The Black Rock hen is bred from specially selected strains of Rhode Island Red and Barred Plymouth Rock from a single hatchery in Scotland. With the parent birds being both natural breeds the cross retains superb genetic vigour and excellent health record. There has been no recorded salmonella infection in any U.K. flock.
From our own experience they have great disease resistance - we have rarely needed to do anything.
The hens are persistent and steady layers (some birds reported still laying at 8 years old and living to 12!!) We have 3 year old hens in our small commercial flock still producing well. The homes our 2 and 3 year old birds go to report very satisfactory results for many years.
The pullets we rear are extremely hardy - thriving and laying well here in the Highlands of Scotland exposed to wind, rain, snow, heat, without effect. The birds have thick plumage with great waterproofing to protect them from adverse weather. They also have the brains to know when to go inside.
They use the ground well, happily ranging over fields, we used to control them in electric fenced 1 acre paddocks, which we move along with the houses on regular intervals, but don't bother with the fences now.We have increased the hay crop 4 fold by including our hens in our field management.
Black Rock chickens are extremely docile -they are easy to rear and simple to keep,(although not always easy to keep out of the back door!) I have heard reports of feather pecking - well all we can say is that in 10 years of keeping and rearing Black Rocks we have never had this problem.
I can only think it may have something to do with the way we rear our birds - all that space and allowing them to free range as soon as they want. We ahve also never de-beaked any of our birds.
they don't waste energy (and therefore food) in nervousness - even ignoring being ' bombed' by jets.
Great egg quality in shell colour, shell quality, and size throughout the laying period is one of their most notable features. These days now we are rearing our own we sometimes have trouble finding enough medium eggs for our regulars - they only seem to have the recipe for large ones. - and they don't fit in the boxes !
They have excellent feed conversion in whatever weather (and we get some weather here!!!) we also find they don't need the higher protein feeds which tend to make eggs slightly fishy tasting.
Appearance may not be high on everyone's criteria but the green shine from black feathers in the sun is magic, set off with the chestnut feathering around the neck.
For the domestic owner they will rear their own young extremely well being incredibly defensive (as a few hooded crows have found to their cost) and have even been persuaded to rear ducklings which gave them apoplexy when the ducklings found the water !!
This first cross is not available outside the United Kingdom as far as I am aware.
Hatching eggs are not available.
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OUR BOOKING FORM IS HERE OUR PRICE LIST FOR 2001 IS HERE |
WE HAVE OUR OWN LAYING FLOCK AS WELL AS REARING PULLETS FOR SALE so each bird is raised as if for ourselves - it might be.
All our birds are reared with utmost care and attention - as soon as they are ready they are out on clean free range as we feel they are healthier and stronger for it, they are well fed, well feathered and eagerly explore the outside world.
We feel this gives them a distinct advantage over birds reared in barns. They are fitter; they have the advantages of daylight and extra foraging skills; their feathering is stronger and they have faced the challenges that free range living produce earlier.
We have had great results from the birds we rear in our own free range flock
~ larger eggs sooner at the start of lay, shorter moult, healthier birds, more eggs, more productive years~
black rock growers
black rock pullets
black rock hens
aren't I pretty?
| KINTALINE POULTRY BOOK SHOP and books on related topics
(just added lots of CHICKEN RUN stuff - still not had time to see it ourselves) direct links to books related to free range poultry keeping:
Small-Scale Poultry Keeping : A Guide to Free Range Poultry Production
Free Range Poultry by K Thear. Diseases of Free-range Poultry by Victoria Roberts Free Range and Related Poultry Keeping Systems by J. Barnes Natural Poultry Keeping: Free Range and Other Systems by J. Batty |
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