Wednesday, February 27, 2013

[CHICKENS-101] Re: Rocks

 

Hi Dr Doug. After being in the fancy for a number of years you soon learn who is knowledgeable and who isn't. You also learn who does their home work and who doesn't. ALL Rocks are Plymouth Rocks regardless of color. Plymouth Rock is the breed name and they come in many recognized colors. A Barred Plymouth Rock is as pure as a Sliver Penciled Plymouth Rock as is a Buff Plymouth Rock.

You will encounter those people who state flatly that a Red Rock is a purebred Plymouth Rock and they don't have a clue of what they are talking about. A Red Rock, or a Cornish- Rock, are hybrid crosses bred for eggs or meat production and are not purebreds.

There are commercially produced Plymouth Rocks sold by hatcheries that are every bit as pure as show bred Plymouth Rocks except that they have the disadvantage as far as poor shape and type which make them look horrible beside a show bred specimen. Often commercially selected Plymouth Rocks are bred and selected to be multi purpose birds for the production of meat and eggs. You will run into the occasional hatchery that has done such a poor job of selecting their next generation breeders that they do not in many ways resemble the breed. Many of these strains have lost their ability to brood and most cannot survive for long outside of a chicken house or an enclosed pen. Some will walk off and get lost or just sit down waiting for something to come along and carry them off.

For reasonably priced and healthy Barred Rocks I would order from Schlect Hatchery. They also produce some of the largest Barred Rock hens I have seen that were produced from hatchery selected stock.
http://www.schlechthatchery.com/chickens.htm

For those who wish to have both production and Exhibition type birds that have everything intact; I have seen many examples where fanciers have blended Show bred males and high production females and gotten the best from both sides of the family tree. Dean
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"drooney57" wrote:
So I was thinking of getting some Plymouth Rocks and some Rhode Island Reds, my local supplier said he can get Barred Rocks but not Plymouth Rocks, anyone have any input, I mean they look the same, but any first hand experience?
thanks
~Dr.Doug

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