Rhode Island Red vs Plymouth Rock: Two Old Breeds and the Cross They Make

Pick the Rhode Island Red if eggs come first and you’d rather your hens didn’t sit. Pick the Barred Plymouth Rock if you want a bigger, quieter bird that might hatch a clutch for you someday. Or keep both. These two are the parents of one of the best-known crosses in backyard chickens. Put a Rhode Island Red rooster over Barred Rock hens and you get Black Sex Link chicks, and you can tell the pullets from the cockerels the day they hatch.

I rewrote this page from 24 sources, and you’ll find every one at the bottom. Breed facts come from The Livestock Conservancy and from the breed pages of three hatcheries that sell both birds (McMurray, Meyer, Cackle). University extension pages cover the history and the chick sexing, plus a few care basics, and the CDC covers kids. These sources don’t always agree with each other, and one hatchery doesn’t even agree with itself, so I’ll tell you whose number each one is.

A word on the photos. I’ll be upfront: only some of them show the real breeds. Both National Park Service shots come from the Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm: the mixed flock in the first section, and two Plymouth Rock hens in their nest boxes. On another photo of that pen, the park’s caption says the flock is Rhode Island Reds with Leghorns and Plymouth Rocks. The red hens in the size section belong to farmer Jerri Parker in Cromwell, Oklahoma. The USDA caption doesn’t give their breed. For everything else I couldn’t find a free photo of a real Red or Rock that I trust, so German breeds stand in. You’ll see a black Krüper rooster and a golden Saxon rooster, plus Saxon chicks with two Krüper chicks among them. In the cross section, a black Saxon hen stands in for a Black Sex Link, which would show some red in her neck feathers. And near the end, a golden Saxon rooster stands beside a barred Saxon hen.

The short version.

• Roots. Both are New England breeds from the 1800s. The Plymouth Rock went into the first American standard in 1874, and the single-comb Red followed in 1904.
• Size. Every breed source I read puts a Barred Rock hen at 7.5 pounds. A Red hen comes in at 6 to 6.5, so the Rock is about a pound heavier.
• Eggs. Most pages put the Red ahead, but no two give the same number. McMurray’s Red page says 238 a year in its chart and 280 to 365 in its answers.
• Broody. Hatcheries breed their Reds to stay off the nest. On the Rock, the pages run from “not considered setters” all the way to “Broody: Yes.”
• The cross. A Red rooster over Barred Rock hens makes Black Sex Links, and the cockerel chicks wear a white spot on the head. Flip the parents and it doesn’t work.
• Kids. Both breeds get called calm, though Red roosters can get pushy. The CDC says children under 5 shouldn’t handle poultry at all.

Two New England Farm Birds

Plymouth Rock first, since it’s the older of the two. The Livestock Conservancy says it was first shown in Boston in 1849. Those first birds seemed to “lose their identity,” and the breed dropped out of sight for about two decades. It turned up again at a poultry show in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1869. Illinois Extension tells the same story but dates that first Boston show to 1829, so you’ll see both years around.

Nobody’s quite sure what went into it, either. McMurray says Dominiques were crossed with Black Javas. Illinois Extension calls it “a debatable question” whether the first cross was a Dominique with a Black Cochin or a Dominique with a Black Java. The Conservancy says several breeders claimed the credit, each with a different recipe. What’s settled is that the breed went into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Excellence in 1874. “Until World War II, no breed was ever kept and bred as extensively,” the Conservancy says. It was also one of the foundation breeds of the broiler industry in the 1920s. Barred was the first color, and other colors, White and Buff among them, came later.

Rhode Island Reds came together in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the 1880s and 1890s. Both the Conservancy and Cackle list the Malay among the Red’s ancestors, along with Shanghai and Java fowl and the Brown Leghorn. The Conservancy says the Malay is where that deep color comes from. Illinois Extension places the work in farm country “between Narragansett Bay and Buzzard’s Bay.” The single-comb Red joined the standard in 1904. The rose-comb Red followed in 1905 going by the Conservancy, or 1906 going by McMurray. And here’s a fun one: McMurray points out that it’s the official state bird of Rhode Island.

