Rocks or not?

[laurenelisabeth]

I purchased a group of white & barred rocks earlier this spring, and now I notice their combs are different sizes. The barred have average sized, prominent combs, and the white have smaller almost none existent ones. Are they the same breed, or was there a mix up?

 

[StarMeKritten]

It's really hard to say without seeing photos. You may have 2 different breeds or they may be different ages. Or you might have gotten all males in one color and all females in the other. It's also possible that they are just developing at different rates due to the different bloodlines. It could be that the barred ones are close to laying and the white ones still have some more maturing to do. Post some photos and we'll be happy to help you figure it out.

 

[laurenelisabeth]

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[laurenelisabeth]

 

[laurenelisabeth]

They're all supposed to be the same age, the whites are actually bigger than the barred. They should all be laying soon.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Your Rocks are of two varieties of the same Plymouth Rock breed.

Your White Rocks look very, very nice. The Barred Rocks look to be of more from a production (hatchery quality) strain and hatchery strains are rarely bred to the Standard for the breed.

I doubt your Whites will ever show the large combs that are on your Barreds, but time will tell the tale.

 

[laurenelisabeth]

Okay thanks! I purchased them from a local woman, who had some chicks she had bred, and some from the hatchery. The barred have a big discrepancy in size, and I'll be culling most of them next year when we incubate new eggs.

 

[StarMeKritten]

Your Rocks are of two varieties of the same Plymouth Rock breed.

Your White Rocks look very, very nice. The Barred Rocks look to be of more from a production (hatchery quality) strain and hatchery strains are rarely bred to the Standard for the breed.

I doubt your Whites will ever show the large combs that are on your Barreds, but time will tell the tale.

I agree. I'll also add that the hatchery lines will usually mature faster and lay earlier than the heritage lines. So even though they are the same age, it may take longer for your white rocks to start laying.

 

[donrae]

How about a close pic of a white bird's comb? On that second pic, I'm not sure that's a straight comb, it looks like a wide rose comb.

 

[Wyandottes7]

How about a close pic of a white bird's comb? On that second pic, I'm not sure that's a straight comb, it looks like a wide rose comb.

X2

It looks like a rose comb, in which case these birds aren't all Plymouth Rocks.