Black Rock chicken
The Black Rock is a hardy Scottish hybrid hen, bred to live outdoors. It is a long-standing favourite with smallholders and organic farms.
Some details are still being checked. Anything marked unconfirmed or reported may change. Suggest a change
The Black Rock is a hybrid chicken breed. Its origin is given as Scotland.
It is kept in large form. Recognised colours: Black with red/gold breast.
Expect about 280 eggs in the first year, falling in later years and varying by supplier, with brown shells.
Compiled from blackrock.co.uk, poultrykeeper.com, ralovett.co.uk, higheroakfarm.co.uk. See sources
Photos
From keepers' flocks
No keeper photos yet.
Keep this breed? Add your birds on Flockstock and share a photo from the bird's page. Go to my flock
Identity
- Species
- Chicken
- Type
- Hybrid
- Origin
- Scotland
History
It is a cross of selected Rhode Island Red cockerels and Barred Plymouth Rock hens. The parent stock was kept by Peter and Margaret Siddons at Muirfield Hatchery, Kinross, from 1973 to 2010, when Eddie Lovett at Crosslee Poultry Farm took it over. The name is protected: genuine chicks all come from the one Scottish hatchery and are sold through approved agents.
Appearance
Black hens with chestnut or ginger on the neck and a sheen in sunlight. The feathering is dense and weatherproof. Higher Oak Farm gives hen weights of about 1.85–2 kg.
Recognised colours
Black with red/gold breast
Size and weight
- Forms
- Large
Eggs
- Eggs a year
- about 280 in the first year
- Egg colour
- Brown
- Notes
- Around 280 brown eggs in the first year. Shell quality stays good through her life, unlike some higher-output hybrids.
Hybrid egg figures are for the first year. They fall in later years and vary by supplier.
Temperament
- In short
- Friendly, active
- Keeping notes
- Active, curious foragers with strong immunity. Sources call them friendly and good for beginners, and say they live longer than most hybrids (up to 7–8 years per one producer (unconfirmed)).
Hardiness
Very hardy
Broodiness
Non-broody (bred out)
Flying
Not recorded yet.
Suitability
- Beginners
- Good for beginners
- Good to know
- Many RIR × Barred Rock crosses are sold as 'Black Rocks' but are not the real strain. As a hybrid it does not breed true. Crossing two of them will not give you the same bird.
Conservation status (RBST)
Not on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust's priority list.
Breed club
Not recorded yet.
Sources
This page is compiled from:
Review
Some details are still being checked. In particular: lifespan.
Suggest a change
Spotted something wrong or missing? Tell us what it should say, and we'll review it.