Amrock? Plymouth Rock?

[DaphneNL]

So I noticed no one talks about Amrocks on this messageboard. On Dutch websites one can read Amrocks are the sturdier version of the Plymouth Rock which are more of a show bird. Both are American breeds according to the information. So it's surprising me no American here seems to own them. I bought some Amrock eggs last year and hatched them in my incubator leaving me with one beautiful but very feisty hen. I never had a chicken like her. Can anyone tell me more about the breed from an American perspective?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'd never heard of Amrocks, so I did a little reading. Apparently after WWII there were not a lot of uneaten chickens in parts of Europe that could breed and make more so a bunch of American chickens were shipped to fill the gap. A lot of utility Barred Rocks were shipped, probably others too.

Breed is often a misunderstood thing. There is nothing natural about breed, all breeds are man-made. A short version of history is that man learned how to domesticate chickens and through selective breeding develop certain traits like good egg laying or maybe a good meat bird. Some like Silkies or Polish were developed to be cute. While similar colors or patterns may have been developed in certain areas and given names these were not breeds but a type. The goal was productivity.

But eventually, possibly over a few pints in the pub but more likely over cognac after some Lord's dinner, people decided to find out who bred the best chickens. They would hold a contest. But the person judging needed some guidelines to judge by. So they wrote what became the Standard of Perfection (SOP). Thus was a breed born. These developed into national organizations that today host big shows. These guidelines include things like size, color, pattern, configuration, eye color, maybe the way they hold their tail or even for some the color of the bottom of their feet. Only those that met these standards are considered true representatives of that breed.

This still left a lot of chickens that were called that breed name but were not perfect according to the SOP. A lot of people bred these others more for utility than according to the SOP. Egg laying ability may have been more important than eye color. But they still go by the same name. That pretty much describes our "hatchery" birds too. They do not meet breed standards but are more utilitarian versions.

Another thing. There are no internationally recognized SOP's. Each country comes up with their own. Sometimes countries share, Australia has adopted at least some of the British versions. I don't know what version of the Barred Rock the Netherlands have accepted , if any. The American version is different to the British version. There may be other versions scattered throughout Europe. Some may even have developed an SOP for an Amrock, I don't know. The Americans have not.

Since the utilitarian version of the Barred Rocks did not meet the requirements of anyone's version of Barred Rock, they were given the name Amrock and it stuck. I suspect it is more of a marketing name than a breed name.

 

[DaphneNL]

Ah thank you! That explains a lot.

 

[Dinosauer]

In Germany the Amrock were accepted in 1957. Orinally they split from the Plymouth rocks. When they came to Germany after WW2 the german breeder did a bit of work into them and now they rank under the TOP 10 most raised chicken breeds largefowl in Germany. They seem to be perfect birds for dual Purpose. A lot of egg even in winter and good Quality meat. I summerised my gathered Information in a short review Video in Youtube. Would be happy if you give it a try - Even though my german english is bad...