The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[Fred's Hens]

Back to breeding Rocks.


I notice that some beginners sometimes are kind of surprised there is such a thing as "breeding season". They've never really considered this or thought about this.

How many of you will have your breeding and thus the hatching pretty well wrapped up by say, May 15th? If so, why do you breed in late winter? Why do you breed in spring? When do you wrap it up and why?

 

[aoxa]

Back to breeding Rocks.


I notice that some beginners sometimes are kind of surprised there is such a thing as "breeding season". They've never really considered this or thought about this.

How many of you will have your breeding and thus the hatching pretty well wrapped up by say, May 15th? If so, why do you breed in late winter? Why do you breed in spring? When do you wrap it up and why?

Fred, my last hatch is May 28th. Breeding season will be done for me May 7th. I will be letting them out to range at that time. The reason I choose breeding season this time of year is because A) they are penned up anyway because of the inclement weather. B) I can have enough young girls to keep me in eggs through next winter and C) because that is when people are looking to buy chicks and hatching eggs.

 

[Silver Rock]

Back to breeding Rocks.

I notice that some beginners sometimes are kind of surprised there is such a thing as "breeding season". They've never really considered this or thought about this.
How many of you will have your breeding and thus the hatching pretty well wrapped up by say, May 15th? If so, why do you breed in late winter? Why do you breed in spring? When do you wrap it up and why?

Hi Fred, this year I will just grow out my two lines of Silver Penciled Plymouth Rocks and decide which ones will be used to move forward with come next Spring. I very much want to get started in hatching eggs off my Silver Penciled Plymouth Rocks but I have decided to stick to my guns and wait until all my pullets are adult hens as this is the advice that has be given to me from Bob Blosl and other very knowledgeable poultry breeders. Come next Spring I plan to fire up my incubators in February so that all my Silver Penciled Plymouth Rock hatching can be done in the month of March. I like to get my chicks on the ground in March as with the cool temperatures of early Spring the chicks grow out much healthier in my opinion. I also like March hatching as come April the grass runs are nice and green with fresh grass and bugs for the chicks to forage around on. One more thing I like about March hatching is the chicks have 9 months of growing out before the Tennessee Valley Poultry Show "The Dixie Classic" in Knoxville, TN. a show that I plan to start attending each December. Clayton Grace "Silver Rock"

 

[BGMatt]

Back to breeding Rocks.

I notice that some beginners sometimes are kind of surprised there is such a thing as "breeding season". They've never really considered this or thought about this.
How many of you will have your breeding and thus the hatching pretty well wrapped up by say, May 15th? If so, why do you breed in late winter? Why do you breed in spring? When do you wrap it up and why?

I prefer to hatch large fowl for personal use in Jan-Feb, March at the latest. Reason for this schedule is my show season starts in October and anything hatched after that might not be ready. It also guarantees that they will be fully mature and ready for breeding season the following year. It also typically lets me hatch my quota early, and then I will still have chicks and juveniles to sell for those that want them before spring is over. Our winters are typically very damp, and can be very hard on immature fowl so the older they are by the time that stuff hits the better I'm making an exception this year since it's my first breeding season back and I got a late start this past year.

 

[uphilljill]

Climate is the big factor here. Ideally I should have my culls proceesed and winter coops set by December before the worst of the freezing temps and snow. But because I also have turkeys Thankgiving is the goal. I just started hatching last year, and found our May 5th hatch date too late to allow growing time (for both HBRs & heritage turkeys) for Thanksgiving processing. Spring thaw isn't likely until April , so I'm looking at March/April hatching this year.

 

[aoxa]

I prefer to hatch large fowl for personal use in Jan-Feb, March at the latest. Reason for this schedule is my show season starts in October and anything hatched after that might not be ready. It also guarantees that they will be fully mature and ready for breeding season the following year. It also typically lets me hatch my quota early, and then I will still have chicks and juveniles to sell for those that want them before spring is over. Our winters are typically very damp, and can be very hard on immature fowl so the older they are by the time that stuff hits the better

I'm making an exception this year since it's my first breeding season back and I got a late start this past year.

That's a good reason

It's very damp here in April. Really, really wet. Our property sits low, so when the snow melts it takes a long time for it to drain properly.


This is mid-May last year. Snow was completely gone late April.

Last year we didn't get half the snow we have had this year.


I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this again.

I just counted 5 pullet SPPR in this picture. The hawk must have got a good number of them. I only have 3 left. Didn't even realize I had more...

 

[Wynette]

While I can't say I'm a fan of hatching early in the year (the winters here can be brutal...this one ranks pretty high on the "brutal" scale), once the chicks are 4-6 weeks old, I'm always - ALWAYS happy I hatched them off early. The shows I typically plan to attend are fall shows; thus, the birds can be shown the same year if I hatch early enough. Mine spend most of their time indoors early in the year anyway.

 

[aoxa]

While I can't say I'm a fan of hatching early in the year (the winters here can be brutal...this one ranks pretty high on the "brutal" scale), once the chicks are 4-6 weeks old, I'm always - ALWAYS happy I hatched them off early. The shows I typically plan to attend are fall shows; thus, the birds can be shown the same year if I hatch early enough. Mine spend most of their time indoors early in the year anyway.

Well broodies would be good to use for us up north.. Except for one thing.. Keeping the water unfrozen, without it being too deep where the chicks could drown.

Last year had a broody hatch her chicks at -40. That was the only issue that time of year.. keeping water liquid. The chicks did spend a whole lot of time under mama, but they did just fine.

I have my chicks in the house right now. I have a very big basement that we don't use for anything else. I can harden them off down there too. Did it last year. They were out in the unheated baby barn at 7 weeks old on February 26th I think it was...

 

[Silver Rock]

Todays temperature high was only in the upper 20's but it didn't seem to bother my Horstman line Silver Penciled Plymouth Rocks.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Todays temperature high was only in the upper 20's but it didn't seem to bother my Horstman line Silver Penciled Plymouth Rocks.

Beautiful!