Skip to main content

Plymouth Rock Chicken

Image
By

Plymouth Rock chicken is a dual purpose breed suitable for both meat and eggs production. It was originated in the United States. This breed is also known as some other name such as Rocks or Barred Rocks. It comes with a variety of colors and the birds are cold hardy and a great breed for small farm or for raising in backyard. The Plymouth Rock was developed in New England in the middle of the 19th century and was first exhibited as a breed in 1849. Most of the farmers raise them as a dual purpose breed and they are valued for both of their meat and egg laying ability.

The first Plymouth Rock chicken was barred and other varieties were developed later. This breed is very popular in the United States and some other countries. The main reason of it's popularity is it's qualities. Plymouth Rock is an outstanding farm chicken breed which is popular for their hardiness, broodiness, docility and excellent production of both meat and eggs. Most of the varieties of Plymouth Rock chicken were developed from crosses containing some of the same ancestral background as the barred variety.

Early in the development of this breed, the name Plymouth Rock implied a barred bird. But as more varieties were developed, it become the designation for the breed. During the 1920s, the Barred Plymouth Rock was one of the foundation breeds for the broiler industry. The Barred Plymouth Rock is also raised for genetic hackle used extensively as a material in artificial fly construction. Review full breed information of Plymouth Rock chicken.

Characteristics

Plymouth Rock chickens are hardy, long-lived and larger sized breed. Some of the varieties of this breed are mainly raised for meat and some of the varieties are good layers. They have a moderately deep full breast and they possess a long broad back. Their legs and skin color is yellow. No feathers in their legs. The hens have a deep, full abdomen and it is a sign of good layer.

Plymouth Rock chickens have bay-colored eyes, their face is red with red ear lobes and have a bright yellow beak. They have single comb and the size of the comb is moderate. Their feathers are short and fairly loosely held but not so long as to easily tangle. Like the baby chick's feathers, Plymouth Rock chicken's bottom feathers are soft and downy.

This chicken breed comes with a variety of colors. Such as barred, buff, blue, black, columbian, partridge, silver penciled, white, light barred, dark barred etc. Egg production vary depending on the strains of the bird. But on an average, hens lay about 4 eggs per week.

plymouth rock chicken, plymouth rock chickens, plymouth rock chicken temperamant, plymouth rock chicken characteristics, plymouth rock chicken facts, plymouth rock chicken egg production, plymouth rock chicken history, rock chicken, barred rock chicken

Size

Plymouth rocks are classified as a large or heavy chicken breed. On an average, a mature male Plymouth Rock chicken weight up to 8 lbs and a hen weight about 7.5 lbs.

Color Varieties

The Plymouth Rock chicken come in a wide color varieties. Some common color varieties are:

Barred Plymouth Rock Chicken: The Barred Plymouth rocks have a distinctive black and white stripes that look like bars (which is where it gets its name).

Blue Plymouth Rock Chicken: The Blue Plymouth rocks have a unique blue-gray color that gives it a distinctive look.

Buff Plymouth Rock Chicken: The Buff variety of Plymouth rock has a solid and soft buff color all over.

Black Plymouth Rock Chicken: As the name suggests, the Black Plymouth rocks are beautiful chickens with solid black feathers.

White Plymouth Rock Chicken: Like the black variety, the white Plymouth rocks are also very beautiful birds with pure white feathers.

Partridge Plymouth Rock Chicken: Partridge Plymouth Rock variety is a unique breed with a beautiful pattern of reddish-brown and black feathers. These color patterns look like a partridge, hence the name.

Silver Penciled Plymouth Rock Chicken: The Silver Penciled Plymouth Rock variety has silver feathers with fine black lines, giving it a penciled appearance.

