Plymouth Rock thread!

[kathyinmo]

My Rocks don't seem to be bothered by a little snow. They really are hardy.


LOOK! Here she comes to let us out!

Here we come!

Waiting at the gate....

I wanna get out there!

HEY! There they go!

Come on down, so we can go!

I'm coming, I'm coming!

Free at last!

 

[Jwhip]

Do they like to make snow angels???

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I guess that is a dust bath with snow.

Actually, they are so smart, they went out looking til they found a large spot under a bunch of overgrown shrubs, dug up some nice soft dirt, and had a real dust bath. Honestly, I do not know how they do it. Most of the ground is frozen, though not too bad since we have only had freezing weather for la few days. First snow, a month ago, was just a light dusting. This snow here is nothing like Iowa and Nebraska gets. They just scratched and dug around til they had a nice little area.

 

[Jwhip]

We have enouff snow that my bunch made a snow chicken...

 

[kathyinmo]

OH! I do believe that! I just know mine would, too, if they didn't find some dirt! These are the only chickens I have that have ever wandered off so far. They go til they find whatever it is they are looking for. They go down to the water .... far from the coop....

From the water looking up towards the coops...

From the coop looking down toward the water:

 

[punky rooster]

Awesome birds kathy!
my Roy male

bantam male

they are very smart too this one climed the latter to get in their coop!

 

[kathyinmo]

I am bringing my question from the Heritage thread over here to continue.... I don't want to interrupt that thread with my breeding questions.

Chris09 said: Barred Breeds that carry the Slow Feathering Gene (K^s) or the Very Slow Feathering Gene (K^n) will have better, crisper, cleaner Barring than breeds that carry a "normal" or rapped feathering gene.

The Barring Gene (B) is a gene that starts and stops pigment production and as the feather grows to give the barring pattern.
The extremely narrow and sharp barring seen on well marked Barred Rocks is achieved by the presence of the K gene for Slow Feather growth, which allows for a lot of on/off sequences in the time it takes for a feather to grow. The same barring (B) when on a rapped feathering breed gives wide, coarse, fuzzy "Cuckoo Barring" as seen in the Cuckoo Maran.

So with that said, the slower the feather growth on a Barred Rock the bettering the Barring will be..


I will also add this bit of information.

Sex determination based on slow and rapid feathering in egg layer chicks is widely used in poultry breeder farms in USA. In this method, the length of primer and secondary feathers at wing is measured. If slow feathering hens are husbandired with rapid feathering cocks, female hatchlings are rapid feathered while males are slow feathered. However, chicks having slow feathering gene show late sexual maturity and reduction in egg production and need a higher amount of dietary energy.

Chris

Why is one a, "Dark Barred" and the other a, "Light Barred"?

Most likely the, "Light Barred" carries two copies of the Barring Gene where as the, "Dark Barred" most likely only carries one copy of the Barring Gene as with Barred Hens.

kathyinmo said: Would there be a benefit to using one over the other? I mean, if you have a light barred and a dark barred, would you only use one? Which one?

Chris09 said:I myself like the, "Dark Barred" for Showing. They look, "Cleaner" and more, "Crisp" and tend to make the White look brighter.

Chris

My next question:

In breeding, when would you use a lighter cock? Or when would you not use a lighter one? Are there occasions when one is better to use than the other?

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
And Chris said. Oh that's me..

I myself like the, "Dark Barred" for Showing. They look, "Cleaner" and more, "Crisp" and tend to make the White look brighter.
I thought I would post my answer here also. LOL

Chris

 

[kathyinmo]

But, Chris .... Would you ever use a lighter one as a breeder? If it has only 1 copy of the barring gene .... is that a bad thing?

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
Breeding yes........ Showing now....

It isn't a bad thing and I believe it is all on preference, I love the look of a, "Dark Barred" Rooster I also love the, "dark" or, "Intermediate" Crele in game fowl.
The only way to get a good "Intermediate" Crele is to cross the Crele color back to a Black Breasted Red so that the male offspring only have one copy of the Barring gene.

Chris