The Buyer's Guide to Barred Rock Chickens includes Breed Profile, Facts, Size, Weight, and Lifespan.
One of the most popular breeds is the Barred Rock chickens.
Our ancestors raised them as a dual purpose bird with a combination of some of the best farm chicken qualities.
Facts about Barred Rock chickens, recommendations for reliable breeders and hatcheries, and more are included in this article.
Most major hatcheries and farm stores carry Barred Rocks, which are actually a color variation ofPlymouth Rocks.
If you find Barred Rocks at the farm store, they are usually under $3.I got mine for 99 cents.It's the best investment ever.
The best place to buy this breed is at a hatchery close to you, so you don't have to travel far to get your new chick.
Look for healthy, active girls.If the photos of the babies look unhappy or sick, then don't buy them.
You will want to look for parent stock that has fluffy, healthy looking feathers.The parents of pet type chickens should be friendly as well.
This is a great option if you live in the Northeast or Mid Atlantic.They are located in Connecticut.
You can get day old chick and 6 week olds from my pet chicken.Some owners say their Barred Rock hens were the first to lay eggs, with the chickens getting many 5 star reviews on their site.
They have soft feathers, which is great.I think this is what the Barred Rocks looked like when they were raised, instead of the scraggly breeds you see today that are bred for egg production only.
There are 37 reviews for the Barred Rock chick on this website, so it looks like past customers love them!If you live in the Mid-Atlantic, Meyer is located in Ohio.The Kentucky area is a good place to order from since your chicks won't travel too far.
The owners say their babies have grown into active layers.The prices are competitive.
If your farm is in the Midwest, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, or the Dakotas, Cackle is a good place to buy chicks.They are about 4 hours from my farm and I usually order from them.The chicks arrived in good shape every time I ordered from them.
Their prices are reasonable and they have good customer service.Our review of Cackle Hatchery can be found here.
Murray McMurray is located in Iowa.This is a good place to order from if you live in the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota, etc.It was a good experience to order chick through them.There are many 5 star reviews of their Barred Rocks.Their prices are more expensive than the other hatcheries.
Stromberg is located in Minnesota, so it is a good option for our Northern friends.Their prices are more expensive than other options.There is an option to have your chickensvaccinated for Marek's disease on their site.
There isn't a lot of information on the site of the chickens, but they have a good reputation.
Ask for breeder recommendations when you join Facebook groups.There is a group dedicated to this breed.
As a baby chick, you should provide your flock with an 18% chick starter like this one.It's necessary for them to grow correctly.They might not be healthy without it.
When your chickens start producing eggs, you should give them a layer feed and a calcium supplement.They need it to provide you with delicious eggs.The best diet for a hen is a 16% feed with fresh, clean water every day.
Most commercial feeds are good for your flock.To reduce the amount of spilled grain, to make it easier on your wallet, and to keep rodents away from your hens, consider using a no-waste feeder like these.
Barred Rocks have a good feed to egg conversion ratio so they don't need a lot of feed.
You want the bags you purchase to last as long as possible, rather than feeding every rat within a 10 mile radius.It is best to not feed out 24 hours a day.
You can give your hens treats like mealworms.Chickens can eat from your garden, and you can find out what they eat here.
You should always have access to water.This is easy if you use an automatic waterer.There are recommended waterers here.
Barred Rock chickens are ideal for families as pets because they are friendly.The roosters are calm with people and animals.Feed Barred Rocks lots of treats and handle them daily if you want to raise them as pets.
If your hens have gone broody and want to hatch eggs, they will be less friendly.If you help her stop her broodiness, she will return to being friendly.
They are generally not.Barred Rock chickens are friendly to humans and other animals.If you have too many roosters or chickens, they might become aggressive towards each other.To make sure everyone has enough space and food to eat, it is best to have 1 rooster for every 10 hens.
The roosters are noisier than other chicken breeds, but they might crow when they see a predator.The hens are quiet.