Dietary Requirements

Like many other domestic chicken breeds, feeding the Plymouth Rock chicken with very good quality and nutritious food is very important for their good growth, health and production. Always try to provide them with high quality and nutritious chicken feed that includes a balance of grains, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

You can feed them commercially prepared layer chicken feed, which is specially made for laying hens. Also provide them with some fresh fruits and vegetables occasionally as treats. And always try to provide them enough clean and fresh drinking water as per their demand.

Housing Requirements

Arrange a safe and comfortable housing environment for your chickens to keep them safe, healthy and happy. Ensure availability of enough space inside the house depending upon the number of birds in your farm. Try to provide at least 2-3 square feet housing space per bird. Install good ventilation system inside the house to keep the air fresh and dry.

Keep enough nesting boxes inside the house for laying eggs depending upon the number of hens in your farm. Keep adequate number of waters and feeders inside the house. You can add bedding like straw or wood shavings to keep the house clean and comfortable for the chickens.

Caring

The Plymouth Rock is a very strong and hardy chicken breed, and they generally require less caring and other management. Although, taking additional caring will help the birds to stay healthy and productive. Provide them nutritious food and fresh water. Make their housing system clean, dry and comfortable for them. Vaccinate them timely and perform regular health check-ups. Consult with a vet as soon as possible if you notice anything uncommon.

Lifespan

Average lifespan of the Plymouth Rock chicken is between 5 to 10 years.

Price

Plymouth Rock chicken price depends on numerous factors and can vary from place to place. Generally, you can expect the price of a young chick between $3 and $6. But the price of adult birds is much higher, ranging from $20 to $40. Please contact your local suppliers to know more about the current price.

Uses

The Plymouth Rock is a dual-purpose chicken breed. It is used for both meat and eggs production purposes.

Behavior/Temperament

Both Plymouth Rock roosters and hens are calm and they will live happily with people and other animals such as pets. They are docile and friendly in nature and usually do well even when confined. But they will be happier if they can roam freely on pasture or in a garden. Plymouth Rock hens will seldom go broody in the right environment and they are good mothers.

Breed NamePlymouth Rock
Other NameRocks, Barred Rocks
Breed PurposeDual Purpose
Breed TemperamentBears Confinement Well, Calm, Docile, Easily Handled, Friendly
Breed SizeHeavy (7-8 lbs)
BroodinessSeldom
CombSingle Comb
Climate ToleranceAll Climates (very cold hardy)
Egg ColorLight Brown
Egg SizeLarge
Egg ProductivityDepends on the strains of the birds (on an average, about 4 eggs per week)
Feathered LegsNo
RarityBarred Rocks and White Rocks are common. All other varieties are rare.
VarietiesBarred, buff, blue, black, columbian, partridge, silver penciled, white, light barred, dark barred etc.

Pros/Advantages

  1. Beautiful
  2. Friendly
  3. Hardy (very cold tolerant)
  4. Good layer
  5. Good for meat production
  6. Do well confined
  7. Protective (generally cautious of predators)
  8. Curious
  9. Great as pets
  10. Hens seldom go broody and are good mothers

Cons/Disadvantages

  1. Can be bullies sometimes
  2. Some have trouble with very hot weather
  3. Can be stubborn sometimes

Is Plymouth Rock Chicken Good For You?

Plymouth Rock chicken will be good for you if you.......

  1. Want to raise dual purpose chickens for both meat and egg production.
  2. Want to keep some cold hardy birds.
  3. Want to raise some friendly and beautiful chickens as pets.
  4. Are interested in large size chickens.
  5. Want to produce light brown colored and large eggs.
  6. Looking for fast growing chicken breeds.
  7. Are willing to raise some beautiful birds in your backyard.
  8. Have a small farm.
  9. Have small children and want a friendly and docile breed.
  10. Live somewhere with cold winters.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Murray Grey Cattle

By
The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sorting Cattle

By
Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

By
Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...
Post a Comment
Read more

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

By
Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cleaning A Cow

By
Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Agerolese Cattle Farming

By
Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

By
Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...
Post a Comment
Read more