The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[schipperkemom]

We seem to have good width, carried well back into the tail. They are definitely not Wyandottes! Thanks for your help.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Sad thing is she has had lights on her (along with the others)since the weekend following Thanksgiving....NO EXCUSE!! I think she has definitely proven herself to be in the classification of "poor layer"

Do you have other second year layers? In other words, is she being an exception?

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Do you have other second year layers? In other words, is she being an exception?

Fred

I have her and 3 others. The other 3 (all 1/2 sisters to the one in question) are laying right along. Kinda weird

 

[Silver Rock]

A couple pictures I look over and study often in hopes of achieving my Silver Penciled Plymouth Rock breeding goals.

Clayton Grace "Silver Rock"

 

[desertmarcy]

For myself, I decided I needed to put lights on my pullets and hens. Many of them, especially the hens hatched over a year ago, (and I am speaking of multiple breeds, not just Rocks), went through their fall molt and had slowed laying considerably at that time, and never picked back up again. Add to that, they don't lay well in our summer heat (which extends into fall), so compared to other, more mild summer climates, they have had a very significant break in laying by the time winter rolls around. Trying to hatch in the winter here, so the birds get some size to them before the heat starts in May....I feel like I am already a month behind, should have set eggs to hatch this month, but looks like it will be February before I even set any eggs. I am trying not to repeat last year when I hatched from two different Barred Rock cockerels. By the time the pullets started laying, hatched enough eggs from the first male, then waited for those eggs to be infertile (took 3 weeks) before switching males...well my eggs from cockerel #2 were hatched in mid-June, and I am still growing them out to pick just 2! I have 14 left, they are squabbling, and this weekend or Monday I will likely dispatch at least half of them. Now since putting lights on the pullets, those hatched in mid-June are laying whereas I know they would not without the lights, until late February and I don't like to hatch the small pullet eggs.

 

[desertmarcy]

Here are photos I took yesterday of my Buff Rocks. I have two pair.

Cockerel #76, the better of the two, I think. To my eye, his back his more level, no cushion like the other one has; his back is a little longer; he has more breast (hard to see in these photos) and a deeper buff color. He also weighs about 1/2 pound more than the other, at 8 lbs right now. These are brothers to the ones Maryhysong has and posted photos of earlier. I would like to hear if others
have the same assessment of these two. I went ahead and separated the males and put the two pullets in with #76 yesterday.








Here is my back up, cockerel #89:

 

[Fred's Hens]

Dear Rock Breeders and prospective Rock owners,

This week, east of the Rockies, has been just awful. If you don't want to know, then PLEASE, do not look at next week's forecast either.

This isn't going to be a bumper crop year unless we "go late" into June and we've never had much success at that. The summer heat makes for small juvies, we've always felt. Plus the early summer heat and humidity makes quality hatching really difficult.

So, if you're following this thread and have decided some of these outstanding Rocks are for you, then I'd urge you to realize that you need to make contact with the breeders here ASAP. Please be patient. Things just are not going to happen as fast for most of us this year as compared to previous years. Nature knows and the birds are responding. Nothing inside of them says this is a great time to mate, be fertile, lay eggs and raise young.
Mostly, we've just got a bunch of Angry Birds on our hands.

Things will turn around when and if this entrenched weather pattern changes, but it's going to be awhile. We may have to adjust our goals a bit. It'll be OK and somebody needs to print a bunch of sweatshirts that say; "I survived the Winter of 2014"

 

[desertmarcy]

Here are photos of my two Buff Rock pullets. I would like to see more size on them. #74 weighed 5 lb 13.5 oz, whereas #73 only weighed 4 lb 14.5 oz. I am hoping now that I have them separated from my Barred Rock pullets, they will pick up a bit. They are about the same age as those Barred, but they were not raised together from hatch and have never integrated. I think the Barred Rocks were the ones picking their saddle feathers. #74 has less of a cushion and more size. Both of them have more fluff than I'd like to see. Both have decent color and nice wide open tails.

Pullet #73:









Pullet #74:

 

[DMRippy]

Dear Rock Breeders and prospective Rock owners,

This week, east of the Rockies, has been just awful. If you don't want to know, then PLEASE, do not look at next week's forecast either.

This isn't going to be a bumper crop year unless we "go late" into June and we've never had much success at that. The summer heat makes for small juvies, we've always felt. Plus the early summer heat and humidity makes quality hatching really difficult.

So, if you're following this thread and have decided some of these outstanding Rocks are for you, then I'd urge you to realize that you need to make contact with the breeders here ASAP. Please be patient. Things just are not going to happen as fast for most of us this year as compared to previous years. Nature knows and the birds are responding. Nothing inside of them says this is a great time to mate, be fertile, lay eggs and raise young.
Mostly, we've just got a bunch of Angry Birds on our hands.

Things will turn around when and if this entrenched weather pattern changes, but it's going to be awhile. We may have to adjust our goals a bit. It'll be OK and somebody needs to print a bunch of sweatshirts that say; "I survived the Winter of 2014"

The jet stream is moving NORTH next week YEAH... now if it will just STAY north I will be fine...... if they would start giving me eggs I can work with.

 

[Silver Rock]

I spent most of the day cleaning chicken houses and laying down new straw. The Horstman cockerel really enjoyed making a mess of the new straw I just put down.