One thing none of my sources explains is the name Plymouth Rock. You’ll find stories about it online, but I couldn’t find one in a source I trust, so I’ll leave it there.

How Big They Get

On size, the sources nearly agree, which makes a nice change.

• Barred Plymouth Rock: hens 7.5 pounds and roosters 9.5, in all four of my breed sources (the Conservancy plus the three hatcheries). Delaware State University’s fact sheet gives the same weights.
• Rhode Island Red: hens 6.5 pounds and roosters 8.5 at the three hatcheries. The Conservancy lists 6 and 8, and says hens “weigh over 6 pounds.”

So a Rock hen runs about a pound heavier than a Red hen. That’s 7.5 minus 6.5, or roughly 15 percent more bird by my math. Use the Conservancy’s 6-pound Red and the gap grows to 1.5 pounds, or 25 percent.

You’ll notice that gap at the feed bin. “Typically the larger the chicken the more feed they eat,” says University of Kentucky’s feed guide. It gives no number for either breed, so I won’t make one up. If you’ve got Reds, my feeding guide for Rhode Island Reds covers what goes in the feeder.

Your Red may also be smaller than the Reds in old books. The Conservancy says that since the 1940s, Reds have been bred for egg production and have gotten smaller and lighter in color, and less broody too. Its “old-type” Red is bigger and darker, and it’s getting rare. Cackle says much the same of show lines. They’re darker red, but they “may not lay as heavily as production-focused lines.”

If you’re thinking about the table, the Rock was built for it. McMurray says its Barred Rocks are “solid and plump with yellow skin, which makes them a beautiful, heavy roasting fowl.” McMurray rates meat as “better” for both breeds, though. And the Conservancy’s market weight for the Red, 5.5 to 7.5 pounds, overlaps the Rock’s 6 to 8.

Eggs, by Whose Count

Here’s what each source says a hen lays in a year. I’ve kept their own words where they gave them.

• The Livestock Conservancy, Red: 200 to 300 eggs a year, “starting as early as six months of age.” It calls Reds “perhaps the best layers of all of the dual-purpose breeds.”
• The Livestock Conservancy, Rock: “around 200 large, brown eggs per year.” Laying is strong for the first few years and then slowly drops, though some hens keep going into their tenth year.
• McMurray, Red: 238 a year in its quick-stats chart. Its Q&A on that same page says “They will average 280-365 eggs a year.”
• McMurray, Rock: 225 in the chart, and “about 220-280” in the Q&A. McMurray also calls the Red’s eggs large and the Rock’s medium.
• Cackle marks both as “estimates only,” at 200 to 280 for the Red and 200 to 220 for the Rock.
• Meyer: 4 to 6 eggs a week for both breeds, large to extra large.
• University of Tennessee Extension’s Chick Chain sheet from Roane County: about 240 a year for the Barred Rock. It doesn’t list the Red.

So the Red comes out ahead on most pages, but by how much depends on who’s counting. Before you bank on any of these, read what Penn State Extension says: “Common heritage type breeds will lay 50 to 100 eggs a year.” It adds, “There is also great variability between strains.” The hatchery numbers are for each hatchery’s own birds, and McMurray says its Reds are a production strain. A Red from a show breeder or an old heritage line may not lay like that.

Both lay brown eggs. University of Georgia’s breed guide says the Red lays “large rich medium brown eggs” and the Rock “light pinkish to medium brown eggs.” As for when they start, McMurray says its Reds begin around 18 to 24 weeks, and Meyer puts both breeds at 16 to 20 weeks. I went through the Red’s numbers in more detail in Rhode Island Red egg production.

Will She Sit?

This is where the two breeds really split, and where the pages argue the most.

On the Red, everybody’s roughly on one side. McMurray rates its Reds “not at all likely” to sit and calls its flock “a production strain, selectively bred for high egg production and less broodiness.” Meyer marks them “Broody: No” and says they “rarely brood, so you’ll have to find someone else to sit.” Cackle says “Variable.” The Conservancy explains why. Most Red hens “can become broody except within the strains that have been heavily selected for egg production.”

On the Rock, the pages go every which way.

