The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[Beekissed]

Just did a quickie feel about on those two pullets and they both have 5 finger capacity and 3 finger width between their pelvic bones..and I have fat fingers.

Their vents are huge and pelvic bones nice and thin for such a meaty breed. I'm tickled pink and praising God right now for these two birds.

Just moved the male to the breeding pen to get him ready for breeding later and will start feeding him accordingly. I want to start near the first of April for breeding, if possible. I know I should have moved him sooner and been prepared but was still dealing with below zero temps and a foot and a half of snows here and just wasn't ready.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Congratulations Bee! Your pullets look nice and your Rooster (I think hes of age) is really stunning. I got my first BR cick Saturday. New Breeders we are!! So exciting. A slow sport though but well worth it!!!

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Allright Bee. The show begins!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Congratulations Bee! Your pullets look nice and your Rooster (I think hes of age) is really stunning. I got my first BR cick Saturday. New Breeders we are!! So exciting. A slow sport though but well worth it!!!

Let's do the new breeder dance of chicken joy!!!

Congrats on your new BR chick!!! Can't wait to see how you get it all together in your flock...this is pretty exciting, isn't it?

That rooster is not of my own making, but came from the good breeding stock of Mr. Weaver, bless his heart for that wonderful gift and Fred's for arranging it all. He really is stunning and becomes more so as he ages. And such a gentle to handle bird you've never seen...aggressive and accurate breeder but polite to the humans.

If I weren't intent on breeding them right now I'd have taken those girls to a show this month but I'd rather not interrupt their new laying cycle and get them stressed right before breeding. Too important! But, I still get to go to my first show and that's a neato thing.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

I know you got the Rooster from Ken. I hatched 4 chicks and he mailed me two juviniles. I love the white rocks but realized I could not try for so many breeds so decided to go with the BR.

I too would love to enter a show someday. Not this year though. Im trying to get chicks on ground. This is an expensive sport. I have a new tractor fot baby chicks and even thougj I have 3 coops and large runs hubby still needs to set up one more

Now, growing out and feeding all these young birds is going to be costly. I plan to keep my youngsters long enough to decide who to keep. Right now I have 6 pullets and two cocketels Irom last year's hatch. I started them on fermented feed at hatch and they iloved it. I stopped in Nov due to freezing temps but started up last week. They wont touch it. It really does lower feed costs and is healthier. Uuiughgj. I hate to see my coming feed bill

On a positive note the alfalfa I planted ilast year is coming back. They tore it up ptetty bad and I fenced off that section so it could establish

Well Bee ive rattled on long enough. Please keep us posted on your WR 'n

 

[SilverRockFarm]

Beautiful day yesterday with temperatures in the upper 70's, I do believe Spring is here in Tennessee!

 

[uphilljill]

What is that green stuff on the ground? It looks vaguely familiar... Lol

Nice looking birds and setup.

 

[SilverRockFarm]

What is that green stuff on the ground? It looks vaguely familiar... Lol

Nice looking birds and setup.

I honestly don't see how you handle the cold and snow y'all get up North. I was born in Florida and half of my childhood was there so I definitely don't do cold weather very well. The mild Tennessee winters is rough on me as my wife tells me I have weak Florida blood. LOL

Thank you for the nice words on my birds & setup.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Silver my brother lives on 200 acres outside of Waverley, TN. He built off the grid and now has chickens. Where in TN do you live?

 

[Beekissed]

I know you got the Rooster from Ken. I hatched 4 chicks and he mailed me two juviniles. I love the white rocks but realized I could not try for so many breeds so decided to go with the BR.

I too would love to enter a show someday. Not this year though. Im trying to get chicks on ground. This is an expensive sport. I have a new tractor fot baby chicks and even thougj I have 3 coops and large runs hubby still needs to set up one more

Now, growing out and feeding all these young birds is going to be costly. I plan to keep my youngsters long enough to decide who to keep. Right now I have 6 pullets and two cocketels Irom last year's hatch. I started them on fermented feed at hatch and they iloved it. I stopped in Nov due to freezing temps but started up last week. They wont touch it. It really does lower feed costs and is healthier. Uuiughgj. I hate to see my coming feed bill

On a positive note the alfalfa I planted ilast year is coming back. They tore it up ptetty bad and I fenced off that section so it could establish

Well Bee ive rattled on long enough. Please keep us posted on your WR 'n

I'm saving a good bit on feed by breeding a little later and utilizing free range. I hope also to stimulate a broody or two to hunt down some feed for the chicks. I feed in the evenings in good forage months and by then they've filled up pretty good on what they've found in the day and what I feed just tops them off. I love the idea of the chicks getting all that natural food as the bulk of their early nutrition...when I watch that broody moving those little chicks all over 2 acres of pasture and woods surrounding the coop, I have to wonder how in the world they keep up with her or have any calories at all after all that running, but they do just fine and stage through their growth normally. I've noticed that, though they seem less bulky and heavy as other people's birds of the same age early on, they catch up as they mature and finish out at appropriate size and weights.

Then, come fall I'm going to cull them down and just take the best of the best through the winter. But, I'll still be feeding more than I did the past few years even then, so much like you I'll be having some sticker shock on feed bills.

This year I'm taking some steps to have a few small growing tunnels in the garden to keep growing kale, beets, and spinach through the winter months so I can supplement their diet and, hopefully, defray some cost there. Also plan to grow, store and ferment pumpkins and apples as extra calories this year as well. I move my FF into the back porch for the winter and keep two buckets going all the time so I can continue to have those savings in the winter months. It all adds up and can save me some money.

Beautiful day yesterday with temperatures in the upper 70's, I do believe Spring is here in Tennessee!

Silver, those birds are just stunning! That little hen makes my heart melt! What a beautiful variety to be raising.