A New England original from the 1870s, the Plymouth Rock — best known in its black-and-white "Barred Rock" pattern — is one of America's foundational backyard breeds. Bred from Dominique and Asiatic stock, it's a sturdy dual-purpose bird that lays around 200 brown eggs a year and puts on enough size for the table. Rocks are calm, sweet-natured and good with children, happiest free-ranging but tolerant of a roomy run. Cold-hardy and unfussy, they're a textbook first chicken.
Beginner friendly
Good with kids
Cold hardy
Heat tolerant
Broody
Egg colorBrown
Egg production200–220 / year
TemperamentDocile
BroodinessOccasional
ClimateCold hardy, Heat tolerant
PurposeEggs, Meat
Weight
Large fowl (Standard size)
Hen7.5 lb
Rooster9.5 lb
Bantam (Miniature size)
Hen2 lb
Rooster2.3 lb
How to spot it
CombSingle
Medium single comb with five points
Earlobes
Red, matching the wattles
Legs & feet
Clean yellow legs, four toes, yellow skin
Look for
Crisp black-and-white barring plus a single comb — the single comb is what separates a Barred Rock from a Dominique
Ancestry
How this breed was developed. Historical records, not crosses to make today.
Single
Dominique
Buckeye
California Gray
Chantecler
Delaware
Orpington