• The Conservancy: “Hens are usually good sitters and mothers.”
• Meyer: “Broody: Yes.”
• Cackle: “Broody: Setter.”
• Tennessee’s Chick Chain sheet calls the Barred Rock docile and broody.
• McMurray: “not very likely” in its chart, and in its Q&A, “Barred Rocks are not considered setters.”

UGA lands in the middle for both breeds. It calls each of them good mothers, but says Rocks “do not brood frequently” and Reds “brood infrequently.” So if you want a hen to hatch eggs for you, the Rock is the better bet, but it isn’t a sure thing. I’d ask the hatchery about its own line before you order.

Calm Hens, Pushy Roosters

Every source I read calls the Barred Rock easygoing. The Conservancy says “both males and females are generally sweet and docile,” and “They like attention and will follow their people around.” It also calls the Rock “a chatty but quiet breed” and “a good choice for a first-time chicken owner.” UGA says Rocks “are friendly and are easily handled,” and Delaware State calls them very good with children.

Red hens get called calm too. Their brothers are another story. The Conservancy says “Some roosters may be aggressive at times.” Meyer says “Roosters may become aggressive.” UGA calls Reds “calm birds but the cocks can be aggressive.” Cackle’s Red page says to “manage roosters with care, especially around children or mixed flocks.” It doesn’t let the Rock off the hook, either: “Roosters may need more careful handling than hens, especially around young children.” McMurray puts a nicer spin on it and calls Red males “great flock protectors.” If you’re weighing a Red rooster, I wrote more about Rhode Island Red hens and roosters.

Plenty of people keep the two breeds in one flock. Penn State Extension has one caution worth knowing: “Mixing different ages and sizes of poultry or birds with different traits may promote pecking by disrupting the flock’s normal pecking order.” A Rock hen carries about a pound more than a Red hen, so give them room. Penn State’s flock guide asks for 2 square feet of indoor space per bird.

Now, about kids. The CDC says children younger than 5 shouldn’t handle or touch chicks or other poultry, because “Young children are more likely to get sick from germs like Salmonella.” For older kids, its advice is: “Always supervise children around poultry and while they wash their hands afterward.”

Telling the Chicks Apart

Telling the two breeds apart as chicks is easy. McMurray says Red chicks are red, with a reddish tip on the beak. Its Barred Rock chicks are “dark gray to black, with some white patches on their head and body.” Tennessee’s sheet says Barred Rock chicks are black with a white spot on top of the head, plus white wing tips and a white belly.

Telling pullets from cockerels is harder. In purebred Barred Rocks, it comes down to that head spot. Jacquie Jacob of the University of Kentucky writes, “At hatch, males have a large white spot. The spot is much smaller and narrower in females. This has been found to be about 80% accurate.” Meyer’s blog says Barred Rocks are “not considered true auto-sexing,” though the spot helps. McMurray says flatly that its Barred Rocks are not sex linked or auto sexing. Grown roosters look lighter than the hens, because a rooster carries two copies of the barring gene and a hen carries one.

Red chicks give you even less to go on. Jacob says a male Red chick has a white spot on the down over the wing web. “However, there is considerable normal variation in the size of the spot, so sexing in this way is not always accurate.” Cackle puts its gender accuracy for sexed chicks at 80 to 85 percent for Reds and 85 to 90 for Rocks. One buyer’s review on Cackle’s Barred Rock page says both of their Rock “hens” began crowing in November. Mississippi State Extension says you can usually tell by the comb and wattles once chicks reach 4 to 6 weeks. And Jacob’s last word on it: “The most accurate way to sex chicks is to watch them grow.”

The Cross: Red Rooster Over Barred Hens

Here’s the trick that ties these two breeds together. The barring gene rides on the Z chromosome, Jacob explains, and that makes it sex-linked. So when a rooster with no barring is put over barred hens, “the resulting females will be non-barred like their father, while the resulting males will be barred like their mothers.” Then, “At hatch, both sexes have dark-colored down, but the males have a white spot on the top of their head.”

The order matters. Jacob again: “It is this specific cross that must be used. Crossing a barred male with a non-barred female will not work.” For the rooster, she says common choices “include Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire.”

