M To The Maxx]

As you guys probably saw on my other thread Dixie was hatching some chicks. This chick Dixie hatched yesterday but died a few hours later. The father was Bucky (BR cross) and the mother was Alex (BR). I thought since it was a BR cross I should post it.

 

[walkswithdog]

At least the Partridge Rock chicks I got from Ideal were VERY healthy and all the pullets/hens laid well and about 1/3 of them were good broodies. But easily half were incomplete Pg - pattern gene, so feathers were speckled or broken pencilled and not fully pencilled. Several were shafted - shafts much lighter than feather - a serious and inheritable fault, and the roo I did keep, though himself obviously complete Pg, threw progeny that were all shafted.

I have two PR left from the group but won't be keeping them beyond spring. I just want to see their size/lay before I send them on. They're in with my black rock roo, Armageddon. I have several barred growing out, that are barred rock/delawares that I'm also going to sell off the pullets and freezer camp the roos. Though I have to admit, the cross produces very nice size, thanks to the huge Del roo, Algernon, I got from Cyn (big grin).

Algie's two best pure delaware sons are nicely marked and heavy/wide toad boys and the girls have nice shape, except those I can tell came from the hatchery pullet's eggs. They're distinctly narrower.

I'm going to be keeping black and blue and splash rocks, and the Delaware clan. If I can get in show partridge eggs, then I'll have another go at it. But I want to start with complete pattern gened birds, without shafting in the lines. Then I'll go on. Might play with using the Delawares to make Columbian Rocks, we'll see. I like rocks, they're neat, thrifty, friendly birds.

I'll keep playing with them because they're just good birds.

 

[CountryMom]

Yes, just learned on the light shafting on my Welsummers. And that a black breasted roo will reduce the shafting in them. Although light shafting is desireable there. Maybe the only good quality of those expensive breeder birds non hatchery.

It is good the hear that Ideal's birds were healthy and good layers. Of course I like my hatchery quality barred rock also. And she is a long way from SQ, but then lays almost everyday for me.

 

[cybercat]

We just lost one of our pullets to a hawk. Chicken now in pot for dog food. Bad hawk day here but it has not stopped the laying.

For those that do not know you can download the SOP on Plymouth Rocks at the Plymouth Rock club web site. It is the 1917 standard but it has not change too much mostly tail set on hens.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Quote:
Really watch your girls closely now. That hawk now knows where "food" is and Will be back. Good luck

 

[cybercat]

Well they did come back within the hour. It was 3 of them I am thinking family. But chickens were in coop and dog and us outside plus crows showed up. They have not been back. I did not let them out till after 1pm today and crows are protroling the area. They nest close by in our woods. The one that got killed did not have more than the kill spot open so hawk did not get much of a taste. But he got alot of discouragement rather loudly. We will be getting a fake owl as ours that lives in the area comes and goes. We are also getting a crow call. One reason I went with this breed was their size which seems to help alot. It is the youngins that hit on the chickens and they can not do much with taking off with them. Even the adults cant carry them, we have small hawks here not the big red tails.

Our chickens are not our pets. We do not handle them at all unless nessassry. The only one I am worried about getting killed is our rooster as he is our only one. We plan on increasing flock this next spring by breeding and maybe ordering. We are lucky in that hawks are our only predator here so what ever ones I do loose I can live with it as they always get trurned into dog food. As I sit here I see the chickens at work in our front garden debugging and fertilsing it. They pay there way in that and eggs and helping keep dog at home.