The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[Wynette]

They'd probably be fine if there was more of them to keep each other warm. But, the evenings have been awfully chilly - at least here in Michigan; last night, it got down to 38 here.

 

[Silver Rock]

Partners are a god-send when catastrophic events hit.  Heaven forbid something should happen, but it is a relief to know that you can rebound much quicker.  As soon as I can, I like to have stuff spread among a partner or two.  Sort of like hiding the diamonds under more than one rock I suppose.

Had a horrible spring, last year for catastrophic incidences. Still doesn't feel good to remember them.  Not the brightest penny in the pond, but I do learn quick.  Spread your bloodlines among a few folks.  Be a giver, not a hoarder. It can come back to you if you give it away.  A wise man taught me that once, God rest his soul.

Once again I agree with you 100% Fred , in having a partner can be very helpful. With that in mind I have worked very hard over the last couple months giving eggs out to others that are interested in the Silver Penciled Plymouth Rocks as I have sent out over three dozen hatching eggs to breeders within 100 miles of me "Tennessee & Alabama". I have also sent out two dozen to Mississippi, little over a dozen to Wisconsin, a dozen to Florida & a dozen to Oklahoma. It makes me feel good that maybe I have help to get others more interested in the Silver Penciled Plymouth Rocks this Spring with the eggs I have gave out also.

 

[alana124]

I agree with Blosl and Fred. Small, focused and down the middle until you know what you are doing and totally understand what you’ve gotten into. Co-op with other breeders if possible. No one but you knows how much time and money you have or how hard you are willing to work. I think I know what I’ve gotten into but still get overwhelmed at times.

NOTE: This is what I do based on a larger operation, some people call 4 birds a flock, I think I’m out if I’m only feeding 50.

I need sufficient equipment to do the following: Incubate, hatch, brood, grow out, separate into two flocks, grow out some more, breed and Isolate. Keep in mind the more pens you use the more work you create. Larger fewer pens are easier to feed, water and clean than more, smaller pens. Multiple purpose pens/cages are more practical than single purpose pens.

I have incubators and hatchers in the house where the room is climate controlled. My brooder is a wooden box upside down on 3” legs inside a large pen with a run off of the pen. The chicks can regulate temperature themselves by entering leaving the brooder and I can have a wider range of ages in the brooder pen. When they can’t squeeze through a 2x4 fence wire the run will be open until the cockerel/pullets need separated. Then the brooder pen becomes the cockerel pen and the pullets go into the hen side of the same coop. My hen house has 2 separate pens/runs with separate outside doors so they can have alternate free range days. I have temporary breeding pens set up in the spring by wiring panels together and installing a makeshift roof (six 8’ x 3’ pens). I also have wooden rack type cages in the barn I can use for Quarantining new birds, breeding pairs in artificial light, conditioning, drying, observing, separating cocks, whatever. My facility is actually much larger than that, but you get the idea. I keep my flocks together as long as practical and I run all breeds/varieties together unless breeding.

Sounds wonderful. and close to what I'm currently doing. I'm definitely going to keep it small for a while since I don't have a whole lot of room as of yet. I'm glad to see though, that everyone's awesome advice and experiences is rubbing off on me.

 

[alana124]

Lines and Names

There's lots of different opinions of this matter, but here's where I stand. Once you've done any breeding matchups, the subsequent birds are your birds and nobody else's. I respect the foundational work that went into my birds and I'm quick and free to give those folks "credit" for the work they did, but once I select the female and I select a male to put over her and hatch out chicks, those chicks are mine. Period. Two and three generations? Even if I keep the line the same? No matter. Mine. I made all the choices for good or bad. The former breeder is completely off the hook and there's not much point in name dropping anymore.

I bred them. I take all the blame of what they are or are not. What are your thoughts?

Here again, your insights are spot on. I support and give credit where it's due (the foundation) but after that, it's the individual breeder and their decisions that will make or break the end result.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Lines and Names

There's lots of different opinions of this matter, but here's where I stand. Once you've done any breeding matchups, the subsequent birds are your birds and nobody else's. I respect the foundational work that went into my birds and I'm quick and free to give those folks "credit" for the work they did, but once I select the female and I select a male to put over her and hatch out chicks, those chicks are mine. Period. Two and three generations? Even if I keep the line the same? No matter. Mine. I made all the choices for good or bad. The former breeder is completely off the hook and there's not much point in name dropping anymore.

