The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[Silver Rock]

Update on the Silver Penciled Plymouth Rock chicks I have hatched out this Spring. I should have more chicks come June 15 also.

The 4 chicks that hatched out on April 18 "1 cockerel & 3 pullets" are all doing great.

The 15 chicks that hatched out on May 12 "looks to be 4 cockerels & 11 pullets" are all doing great also.

 

[Fred's Hens]

With deepest apologies to Scott, this my Yard Full Of Rocks.

 

[Kinmera]

Those are some nice looming birds fred

 

[racertomtom]

Ok this here are some better (I think) pictures of the Rooster that threw blue



Side View

Up close to the comb --- He got some frost bite so I'm not sure how much that affected his show ability


An attempt to get a shot of his chest - He wasn't cooperating very well.

For Reference he stands about 30" tall

If I can make a request, we prefer folks learn and use proper poultry terminology in this section. For example cockerel/pullet is under one year old and cock/hen is over. It makes a big difference whether or not a bird has gone through its first molt and I personally will give it different considerations. When you said only 2 of your 6 girls were laying, I hope you meant, your 2 pullets were laying and your 4 hens were not. If that’s not the case you might want to look into that.

Considering this cock bird was once somebody’s cull, I think he’s a pretty good start. I like his broad back all the way to the tail in the last picture. Overall he’s got pretty good type. Some things I don’t like are his wing carriage looks a bit low, it should point at the vent, he could use a little more chest but most whites could, and he has too many points on his comb, should be 5. Keep in mind combs are dead last in my book as far as improvements go.

I would look to pair him up with a female with a proper wing carriage or a little too high, if she had a big breast that would be a plus as would 4 or 5 comb points. I’d work on wings first and if I can’t find a bird with all the things I need, I will often find it on two different females and put both in the breeding pen. The bird looks like he came from some pretty good blood lines and if you hatch enough chicks you’ll probably get some good ones.

 

[racertomtom]

With deepest apologies to Scott, this my Yard Full Of Rocks.

Looking good Fred! Man I wish I had a yard full of rocks!.............course, my yard's pretty big..............and the cost of feed.............

 

[racertomtom]

I’m going to be much more cautious about commenting on birds on the forums in the future. Today at work I was looking at pictures, when I got home and looked, I swear I was looking at a different bird. So I got my phone out and eventually figured out how to get on the web and dang if there wasn’t an in between bird on there! Add my failing eye sight to that and…

. If I get something wrong go ahead and tell me which screen I should be looking at.

 

[Fred's Hens]

This K intriques me. He is a 75 bird, but his barring is more a throw back to the 50-50 birds in that he is light colored. What intrigues me is his sheer size. He feathered in very quickly, (good thing) and had size right out of the shell. He dwarfs the other K's of his age. Note that P next to him.



Here he is with his head in the feeder. No surprise.

I know I want to see him grow up and Be-All-That-He-Can-Be. While his sire was a very stout male, (my avatar) this guy is something else. I'm wondering how long it will take for the other K's to catch him. He wins the "most interesting" bird of the 2014 hatch. hmmmmmm….

 

[Fred's Hens]

Since the Plymouth Rock was a staple breed, widely held, it only makes sense that it should appear in candid photos from the pre-WWII era and before the dawn of the modern commercial industry.

I like looking at photos from long ago, as much as a century ago and studying the birds "back then". No color photography invented yet, which matters little in looking at the Rocks anyhow.

.

 

[Fentress]

They look very stocky and well built to me, with strong wide heads as well. I like the old information/photos too The history of these birds and how they were used is one the motivations for me to be a breeder.

 

[LindaB220]

Since the Plymouth Rock was a staple breed, widely held, it only makes sense that it should appear in candid photos from the pre-WWII era and before the dawn of the modern commercial industry.

I like looking at photos from long ago, as much as a century ago and studying the birds "back then". No color photography invented yet, which matters little in looking at the Rocks anyhow.

.

Love this old photo. Look at their bodies. Wow.