Chicken bald back

[WarrensWorld]

Does anyone keep Black rocks?. If so what are they like temperament, and health wise. Thank you in advance....

[Saronne]

I have a friend in the village who keeps nothing but Black Rocks. They're supposed to be perfect outdoor birds, e.g. extremely hardy and rarely ever get ill. They are also meant to lay only slightly less prolifically than ISA browns - but for longer.

 

Temperment-wise, I've heard that they're very calm but fairly independent - so slightly less likely to follow you around like some breeds.

 

My friend is very happy with hers and said that she will get them again.

 

Saronne x

[alij]

Hi

 

I've got 2 Black Rocks, Nancy and Wilhemina, who are both around 25 weeks old. They are lovely birds, very alert and inquisitive. Mine are first up to see what I've got and both come into the house and settle down in the dog basket. I would definitely recommend them.

 

 

 

[WarrensWorld]

Hi Saronne, thanks you just confirmed what we've already learned. We've found a lady in Carlow who breeds them. So we should have some by the end of February, with luck.

Thanks Alij, we'll get a few more now..........

 

edit:- They are lovely looking birds.

[skye]

What beautiful chickens! They look very like the 'miss pepperpot' omlet-brand girls. Are they in fact one and the same breed, does anybody know?

 

skye x

[Saronne]

I've heard that Miss Pepperpots are similar to Black Rocks, but BRs is a *'registered' hybrid name and only those birds/eggs who originate from a particular breeder (forgot the name) in Scotland can be called Black Rocks - though there are registered Black Rock breeders/sellers dotted around England who sell them, too.

 

*(Someone out there may want to correct me on that!)

 

 

Saronne x

[WarrensWorld]

This is were Eileen found them:- http://www.blackrockhens.co.uk/

 

There's a map showing you where they're available. Nearest to us is Chris Glyns, in Carlow.

[Chunky_Monkey]

My Black Rock, Nellie, is brilliant. She looks lovely and lays almost every single day - she's our most consistent layer.

 

I think the Peperpots are the same breeds crossed as the Black Rocks (I could be wrong ), and I've seen a lot of other names for them too. Bovans Nera is one of them.

 

I would definitely recommend them to people. They are very friendly, and very tame with lots of character.

[Gelbel]

My little Black Rock Joy is - well my pride and joy.

 

She's quite shy - only just letting me stroke her now after 4 months. (but that may be as she can be picked on my the top bird). She is SO brave, adventurous, inquisitive - just (again) a joy to watch (and I named her before I got her - did not even know what breeds I was going to get - that depended on what the breeder had when we went to get them).

 

She is so beautiful, gets on with things and does not let anything annoy her (ie rarely boks at things) and is as healthy as healthy.

 

Only thing - she is not laying - she's about 30 weeks old now. But that does not worry me at all.

 

I'll go for Black Rocks time and time again whenever the sad day comes to replace my girls.

 

Some not very good photos

[Gelbel]

 

Temperment-wise, I've heard that they're very calm but fairly independent - so slightly less likely to follow you around like some breeds.

You've knocked that right on the head there - mine will take me or leave me - and is not always driven by the hand that feeds.

[PurpleTree]

I've got 3 Black Rocks, and I found the breeder on that website. I read that they can only be true Black Rocks if they come from the certain place in Scotland and from breeders on that website.

 

I've not had any problems with my 3, they free range in the garden in all weather, the rain doesn't seem to bother them at all. They're still laying at the moment, although a lot less than they were earlier in the year. Lots of pics on my blog. They're not all that keen on being picked up, but that might be partially my fault as I'm not all that bothered about cuddling them. They always run to the back door when they see me, and follow me around the garden 'helping'.

 

Here's about the only photo I have them altogether

 

[Tutti Frutti]

My Roxy is a Black Rock. Black Rocks are sex-link so you'll be sure to get a girl. They're only hatched at the Muirfield Hatchery in Scotland by a chap called Peter Siddons - his agents around the country are here http://www.theblackrock.co.uk/Black_Rock_Hen_Agents.html. They're a cross between a Rhode Island Red father and a Barred Plymouth Rock mother and are salmonella free. BRs have been diifficult to come by lately so Black Stars are an alternative, although they're not from Muirfield.

 

Roxy is as tough as nails! Our other hybrids (all bought at 16 weeks) had coughs/sneezes along the way but not Roxy, she's so hardy. She's been top chook since day 1 and firmly puts the others in their place. She's determined, energetic, feisty, and a mad digging machine who trashed our lawn (she helped us dig out the base for our decking!). She loves to free range and is the first to moan when she's in the WIR and first to pace at the mesh! She was the first to lay at 20 weeks - in fact, she's been laying 60g eggs every single day for the past few weeks.

