The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[Fred's Hens]

We've been so doggone busy this summer, I don't want to put a ton more on DH, so I told him that if we can get just 2-3 pens built, I'd be happy with that. One of them is my SPR pen. The coop is upon stilts, which is great for the birds in the nasty weather; if it's hot,they can get underneath for nice shade (and that's where they dust bathe, too) if it's raining, they can still be outside and dry. But...I have to crawl around on my knees to get that coop cleaned, and I ain't getting any younger!

Well, I've assembled the materials to build a similar, stilted coop, for all the same reasons. I'm going to try to build it with one wall being hinged. Drop the wall and scrape out the coop. That's my thinking at this point. We'll see how it unfolds.

 

[Silver Rock]

Quote:
The ones that Fogelly has from Scott don't have the Cobb in them they are from some of his first offsprings of the originals. I have 4 pullets and 6 males in which I'm so patiently awaiting to come full circle to choose a couple of breeder males from they are getting there slowly but surely looking more like young men daily. Jeff

That is great. In my opinion I think it would be very wise to keep the pure Colombian Rock line out there to fall back on.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Just in from "chicken chores" as the boys are both in the deer stand (oh well)

I've finally settled on the 4 pullets I will hold over for breeders, got 10 to get rid of now (have several trios promised out, so hopefully they will follow thru)

I snapped a few pictures of one "F2 cross" pullet I am going to keep to experiment with....several judges and long time Rock breeders have commented on her type....she's 13 weeks old

Can you believe she comes out of an F1 hen that is solid black??

Sorry, she is behind a young CR cockerel, but you can see that long, flat back, lack of cushion, good tail spread, tight feathering



Here are a few more

Her color is going to have to be cleaned up as its a little smutty, inconsistent. She does have decent balance, nice width of legs and she's got the whole "Yellow Leg" thing down pat,,,pretty decent width down the entire length of her back and I like her wing carriage thus far also

 

[wekiva bird]

Just in from "chicken chores" as the boys are both in the deer stand (oh well)

I've finally settled on the 4 pullets I will hold over for breeders, got 10 to get rid of now (have several trios promised out, so hopefully they will follow thru)

I snapped a few pictures of one "F2 cross" pullet I am going to keep to experiment with....several judges and long time Rock breeders have commented on her type....she's 13 weeks old

Can you believe she comes out of an F1 hen that is solid black??

Sorry, she is behind a young CR cockerel, but you can see that long, flat back, lack of cushion, good tail spread, tight feathering



Here are a few more

Her color is going to have to be cleaned up as its a little smutty, inconsistent. She does have decent balance, nice width of legs and she's got the whole "Yellow Leg" thing down pat,,,pretty decent width down the entire length of her back and I like her wing carriage thus far also

Scott: nice photo ! It is to hot to hunt today.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Scott: nice photo ! It is to hot to hunt today.

I agree.....I gave up bow hunting yrs ago because it was too darn hot

 

[wekiva bird]

I agree.....I gave up bow hunting yrs ago because it was too darn hot

Our season started Aug 15-Jan1 bow ,gun .Yesterday was opening day on the Ft. for does.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Great thread, thank you Fred.

I'm going to take a bunch of photos of the HBR juveniles tomorrow. I have tried to hold off on making judgments of any kind yet and am just being patient. Time I have plenty of and I am trying to keep it as simple as possible. No sense ignoring excellent advice. Thanks to all for sharing so freely.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Great thread, thank you Fred.

I'm going to take a bunch of photos of the HBR juveniles tomorrow. I have tried to hold off on making judgments of any kind yet and am just being patient. Time I have plenty of and I am trying to keep it as simple as possible. No sense ignoring excellent advice. Thanks to all for sharing so freely.

Hey T,

Look forward to seeing the photos.

 

[Wynette]

Well, I've assembled the materials to build a similar, stilted coop, for all the same reasons. I'm going to try to build it with one wall being hinged. Drop the wall and scrape out the coop. That's my thinking at this point. We'll see how it unfolds.

Fred, the functionality is most awesome, to be sure. THe only thing I don't like about them is the cleaning, but it sounds like yo'uve got a good plan for that. If you'd like me to shoot you some pics of one of mine during assembly, let me know. Sounds like you're all set, though.

Just in from "chicken chores" as the boys are both in the deer stand (oh well)

I've finally settled on the 4 pullets I will hold over for breeders, got 10 to get rid of now (have several trios promised out, so hopefully they will follow thru)

I snapped a few pictures of one "F2 cross" pullet I am going to keep to experiment with....several judges and long time Rock breeders have commented on her type....she's 13 weeks old

Can you believe she comes out of an F1 hen that is solid black??

Sorry, she is behind a young CR cockerel, but you can see that long, flat back, lack of cushion, good tail spread, tight feathering



Here are a few more

Her color is going to have to be cleaned up as its a little smutty, inconsistent. She does have decent balance, nice width of legs and she's got the whole "Yellow Leg" thing down pat,,,pretty decent width down the entire length of her back and I like her wing carriage thus far also

Scott, holy cow - Nice tail, not pinched - CHECK! NO CUSHION - check! (that seems to be a big issue is many PR varieties)! Long back - CHECK! And - I have to say, I like the amount of dark, dark black. I know the tail feathers should be laced, it's tough to see in these photos, my guess is they aren't or it's minimal. But, she has size, looks to have good feathering, wow - you can pick 'em!

Hey T,

Look forward to seeing the photos.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Quote:

Look forward to seeing the photos.

I have two groups of Rocks growing out. The youngest group came as chicks directly from Jeremy and they are now about 6 weeks old and look like half naked dinosaurs. The others I hatched this past Spring from eggs that came from Fred's Hens flock. These are photos of some of the Rocks hatched from Fred's eggs and they are 14.5 and 20 weeks old in these photos. They normally free range during the day but there is work going on that involves chain saws and other loud scary things so for their safety they remain locked up in the pens surrounding their coops. They really aren't pleased about being locked up either. They're awful photos and I fought with the camera the entire time, so please forgive the quality. It needs replacing but just hasn't been a priority. Anyway, there are only two cockerels from these hatches and one I like a lot better than the other. I am pretty sure that I did not get photos of all the pullets. Some were more frightened of the work noises than the others. The oldest cockerel is the one depicted here. He is brave and seems to have a good attitude so far. I have not yet marked any of them but I can at any time.



















I would love to hear honest opinions on these birds. I am planning to create two families and want to keep only the best for breeding, even if that means only two. Thanks to both Fred and Jeremy for helping me get started and for the excellent advice. I really appreciate it.

It's so enjoyable to see photos that y'all post of your flocks. Some of the other colors are really tempting!!!!!