Plymouth Rock (chicken)
Cock bird, Barred plumage
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| Conservation status | Recovering |
|---|---|
| Other names | Rock Barred Rock |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Standard | |
| Use | Dual-purpose breed |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Skin color | Yellow |
| Egg color | Brown |
| Comb type | Single |
| Classification | |
| APA | American |
| ABA | Single comb clean legged |
| EE | yes |
| PCGB | Soft feather: heavy |
| APS | heavy breed softfeather |
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The Plymouth Rock is an American breed of domestic chicken. It was first seen in Massachusetts in the nineteenth century, and for much of the early twentieth century was the most popular chicken breed in the United States. It is a dual-purpose breed, raised both for its meat and for its brown eggs. It is resistant to cold, easy to manage, and a good sitter.
The Plymouth Rock was first shown in Boston in 1849, but was then not seen for another twenty years. In 1869, in Worcester, Massachusetts, one D.A. Upham cross-bred some Black Java hens with a cock with barred plumage and a single comb; he selectively bred for barred plumage and clean (featherless) legs. His birds were shown in Worcester in 1869; the modern Plymouth Rock is thought to derive from them. Other people have been associated with the development of the Plymouth Rock, as have other chicken breeds including the Brahma, the Cochin (both white and buff), the Dominique, and the White-faced Black Spanish.
The Plymouth Rock was added to the Standard of Excellence of the American Poultry Association in 1874. The barred plumage pattern was the original one; other colors were later added.
Because of its many good qualities – tasty meat, good egg production, resistance to cold, early feathering, easy management, good sitting – the Plymouth Rock became the most widespread chicken breed in the United States until the time of World War II. With the advent of industrial chicken farming, it was much used in the development of broiler hybrids, but began to fall in popularity as a domestic fowl.
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Wikipedia