 

She's definitely ruled by her stomach and is first to recognise the green bag of mealworms from 100 paces She's not our friendliest bird (but is the funniest!) and would have your hand off for a mealworm! She pecks at them in the pot like a jackhammer so I've given up trying to feed her out of my palm (it really hurts! she's pecked my fingers a few times ). She is such a character, we're so glad we got her.

 

Here she is!

[abwsco]

I have a proper BR and she's another one who is ruled by her stomach. She's not very nice to all bar two of my other chickens though She also has a nasty habit of blocking access to the cube at bed time Infact I sometimes pull her out so that those lower in the pecking order can get in without being attacked. She was the same when they were in the wooden coop.

[Tutti Frutti]

Maybe mine is so feisty because she was in the first group of chickens I had. I don/t know if introducing them to an existing flock will affect their temperament? I know when I introduced the new ex-Barn hens, all I had to do was distract her with a bowl of mud and she ignored the newbies

 

Some relatives came round recently and actually didn't like Roxy (as she was pecking another chook) - to non-chookie people, she looks like a bully! Actually, she's just doing what chickens do - just really. really well

[JanTheDiver]

My Hester is a Black Rock, she is lovely, friendly and lays eggs constantly with very few days off

 

The only thing I have with her is she does like the taste of feathers and my poor Maran has a bald patch at the top of her tail

 

I would still recommend them and would have another one.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

I've just adopted 6 & with me they are very friendly, but with the other chooks they are not at all..........mind you this could be because they are still in "quarantine", 2 weeks tomorrow & haven't really had the chance to meet the other girls on open territory.

 

I did have a breakout on the 2nd day after their arrival & all the batties got put in their place by the BRs.........I had to hoik Jasmine (Ara x) out of their run last week as she decided that she needed to stretch her wings & realised the error of her ways as one of the BRs was heading her way & I scooped her out of danger........I had to do the same for Cordelia (Blue Orp) yesterday she came away with a bleeding comb and mouth......no ill effects after a dose of purple spray and half an hour indoors quietly....Drusilla (other Blue Orp) disappeared today and I really had started to worry about her...the only place I hadn't checked was the BR's & found her sitting in the doorway to the nestbox also with a bleeding comb.......I can see FR is going to be interesting when we start it at the end of the week/this weekend

 

Some of them have also got bald patches, though they aren't sore or bleeding.

 

On the plus side, they are laying most days (3-6 a day) and at least 3 are going to a friend after Christmas if she can get her hubby to finish their coop & run.....and I can let them go, I may have become attached by then

 

Sha x

[-sarahjayne]

I also have 2 black rocks - no problems health wise at all.

An egg a day on average.

One of them is a very big boned, long chicken who lays huge eggs and the other is a small dumpy girl who lays smalls small eggs.

Evie, the big one, is the shy-est of my girls and wont come for attention. But Esmee on the other hand is lovely, she is very chatty and comes and jumps on my lap, arms, or shoulders for a stroke and a treat.

She is incredibly tame.

Plus, they are gorgeous looking girls

[Dolly]

I love our black rocks, they are very different temperament wise and in colouring but both have the lovely beetle green tinge to their feathers - beautiful in the sun!

 

However, one has taken to feather plucking the other which we're having trouble stopping - mind you I suspect this is the chicken herself, rather than the breed, she's quite a character!

[clucky chicken]

I have 2 black rocks - they are lovely! I got mine in August and both are friendly and very funny, and are quite happy to have a cuddle...

 

They were the first to lay out of the 3 breeds I got, and certainly rule the roost! One went broody late in the summer, I didn't get her out of it, but she did it all by herself in the end - despite my efforts! We love them to bits and would definetely get some more if I had the room - hmmm...there's an idea for a Christmas pressie hubby!

[Gelbel]

I took some photos of my girls today so I can show my Mum how much they have grown in the 4 months we have had them.

 

Managed to get some nice ones of Joy. Ignore my bald grass!

 

 

 

[4Clucks-minusOne]

Roxy is my Black Rock. Apart from being scared of heights, always complaining and whinging, being first in line for food she is a delight to have. She chatters non stop and will tolerate being picked up especially if she is dithering to jump down from anything higher than a foot. She has laid almost everyday. She loves helping dig the garden so she can be first for worms.