Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to let everyone know how great Barred Plymouth Rocks are. They are very docile and easy for kids to raise. They have a wonderfull pattern in their feathers and are very gentle. They lay brown eggs which demand higher prices and put on alot of meat.
If you have any comments please say so bellow.

Hi, it is me again,
If anyone has tips on raising Barred Plymouth Rocks, please let me know. I know alot but there is always something new. If you have any questions do ask me. I'll try to answer them.
I know of several superb books.
1. Raising poultry succesfully. By Will Graves
2. Backyard Poultry raising,the chicken growing, egg laying... By John F. Adams
3. Raising chickens succesfully. By Gail Damerow

I have some questions, Joshua. On average, how many eggs do you get from each hen per year? How many birds in your flock? What kind of housing do you keep them in, how much space per bird, do they get outside, etc? Have you ever kept other breeds, such as Rhode Island Reds, Golden Sex Links, Buff Orpingtons, and if so, how do the Barred Rocks compare in terms of egg production and temperament? THanks for any info you can give.

I have 2 hens that I am not sure of. They may be the barred rock or a Dominique. As a chick they were gray with a white spot on the head and a white tip on the wing. Now they are 6 weeks old and very friendly and calm. They look plump and their color looks darker then I see in the picture. All their feathers are barred and they have a shadow on the front of their legs. Dominique?
Two others I don't have a clue. As chicks they were grey puffs. Now at 6 weeks their heads are white and black streaked, mostly white. The rest of their feathers are motled, gray and white randomly spaced. They are smaller then the others and a little skiddish. Any ideas? Thanks

Joshua....Hi. I just added a message in another area but maybe I'll give you a try. I have six Barred Rock chicks which are two weeks old. All of them have spots on their heads. Does this mean they are all males. If not, can you tell me other ways of knowing.Thanks....Belle

Dominiques are some of the parent stock for the Barred Plymouth Rock. There is no mistaking the two, as the Dominique is not only rare, but it is a "heritage type" bird with less body mass and a more gamey appearance than an Plymouth Rock. The Dom has a rose comb--the Rock a single comb. For many years, any barred or cuckoo pattern chicken was sold by the hatcheries as "domineckers" or "dommers" causing many to think they had purchased Dominiques, when, in fact they were buying any number of Dominique and Barred Rock crossbreds. The big advantage of this barred mutt, was that it had the same color pattern on its back as the Cooper's Hawk, one of the common chicken hawks, and thus was picked on less than a white or brown chicken by predators.

Barred rocks are a slower growing/feathering bird especiaaly in the tail.I have found it best to achieve maximum size/growth to start them out as early as possible like jan/feband put them on a high protein diet like turkey starter/grower for the first 6 to 8 months.this also gives you an advantage to show them at the fall shows.they are considered a rare breed.are a docile bird,lay a nice med to large brown egg.The number of eggs you get from them depends on a number of factors.!st the amount of light received in a day?the type of feed they are recieving.they will lay better on a layer rartion than they will on just plain corn or scratch grain!The number of birds you are keeping and how much space is provided for each bird.things like that.

I'm still a little confused on the barred rocks, types and sex. Bought four yesterday I'd say at about 14 to 17 days old. Two were stated to be barred rocks. They are black, two rows of wing feathers, and a little white spote on their head. The other two I was told were white rocks with a cornish mix or so. Not really sure what they meant but pretty chicks regardless and it sounded like a good mix with the two barred rocks. Haven't seen anything saying anything about a white rock so I'm sure the guy didn't know what he was talking about when he named their type, any ideas? They are primarily white, one has a black head the other a white head with a little yellow. My barred rocks look identical so I'm hoping based on what I read on another post that they are both females. The whites I didn't have a clue based on what I was checking so I got two different ones in guessing. They both have two rows of features so that check didn't tell me anything. They are both spotted white and black but the one with the black head is blacker and more unilateral in its markings. The white chicks are also bigger than my blacks. Any ideas or information would be helpful.

I get about 1 egg a day from my Barred Plymouth Rocks,
sometimes 2. They are a nice brown and sell for about
20 cents each(in Hawaii). I raise them in a 6 by 5 foot
fenced in area. The top is covered so wild Jungle Fowl
can't fly in because I don't want fertile eggs. The
chickens have a sturdy lean to shelter and several
nests. The chickens made their own nests of neat
bundles of grass. I have never raised any other type of
chickens. I want to purchase some Rhode Island Reds.
Any tips on raising Barred Rocks would be greatly
apreciated.

