How long do barred plymouth rocks live

Both cocks and hens have an upright carriage and are graceful, stylish birds. The hens are broody and good mothers. Breeders of Barred Rocks need to avoid underweight birds, small, narrow bodies, and high tails. Barred Rock Plymouth These quiet chickens lay large brown eggs and are a favorite of farmers and homesteaders who live on a small to moderate amount of acreage.

Although they are quiet, they are a very outgoing and friendly chicken breed and will enjoy interacting with their human caretakers. The best method for washing your eggs is to dry clean your eggs. To do this, use something dry and slightly abrasive to rub off any dirt or feces until the egg is clean. With this method, you do not use water or any sanitizer. Skip to content Miscellaneous. April 21, Joe Ford. Young female chickens less than 1 year old that have fully feathered out and are about the size of large pigeons are called pullets.

Expect your barred rock pullet to start laying eggs when she is about 16 to 20 weeks old. Once she begins laying, she should produce one egg every 25 hours — except during the cold, dark hours of winter when she may not lay at all -- until her first molt a year later.

Between the ages of 1 to 2 years, your barred rock hen is an "egg machine" -- producing a medium to large brown egg approximately every 25 hours. Egg production drops during the shortest winter days unless you provide artificial lighting. By her third year, while still laying healthy eggs, her production begins to decrease as she ages.

Because Barred Rock roosters have very large combs and wattles, they are prone to frostbite. These birds will need extra protection from the cold in the winter. I hang Sweeter Heaters in all my coops, and my chickens love it—yes, even the cold-hardy breeds! These heaters go a long way in preventing comb frostbite. Barred Rock chickens are a calm and adaptive breed. This means that they do tend to tolerate confinement fairly well. But because Barred Rocks are also an adventurous and inquisitive breed, you will need to make sure your chickens have some sort of stimulation in their living space.

Although your Barred Rocks can tolerate confinement, they will certainly appreciate all the space you can give them. These are chickens who were originally bred as barnyard fowl, meaning they were made to spend their days exploring and foraging. Barred Rock chickens do fairly well at evading predators, in comparison to many other breeds. Originally bred as country fowl, these birds are smart, alert, and cautious. Theoretically, the pattern should help to protect them from aerial predators, like hawks.

This coloring camouflages best in places with intermittent shading such as areas with trees. You can see in the photo here why that would be the case. Barred Rock chickens are docile, sweet, intelligent, and curious birds. They love to explore and they tend to have quirky personalities. Barred Rocks love attention, will follow you everywhere, and many insist on frequent handling.

Whenever I go out to my chicken yard to put out feed or do chores, my Barred Rock hens try to perch on my back or shoulders. And whenever I sit outside to visit with my chickens, I immediately have a lap full of Barred Rocks.

Here is a video of a man describing the Barred Plymouth Rock breed, but you can see just how docile the Barred Rock hen is. Barred Rocks are incredibly curious chickens. For example, my Barred Rocks were the first to perch on their electric brooder, the first to perch on their waterer, and the first to fly out of their brooder. Even as adult chickens, my Barred Rocks are incredibly curious, and, much to my chagrin, they range much further than my other breeds.

Although Barred Plymouth Rock roosters do not have a reputation for aggression, some individuals may be aggressive. Others will be sweet and docile like the hens. And because they are sweet and docile birds, Barred Rocks tend to be a very good breed for young children. Here you can see a video of young girls holding a very calm and tolerant Barred Rock hen. Barred Rock chickens tend to get along very well with each other, but they can be a bit pushy with other breeds.

Barred Rock chickens are no more or less noisy than your average chicken breed. Overall, they are calm and quiet, apart from the typical, soft chicken chatter.

Like most other breeds, they can be quite vocal when they have egg-laying on their brains. In this video, you can hear some other vocalizations your Barred Rock hen may make in the coop. Like roosters of all breeds, Barred Rock roosters frequently crow. Barred Rocks are tough chickens. You can expect yours to live at least as long as the average chicken at 5 to 8 years.

I think the change in forage upsets their stomachs initially, and they have running droppings until their digestive systems adjust.

I always end up needing to bathe the backsides of some of my hens. Barred Plymouth Rocks are used to make Sex Link hybrids. These are amazing chickens that lay more eggs than Barred Rocks, and the males look different from the females at birth.

I have the space and setup to handle roosters. However, in many urban and suburban areas, roosters are illegal. These birds are hardy, docile, and can lay eggs a year or more. If you love Barred Rocks, but you want birds that do even better in the cold, consider the Dominique. This is another dual-purpose American breed. These birds are smaller than Barred Rocks and have Rose Combs, which makes them less susceptible to frostbite.

Another similar breed is the Buff Orpington. These chickens are also dual-purpose birds, and they are typically even more docile than Barred Rocks. These chickens are such sweethearts and excellent egg layers. They come in many different plumage patterns and varieties. The Speckled Sussex is particularly popular and camouflages well. Dominique chickens: The all-American backyard birds.