Barred Plymouth Rock

Why this fits you

The Barred Plymouth Rock is a classic American dual-purpose breed with black and white barred feathers. Hens weigh about 7.5 pounds and roosters 9.5, lay roughly 200 or more brown eggs a year, and have a calm, curious temperament that makes them easy to keep. They are popular with first-time keepers for good reason.

Eggs, growth and temperament

Barred Rocks lay a large brown egg and are among the more productive heritage breeds, with hatchery strains laying 200 to 280 eggs a year in the first couple of seasons. Pullets start around 18 to 22 weeks. They are friendly and inquisitive, tolerate handling and generally get along with other breeds, although a hen can be bossy with smaller birds. Roosters are usually manageable.

Cold, heat and range

The breed is cold-hardy with a medium single comb, so protect the comb in severe freezes, and it handles moderate heat reasonably well. Barred Rocks are good foragers and do well free-ranging, though they also accept confinement. They are not flighty and are easy to keep behind a standard fence.

Sex-linked chicks

Barred Rock pullets and cockerels can be told apart at hatch in crosses with some other breeds, and hatcheries sell sex-link hybrids that use a Barred Rock parent. If you want a hybrid, ask about the cross, because it will not breed true. A purebred Barred Rock is the right choice if you want to hatch your own replacements.

Housing and care

Plan 4 to 5 square feet per bird in the coop and 10 or more in the run. Give them space to roost and forage, and offer calcium alongside layer feed. They are generally healthy, but all laying breeds can pick up mites and lice, so check regularly. The bird's black and white barred plumage can look different between strains, and some show lines are paler than hatchery birds.

Meat and culling

At around 7.5 pounds for hens, a Barred Rock is a decent table bird when its laying slows, though it grows more slowly than modern meat hybrids. That dual use is one of the reasons it has stayed in backyards for over a century.

How it compares

Buying checklist

• Ask the hatchery whether the strain is a production or heritage line
• Check for mites and lice in thick feathering during routine health checks
• Plan space for a bird that forages actively

Run the numbers