The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[normanack]

I'm not a breeder yet, but hope to learn. This is my pullet from eggs from Fred. Of course I think she's beautiful, but I'm not looking through breeder's eyes. She's not laying yet -- she hatched last spring. I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[normanack]

And here's my cockerel, also from eggs from Fred. My daughter can see the faintest wash of rustiness across his back. He took a long time to grow from a tiny naked dinosaur into a chicken. Now he's growing by leaps and bounds. Just wanted to share, and your thoughts appreciated.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Thanks for showing them to us.

The pullet is very, very nice. I don't really have anything negative to say about her. She's got it all going on.

The cockerel, however, is another story. The tint is common with Barred Rocks and is usually blamed on sun, corn feed, and other things. My guess is that he'll "clear up" this winter.

As to his type, I'd say he wouldn't hurt you, but you could do better with another male. Granted, he's got a few months more to blossom, but, He's quite upright, very flat chested, and not deep enough, for my taste. So, in short, if you could find a better male to use? Do so. That pullet is out of sight. If that male is all you have? Then move forward. Hatch out a ton of chicks, cull like crazy and hopefully, you'll get a cockerel next summer that is better than his old man. It happens often enough. Then, put that better boy back over his mother. You'd have something really, really good going.

Or, let me bring you back a good cockerel next time I make a run.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Once a person has the ability to hatch out 60 chicks or more, the luxury of culling earlier becomes a reality and a necessity. Coupled with the development of the "eye", one learns their line, learns their type at an earlier age, learns to see faults so severe that more time isn't going to improve things.

While it is true that these birds grow slowly and develop slowly, still…… It is impossible for most breeders to raise out, and feed out all 80-90 chicks hatched. Perhaps some can, but I cannot. I teach the "cull from bottom up" method.

This means you cull birds with severe defects in the brooder.
Cull again at 8 weeks when juveniles are feathered out and can be seen to be inferior.

I usually cull again at 18-20 weeks when the culls are quite tasty have substantial, tender meat. Lemon and pepper, please.

Finally, at 28 weeks for pullets and 30 weeks for cockerels, it's time for final selections. Only the few, the proud and the chosen will be wintered over for the breeding pens of the next year. Anyhow, that's my method.

 

[normanack]

Thanks for showing them to us.

The pullet is very, very nice. I don't really have anything negative to say about her.  She's got it all going on.  

The cockerel, however, is another story.  The tint is common with Barred Rocks and is usually blamed on sun, corn feed, and other things.  My guess is that he'll "clear up" this winter.  

As to his type, I'd say he wouldn't hurt you, but you could do better with another male.  Granted, he's got a few months more to blossom, but, He's quite upright, very flat chested, and not deep enough, for my taste.  So, in short, if you could find a better male to use?  Do so.  That pullet is out of sight.  If that male is all you have?  Then move forward.  Hatch out a ton of chicks, cull like crazy and hopefully, you'll get a cockerel next summer that is better than his old man.  It happens often enough.  Then, put that better boy back over his mother.  You'd have something really, really good going.  

Or, let me bring you back a good cockerel next time I make a run.   ​

Thanks, Fred -- and I'm encouraged in that I thought the pullet was "nice and chunky" with a smooth, full silhouette while the cockerel was "scrawny" and shaped kind of like a skinny triangle. Not the right words, and not exactly a nuanced view, but I might be on the right track.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I think your description was perfect.

If you're serious about breeding that good lookin' pullet, you'll need a much better male. Don't know if you eat your chickens, but he'd be in the crockpot before the weekend here. LOL Hope you're not offended by the honesty.

Here's a good looking male I'll bring back on the next trip, perhaps.

 

[juzzk]

Does anyone else have a problem with there Plymouth rocks feathering out? Some have full feathers where as some have no feathers on there little bums or necks. They are about 10-12 weeks now

 

[Fred's Hens]

juzzk

I see you're in Australia? Most of the stock in OZ arrived from the US via crates. I know that E B Thompson shipped lots of birds around the world and to Australia, I do believe. Thus, I can see the familiar resemblance to our ringlet line of Thompson's birds here, even though separated for now a century.

Having said that, to answer your question, yes. If the breeders do not put reasonable pressure on the flocks for feathering, the males particularly will be slow in feathering. We've had BYC members report lack of good feathering on birds of 10 weeks of age. There is a risk, with these birds, it seems to me, and this is only my private view, that it is possible to keep breeding these birds slower, and slower, and slower and slower.

I will cull this cockerel tomorrow. He has poor feathering and large fuzzy bald areas. That is unacceptable to me.



He doesn't have "crook neck" or anything, he just decided to shake his head the moment I snapped the camera.

 

[juzzk]

Fred's hens,
Yes I'm from Australia,
Does that mean that they will eventually feather out, and also it is possible that the slower feathering ones are male?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Fred's hens,
Yes I'm from Australia,
Does that mean that they will eventually feather out, and also it is possible that the slower feathering ones are male?

Yes, males are slower because they have two barring genes while females only have one barring gene.

In your country, you have both light and dark varieties. We do not here in the US, so sexing purely by light and dark in Australia isn't the way to go.

However, males have brighter white bars than females.