Rise & Fall of the Plymouth Rock Fowl

By Dr Joseph Batty

The Plymouth Rock was once hailed as the best all-round fowl, developed in the USA by crossing different breeds to produce a general purpose fowl. The process extended over a long period, some attempts being aborted when the outcomes were known. Finally, a Mark iv version was developed and accepted.

The breeds used were Asiatic and included Black Java, Cochin, Brahma, Minorca and Dominique, the latter providing the barring, a characteristic of the Barred Plymouth Rock.

Later, other varieties were developed, some by deliberate crossing, and others, notably the Blacks and Whites by chance breeding which resulted in 'Sports' which were used to consolidate these colours.

From 1874 when the Barred was standardized in the USA, and came to Britain around that time, the race was on to produce more and more varieties. This went on without much pause up to 1920. There were Whites, Buffs, Silver Pencilled, Partridge, Columbian, Blue, Golden Barred, and in the UK the Black appeared and was improved upon.

Today in the UK there is a fairly high level of interest in the Bantam Plymouth Rocks, but the large fowl have declined to what should be regarded as danger level. The reasons for the decline cannot be identified with certainty, but the following are possibilities:

1. For showing the Barred requires 'Double Mating' keeping separate breeding pens, one for show males, and the other for show females, which requires great patience and more accommodation.
2. A dual-purpose breed does not fit in with modern poultry production which tend to be layers or table birds. Hybrids have replaced standard breeds for commercial purposes.
3. Large birds require more food - they achieve more than 7.50 kilos in weight.
4. In England yellow-legged and fleshed are not popular, the white fleshed birds being preferred.

STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN
Action is required to bring back this fine breed. There is much discussion on free range and the Plymouth Rocks are ideal for this production method. They lay well and fatten within an acceptable period. Moreover, as a breed, with the many varieties available they have much to offer in terms of attractive colours.

NATURE OF THE BREED NAMED PLYMOUTH ROCK
The Plymouth Rock breed belongs to a class of poultry known as General Purpose Breeds, being commendable egg layers and yet large enough to be used as table birds. They were developed on American farms to be able to supply eggs and meat to an ever-growing market. Usually, the farmer wanted eggs during the winter months, when prices were higher, and the Plymouth Rock provided these.

 

 

 

 

read the rest of this in-depth article and more, in the January 2012 issue of Featherd World