I bred them. I take all the blame of what they are or are not. What are your thoughts?

It may be that I'm such a newbie at actual breeding opposed to collecting and hatching eggs but I think there is something to generations or at least many numbers of birds to make a choice of pairing that distinguishes the two activities.

My opinion is if a person purchases a line from a "name" that has been breeding them for 5, 10 or 20 years then you've got that persons birds until you manage to make enough choices to truly alter them for good or bad. A line in a persons hands for that many years will have very distinguishing characteristics that wont simply change in hatching 6 chicks from a purchased bakers dozen that you culled 3 cockerels to save one to sire over the only two pullets that hatched.

In my mind, if a persons name was warranted to be applied to a line in the first place you need enough of your own decision making imprinted on it to erase their name and insert yours. Is that many generations? Probably not but it certainly is more decisive than a one time cull through of a dozen or less birds in my novice opinion.

 

[alana124]

My first batch of BR chicks (6) will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. I will be evaluating them closer this weekend, but thought I'd share a few quick pics I took tonight.







@Fred's Hens: One thing I did notice looking back at my notes and photos, is that this generation seems to be feathering slightly faster than their parents by about 2 weeks. These would be from a GS/XW cock over a F1 hen.

WOW! They are so beautiful! I can't wait to be down that path. Beautiful work, Jill .

 

[Fred's Hens]

Garret, your point is well taken. It's more a BYC preoccupation, I suspect. I'd just add a couple things to factor into the thought process. FWIW. So much depends on what people's motivation is. Folks sometimes "name drop" to sell more eggs, or chicks. I dunno. I've seen people use a particular "name" and even if they meant no grandiose marketing at all, I know that the person behind that "name" hasn't had those birds for 5 or 7 years and that they've been bred by two or three other people, second hand, in-between. That "name" hasn't touched those birds or made a matchup in 6 generations. Are they still "name's" birds?

Know what I mean?
Maybe I should just keep quiet and my thoughts to myself.

 

[Wynette]

Maybe I should just keep quiet and my thoughts to myself.

I vote no, please do not. We need you, Mr. Fred.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Garret, your point is well taken. It's more a BYC preoccupation, I suspect. I'd just add a couple things to factor into the thought process. FWIW. So much depends on what people's motivation is. Folks sometimes "name drop" to sell more eggs, or chicks. I dunno. I've seen people use a particular "name" and even if they meant no grandiose marketing at all, I know that the person behind that "name" hasn't had those birds for 5 or 7 years and that they've been bred by two or three other people, second hand, in-between. That "name" hasn't touched those birds or made a matchup in 6 generations. Are they still "name's" birds?

Know what I mean?
Maybe I should just keep quiet and my thoughts to myself.

Fred you are so right...."name dropping" seems to be an issue used for Marketing purposes....not one time at a show have I heard someone ask "what line of birds are those" or "who's line of birds are those"....they belong to the person showing them. That's it, that's all

A good breeder will know the origin(s) of his chosen flock, especially for the purposes of future outcrossings, etc...but at the end of the day, they below to whomever is breeding them

 

[racertomtom]

There’s a lot of marketing strategies I don’t like, like hatcheries calling birds Plymouth Rocks when the only trait they show is egg production. Marketing birds as Charlie Waybeck’s Line when Charlie’s been gone for 20 or more years is just wrong.

On the other hand, knowing the ancestry of a line is important. This year I was sourcing some eggs to outcross into my whites next year. I was hoping to find some birds without silver genes and maybe 5th cousins twice removed or something. So I would ask, where did your birds come from?

Most of the members of this thread are relative newcomers, so I appreciate them saying where they acquired their stock. The bottom line is there are only a handful of unrelated lines of championship Plymouth rocks out there and I’m kind of keeping a mental map of where the gene pools are located for future reference. I may need another outcross someday.

As far as at the shows, keep in mind that these people are typically the top breeders and you’d be surprised what they know just by looking at a bird. I remember being floored when Carl Fosbrink walked up to my Barreds and proceeded to tell me where they came from and what had been done to them since he last saw them. Knowing what he was saying was fact, I asked the next logical question, “what do you think I should do next?”

I don’t think hatching eggs purchased from someone makes it your line, but it only takes a year or two to drastically change a line, good or bad, so it will become your line very quickly. If someone asks where your line came from, tell them, it’s still your line. Since the breeders I got all of my stock from have passed away, I guess I am out of people to blame for my flocks.