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Barred Rock

Very tame nice breed that gives you big beautiful brown eggs. They aren't that loud and the...
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Average
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Brown
Breed Temperament
Kind, Skittish
Breed Colors/Varieties
Barred (black and white)
Breed Size
Large Fowl
APA/ABA Class
American
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Barred Rock Rooster​

The Plymouth Rock a.k.a. Barred Rock is a very popular duel-purpose American breed, known for their excellent laying ability, general hardiness, and calm good nature which makes them a good choice for small backyard flocks and homesteaders.

Chickens called "Plymouth Rocks" were shown as early as 1849, but that flock disappeared and later strains from several different breeders combined to form the foundation of today’s Plymouth Rock breed. Mr. D.A. Upham of Worcester, MA is credited as being one of the primary influences on the breed, he first exhibited his birds at the Worcester, MA poultry exhibition in 1869. His birds are generally acknowledged to be the ancestors of the breed we know today.

A number of different breeds are reputed to have gone into the formation of the Plymouth Rock, including Dominique, Brahma, Black Java and Cochin. The breed gained a great deal of popularity quickly and the Plymouth Rock became the most popular farm chicken in the United States up until WWII.

The original color of the breed was Barred and early in the breeds history the name "Plymouth Rock" implied a barred bird. Barred varieties remain the most popular color today. As more color varieties were developed, the name Plymouth Rock became the designation for the entire breed, which can now can be found in other colors including White, Buff, Partridge, Silver Penciled, Columbian and Blue.

The Barred Plymouth Rock was one of the breeds used as the foundation for the commercial broiler industry in the united States in the 1920's and the White Rock is still often used as the female side of the Cornish Rocks or Cornish Cross type commercial broiler cross.

They are single combed, quite winter hardy, and the hens are good layers of brown eggs. They are occasionally broody and make good setters and mothers.

The Plymouth Rock breed was recognized by the APA in 1874 and is on The Livestock Conservancy's Recovering list.

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Barred Rock chicks

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Barred Rock Juvenile (pullet)

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Barred Rock hen
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Latest reviews

BarredRock412
Pros: Great with kids, friendly, aware of predators, quiet.
Cons: Eats more than our two RIRs combined, often gets pecked on by others.
I love my barred rock. We bought her off craigslist from a breeder when she was about four months old. She's great with kids, loves being picked up and has never attacked, and absolutely LOVES people. Her feathers are extremely soft and she has a lot of fluff. She is very trusting and will fall asleep in my lap. The only time she is ever loud is if she sees a predator, she will squawk loudly and hide when she sees anything in the sky- airplanes, crows, literally anything. She doesn't even trust the family dog. She is a great layer but eats so much... it's shocking how much of a foodie she is. Since she is so docile, she is at the bottom of the pecking order and gets pecked on by the others. If you're looking for a family-friendly bird and great layer, I would highly recommend the barred rock.
Purchase Date
August 2020
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kbroom
kbroom
These Barred Rocks are so beautiful. I'd love to have those. I'm still in the decision stage. So far, I think I'll start out with just two babies. I'm still working on their coop. I have the actual core, but I must fence in underneath the back upstairs deck. It will be 20X20 X10. That should give them plenty of room. I was going to let them be free range, but after watching some videos, where a man said, "If you're going to be free range, just understand that you're going to have some dead chickens," I decided to keep them in a large cage. Their coop will be inside.
DesertGrrl
Pros: - Very gentle and calm birds.
- Makes cute sounds
- People friendly
Cons: - Don't do well in hot weather/climate.
- EATS A LOT OF FEED
My Barred Rock is totally awesome!
Does well with my other chick.
Very chill and laid back and loves sitting on my shoulder nicely.
She doesn't bite and is overall an amazing bird.
She will run up to me if I'm near the coop.

The Bad:
- My Barred Rock is very intolerant to hot weather (mostly black feathers is probably why) and will pant and have wings out (I live in the desert, but my Delaware does fine in this weather).
- Eats a lot of food almost non-stop.
They have a huge appetite for food.
Purchase Price
Free. Was a gift.
Purchase Date
Sept. 26, 2020
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RosiePosey
Pros: Great layer, easy keepers, larger sized.
Cons: Aggressive
We keep free-range chickens that just go in the coop at night so it's important to us to have a fairly protective rooster. Oreo is a fantastic protector of his ladies and treats them all well. He's fought off the neighbor's cat, a fox, and a hawk so far that we've seen. The downside to that is he sometimes thinks he needs to fight us off too! Somedays he's sweet and will eat out of your hand. The next day you round a corner or get out of the car and he's flapping up at you trying to get you with his spurs. The hens are aggressive with the other girls in our mixed flock too. The leghorns can hold their own but nobody else wants to be near them. They do lie a good sized egg consistently and for our purposes, they work. I probably wouldn't recommend this Roo for a more pet-type boy nor the hens for a mixed flock that is cooped as they may beat up the other girls.
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IslandRockFarm
IslandRockFarm
Same happens with us! They are great producers but they are mean hens. We had to move a couple hens to a different coop because they would bully, feather pluck, and wouldn't allow them to eat. This happened though after a mink attack where some hens died, and may have shifted the power dynamic.
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Sealizrus19
Sealizrus19
My hens are mean bullies too. Will probably never get more again...
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Comments

AWalker3
Update: The girls are now almost 1 year old and I couldn't be happier with them. They have grown into nice, well mannered young ladies. I lost one last fall, to an unidentified illness (i'm not going to pay a vet to autopsy an animal that isn't a family pet) They remaining four are reasonably quiet and are all great layers. I averaged 3 eggs per day throughout the winter. I did supplement lighting, not sure if it really made any difference.
 
nova022
I totally agree with you. I love my Barred Rock and have found no cons either. Pretty, friendly, great layers and so amusing to watch. You couldn't ask for a better breed.
 
Eva2012
I agree with you as well. I have 2 barred rock hens and they are friendly, excellent layers and very social chickens in my mixed flock.
 
ccrow
My two BOs and a Golden Comet are picking on my Barred Rock; poor girl looks like a worn-out feather duster.
 
vlselz
Hi there, I wanted to drop a hello I saw that you live in Colorado. I live in Colorado too (between Centennial and Aurora).
 
chooks4life
I've had a few girls who crowed, some who had spurs, and some who mated with other hens, and few of them had all these 'male' characteristics in the one bird. One hen I had, no spurs, no crow, no lesbianism, fought and beat 6 brothers one after the other after the other, in a row, and after she beat each boy the same thing happened: she jumped on them and mated with them, and along came the next brother to save his brother, only to get the same treatment, lol! Each rooster mated just like a hen does, you'd think they were used to it. Bizarre. I have noticed hens with spurs are grand layers, even in old age. Bizarre by common standards, but great. Good on you for not culling them out of hand as witches. Hahaha...
 
nova022
We named our BR Spike because he seemed so boyish when we first got him. He stood up tall, charged and chest butted the other chicks and really seemed to be the boss. We now get 6 eggs a week from a very pleasant easy going pullet who gets along with everyone, but we still call her Spike.
 
cwcochran1961
I now have two barred rocks, had three but a hawk got one. They are the sweetest, most docile and tame birds I have. I want more. They are very good layers as well. Love them!
 
MerkySky
I got rid of all 4 of mine they were mean. Still a bit young and in a rabbit pen but would come at me every time I went to feed um. They now are free range just got my 2 movable coop done they might have been better in that. Might have given them away a little to fast but my daughter took them so I feel good about that.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
dylan729
Views
209,680
Watchers
56
Comments
403
Reviews
235
Last update
Rating
4.26 star(s) 244 ratings

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