Chicken breed
Barred Plymouth Rock
Also called Barred Rock, Plymouth Rock
The Barred Plymouth Rock is a classic American dual-purpose breed with black-and-white barred feathers. Hens lay large brown eggs, are calm with people, and handle both cold and warm weather.
At a glance
200–250eggs a year
4–6eggs a week
16–20weeks to first egg
7.5 lbhen weight
9.5 lbrooster weight
Largeegg size
Traits
- Cold hardyhigh
- Heat toleranthigh
- Goes broodyhigh
- Fine in a small runmedium
- Egg colour
- brown
- Temperament
- calm, friendly, docile
- Good with kids
- Usually, yes
- Noise
- quiet
- Origin
- United States
- Comb
- single
- Bantam size
- Available
- APA standard
- Recognized
- Conservation
- Graduated 2023 (Plymouth Rock; no longer on the Conservation Priority List)
- Purpose
- dual
Good for
- beginners
- families with children
- cold climates
- free-ranging
Watch out for
- single comb can get frostbite in severe cold
- prefers room to roam over tight confinement
- roosters need careful handling around young children
Looks and feathers
Black-and-white barred plumage; clean yellow legs. Other APA varieties include White, Buff, Partridge, Silver Penciled, Columbian, Blue.
Our drawing shows the most common US variety; colours vary.
Similar breeds
All breedsSources
- 1Barred Rocks (product/breed profile)Cackle Hatchery
- 2Plymouth Rock Chicken (breed facts)The Livestock Conservancy
- 3Barred Plymouth Rock Day Old Chicks (product/breed profile)Meyer Hatchery
- 4Accepted Breeds & VarietiesAmerican Poultry Association
- 5Managing Chickens From Chicks to Peak Egg ProductionUtah State University Extension (J. Okoh, E. Perry; October 2025)
- 6Chicken Breeds & Varieties (A2880), incl. APA standard weightsUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
- 7Plymouth Rock (breed page)My Pet Chicken
Hatcheries often disagree on eggs a year; ranges span every source we read. How we check the facts.