If anyone is looking for a great breed for kids, Barred Rocks are great. They are very docile and don't like to fly much (as opposed to Leghorns). They get very large so you can use them for meat. I found out that the females can be 7-8 lbs. The males become even larger. The hackles of the males can be used as fly-fishing lures.

Does anyone know any good websites on raising chickens? I found quiet alought but would like to know more. I found an interesting site where you can order chicks (and ducks, geese, turkeys, etc.). You can also recuest a free catalog.Thanks for any info!!!

Did you know that there are hardly any more pure breds left? Almost everyone is interested in hybreds and many are mixing the different breeds together for more production of eggs and meat. I am reserching this and will let you know more later.

I found an interesting site. Here it is: Http://www.cyborganic.net/People/feathersite/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.
It gives info on different breeds.I also found another site: www.mcmurryhatchery.com

Here are some great sites
www.poltryconnection.com/
www.belthatch.com/
www.metzerfarms.com/
www.oakwoodgame

A couple of points regarding Plymouth Rocks ..
1. You CAN NOT tell the sex of any Plymouth Rocks based upon the color of day-old chicks.
2. Plymouth Rocks come in several standard colors, including white, buff, barred (black & white banding) and partridge.
3. All day old chicks that will develop the distinctive black and white barring feather pattern (Barred) will have a white/yellow spot on the top of their head. This is true for mutts and crossbred poultry as well as purebred.
4. Young BARRED rocks can sometimes be sexed based upon wing feathering and color. At 5-10 days the males will usually, but not always, have more and longer wing feathers than the females. At 3-4 weeks old, the males will usually, but not always, appear a bit more "gray" overall and the females MAY appear more dark.

Plymouth Rocks are probably the best overall dual purpose breed of standard chickens. Give them 4 square feet per bird AT LEAST and they will do well. Keep raising them and good luck!

Markl

I get such a kick out of my hens. They are just like pets. They wait at the door for me and peek in. My barred rock are so friendly I can pick them up easily and let them sit on my shoulder. My Americaunas are so pretty, one is dark brown like a mink coat. All shades of brown and blue green tail feathers. The other is a orangey brown. My other two hens look like Hamburgs, from the pictures I've seen. They are shy and march to a different drummer. Anyway I just thought I'd mention how I really enjoy my girls. Even in the city life can be down home.

I too am new to the world of raising chickens. Recently I "rescued" a variety of chickens - mostly roosters it appears. They are different ages and in all are 2 black ones, 6 reds, 3 red/colored, and 4 barred rocks. Their personalities are beginning to show and I'm as tickled as I can be. A few questions to those in the know. We've built a lovely house for them, we live in the country and so I like for them to free range as much as possible, although one of my dogs already did the deed. We're in the training process - I'm hopeful. My main question is, if we keep just one rooster (and slaughter the rest), how would we keep some eggs for hatching, some for eating, and what about one rooster for different breeds? If we keep just a barred rock rooster, what will happen to the reds?

Hello American CHicken lovers - What a great site! In answer to this problem of sexing barred Rocks It can be done if you examine the spot on the head. Barring is sex-linked genetically there being a double dose in the male and a single dose in the female. The light patch on the head is the key to sex. On the female it should be small and well defined, while on the male it spread over the whole head without pattern. When you cross a barred rock with another breed it becomes even easier to detect and many commercial breeders use this fact to their advantage as it saves rearing huge numbers of useless! males. I love my barred rocks just like you. MIne are the Canadian origin ones I think, but they are great birds. Malcolm Garrett, New Zealand.

I have something I was wondering about. Will Barred Rock hens set on eggs or would I need to use and incubator?

Joshua

I need help about Barred Rocks, I was wondering if they are good layer, setters and mothers.

Thanks

They may set in the spring and I hear that they are pretty good layers.They are a good all around bird. If you get straight run chicks the excess males are good for eating when they're young. Rocks have been used to create production breeds like the ISA-brown, and other sex-links and I think you will be pleased with these gentle birds.