Plymouth Rock thread!

[The Yakima Kid]

Ummmmm....... until the final feathering it is very hard to judge quality of barring. Fast feathering birds have worse barring than slower feathering birds; there is a genetic reason behind this. The problem in Barred Rocks is that the more productive they are, the smaller and more irregularly barred they become; the more they are bred for greater size and more even barring, the worse laying becomes. This was perceived as a problem as far back as the first decade of the 20th Century and acknowledged as such by poultry researchers. I think what you are looking at is a cockerel, which has more white, and a pullet, which tends to be darker. The same thing is seen in the cuckoo colored ancestor of the Barred Rock, the American Dominique.

(I currently have several American Dominique 2013 hens - they behave very much like Barred Rocks with ADHD.)

 

[BlackPanther]

 

[Chicken Ducks]

Apart from the obvious...what is the difference between a dark Plymouth and a light Plymouth?

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

What a year for hatching. We have hatched all roosters except one off of our Silver Penciled Rocks until 3 weeks ago and we got our first pullet and sadly now they are on a break.

 

[DMRippy]

What a year for hatching. We have hatched all roosters except one off of our Silver Penciled Rocks until 3 weeks ago and we got our first pullet and sadly now they are on a break.

You can put a few in my box if you want to get rid of a few. LOL.

 

[rancher hicks]

What a year for hatching. We have hatched all roosters except one off of our Silver Penciled Rocks until 3 weeks ago and we got our first pullet and sadly now they are on a break.

I've been sharing from a copy of the "Farm and Home" newspaper of Jan 1910.

It contains an article about a woman whose husband became sick with asthma and how she saved the farm by watching hens incubate, made her own incubator and hatched 108 chicks out of 116 eggs.
"I sold the proceeds from the farm and applied it on the debt of the farm. Traded eggs and poultry for farm machinery."

I think women played a big role in the poultry industry.

Ads show Incubator selling for $7.50 for an incubator that would hold 120 eggs and one for an incubator and brooder for $10 that held 125.

I have other issues and there are many interesting things in them about farming and business and laws.

Now if you are in Johnson City, NY land sold for $5 - $50 an acre. NY and the New England areas.

 

[estamets]

Hi everyone! We love our Partridge Rock so much, we bought 2 more pullets out of the Rock bin. Got them home, and I notice they don't have yellow legs or beaks. What do you guys think - is this shoddy breeding or are they Marans? They're incredibly docile, similar in temperament to our PR. They both have blue eyes (right now, I know this will change). I'm hoping someone can look at the barring on the BR/CM and tell me what you think. The White has at least one feather with a black dusting, which indicates a hint of splash genetics; I'm not sure if that's a WR trait. The White also has a hint of buff in her wing and tail feathers - it could be dirt, but I gave her a bath and they're still a pale orangey-yellowy-creamy color. Both girls are 6-8 weeks old.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

[cmom]

Hi everyone! We love our Partridge Rock so much, we bought 2 more pullets out of the Rock bin. Got them home, and I notice they don't have yellow legs or beaks. What do you guys think - is this shoddy breeding or are they Marans? They're incredibly docile, similar in temperament to our PR. They both have blue eyes (right now, I know this will change). I'm hoping someone can look at the barring on the BR/CM and tell me what you think. The White has at least one feather with a black dusting, which indicates a hint of splash genetics; I'm not sure if that's a WR trait. The White also has a hint of buff in her wing and tail feathers - it could be dirt, but I gave her a bath and they're still a pale orangey-yellowy-creamy color. Both girls are 6-8 weeks old.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

I noticed with my own breeding of different breeds that yellow legs also are a results of their environment and feed.
Here are some I have been working on as I had the same problem I didn't think the legs were as yellow as they should be. These are other breeds but the same principles apply. This was last year.


These are what they look like now

 

[BlackPanther]

I noticed with my own breeding of different breeds that yellow legs also are a result of their environment and feed.
Here are some I have been working on as I had the same problem I didn't think the legs were as yellow as they should be. These are other breeds but the same principles apply. This was last year.


These are what they look like now

Very pretty yellow legs!
What did you feed them?

 

[estamets]

I noticed with my own breeding of different breeds that yellow legs also are a results of their environment and feed. Here are some I have been working on as I had the same problem I didn't think the legs were as yellow as they should be. These are other breeds but the same principles apply. This was last year. These are what they look like now

Wow! That's a HUGE difference. Thanks for this. I might not know about these ladies until they start laying- or of their legs and beaks yellow up then I'll know for sure. In any case, they're super sweet and I love them, so breed doesn't matter much at all!