Yes!About 280 eggs are laid annually by Barred Rock hens.They are considered one of the best egg laying chicken breeds.
Barred Rock chickens lay the most eggs until they are about 3 years old.Chickens will stop laying after they turn 3.Some readers have told me about their 7 year old hen who still puts out eggs 3 times a week.Chickens will not lay eggs consistently when they are older.
When your hens stop laying, you should decide what to do with them.Since they are pets, we let them live out their lives naturally.
If you want to make sure your hens are in top shape for egg laying, you need to feed them a layer feed with 16% protein and supplement with oyster shells for extra calcium.This diet helps them from becoming deficient in vitamins, which can cause them to stop laying eggs.
The amount of eggs varies from bird to bird.To make sure your chickens produce lots of eggs, you should feed them a healthy diet.
Yes.Barred Rock chickens are a heritage breed.Modern incubators didn't exist when the breed was first developed so a broody hen was required.You can learn more about hatching.The best incubators can be found here.
The Barred Rock was developed in America in the 19th century, according to the Livestock Conservancy.It seems that these chickens are the result of crossing Spanish, White Cochin, and other chickens.
Other types of chickens were developed from the barred version.For the full list, you can read more about the chickens.
They were popular as an all purpose breed around the turn of the 20th century, and were admitted into the American Poultry Standard of Perfection in 1874.
Black and white feathers give these birds theirbarred appearance.They have a single comb with red wattles and ear lobes.They have yellow beaks and feet.
The roosters have long, black and white striped tail feathers that they lose in fall, but they grow back even more beautiful.They are nearly impossible to mistake for another breed.
The Barred Rock chickens are a different type of chicken.The first coloring of the Barred Rock was the barred feathers, and other variations were being developed.
The roosters and hens weigh about 7 and 5 pounds, respectively.Feeding your chickens a high quality diet will help their growth because there isn't much you can do to change their size.
Since the barring genes are common in a lot of chicken breeds, breeding Barred Rocks to create other, new hybrid is pretty common.It is popular when trying to create sex linked chick.
We will not dive too deep into genetics.Here is some interesting information about Barred Rocks.
The barring gene will only be passed onto males by the Barred Rock hen, so you can tell the sex of the Sex linked chick right after they hatch.
Sex-linked chicks will not be produced by a barred rooster and a non-barred hen.If you want to create sex linked chick, you must pair a rooster with a barred hen.
You can learn more about barring and how chickens mate here.
Barred Rocks have the same susceptibility to parasites as other chickens.Barred Rocks can get a number of diseases.Adding herbs to your chickens' feed can help keep them healthy.There is a product in the store that helps support healthy immune systems with all natural herbs.
The breed does better with space to run.There should be plenty of room to run.It should have basic essentials like a roost, waterers, and feeders.
Ensuring that Barred Rocks are healthy and don't develop bad habits is important, so make sure their coop has 10 square feet of space per chicken.
Barred Rocks are vulnerable to pullets and young roosters since they are more likely to wander off from the coop or roost on the ground at night.
Make sure your chicken house is safe to keep them out of harm's way.They should be allowed free range in a tractor to keep them safe.
There are plans for a predator proof chicken house here.It is advisable to use the best chicken wire here, as well as the 14 inch hardware cloth.
Barred Rock chickens are very cold hardy, but they still need to be kept warm in the winter.
In the summer, they should have access to a well-ventilated coop that is clean and free of ammonia.Good cross breezes should keep your couthing cool.
Are Barred Rock chickens for you?Are you raising Barred Rock chickens?You can leave a comment.
A backyard chicken and sustainable living expert is Maat van Uitert.Chickens: Naturally Raising A sustainable Flock was a best seller on Amazon.It has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, and the Huffington Post.She lives with her husband, two children and a million chickens and ducks on a farm in Southeast Missouri.You can also follow Maat on social media.
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