Cackle sells exactly this bird as the Black Sex Link, from “a Rhode Island Red rooster over a Barred Rock hen.” It says grown hens are “mostly black with red highlights in the neck hackle feathers,” while the roosters show “lighter barred plumage.” Cackle rates the hens at 6 to 7 pounds and 200 to 280 eggs a year (estimates again) and marks them “Broody: Non Setter.” Meyer and McMurray sell black sex-linked hybrids too. But Meyer “does not disclose what breeds we use,” and McMurray calls its two Black Star lines “proprietary hybrid crosses.” For what it’s worth, Penn State’s figure for commercial sex-linked hybrids is 240 to 280 eggs a year.

One catch: Black Sex Links don’t breed true. Cackle tells buyers to “order first-generation chicks from the planned parent cross rather than expecting second-generation birds to breed true.” So if you keep a Red rooster with Barred Rock hens, you can hatch your own Black Sex Links every spring. Hatch eggs from two Black Sex Links, though, and you’re back to guessing.

Winter Combs and Summer Shade

Both breeds are sold as cold hardy. McMurray rates cold tolerance “excellent” for each, and the Conservancy credits the Rock’s early feathering for its cold hardiness. On heat, McMurray rates the Red “better” and the Rock “good,” and says the Red does fine anywhere in the country, “cold or hot.” UGA says Reds “tolerate hot or cold weather.” Cackle lists both breeds among its hot-weather chickens. I’d still give them shade and cool water in summer, whichever one you pick.

The weak spot in winter is the comb. Every Barred Rock and most Reds wear a big single comb. Jacob’s frostbite page says frostbite becomes a problem at “single digits and below,” mostly at night “in a cold, poorly ventilated coop with damp bedding.” It’s “most common in roosters because they typically have larger combs and wattles,” so your rooster is the one to watch. She warns against warming a frostbitten bird with a hair dryer or heat lamp. Her fix is in the coop itself: keep it dry, with enough airflow that you don’t see condensation on the windows in the morning. My notes on insulating a coop get into that balance.

So, Which One?

• You want the most eggs and no broody hens: get Reds from a production strain. Ask the hatchery which kind it sells.
• You want a bigger, gentler bird, maybe one that’ll hatch chicks: get Barred Rocks, knowing that broodiness varies by line.
• You’ve got little kids around: lean toward hens, and think twice about a Red rooster.
• You want chicks you can sort on day one: keep a Red rooster with Barred Rock hens.

Lots of folks just keep both, and honestly, I think that’s the easy answer. Whatever you pick, Penn State’s setup numbers are a good start. Nests should be at least 12 by 12 inches, with two nests for your first four hens. Roosts go 18 to 24 inches off the floor, spaced a foot apart. And plan for the long haul, because Penn State says chickens in most small flocks live 8 years and can reach 12 to 15.

Weighing other breeds too? I’ve compared the Red with a Buff in Rhode Island Red vs Buff Orpington. The Buff Rock is a color of Plymouth Rock, and it gets its own matchup in Buff Orpington vs Buff Rock.

Sources

• The Livestock Conservancy: Rhode Island Red Chicken.
• The Livestock Conservancy: Plymouth Rock Chicken.
• Delaware State University: Plymouth Rock fact sheet (Amanda Evans with Dr. Brigid McCrea, PDF).
• McMurray Hatchery: Rhode Island Reds.
• McMurray Hatchery: Barred Plymouth Rocks.
• McMurray Hatchery: Black Star.
• Meyer Hatchery: Rhode Island Red.
• Meyer Hatchery: Barred Plymouth Rock.
• Meyer Hatchery: Black Sex Link.
• Meyer Hatchery blog: Auto-Sexing Versus Sex-Linked Chicken Breeds (January 2019).
• Cackle Hatchery: Rhode Island Red.
• Cackle Hatchery: Barred Rock (with its buyer reviews).
• Cackle Hatchery: Black Sex Link.
• Cackle Hatchery: 4 Outstanding Dual-Purpose Sex Link Hybrid Chickens.
• University of Illinois Extension: History of Breeds.
• University of Georgia Poultry Science: Which Breed of Chicken Should I Put in My Backyard Flock? (January 2009, PDF).
• University of Tennessee Extension, Roane County: Learn About Your Chick Chain Options (PDF).
• Jacquie Jacob, University of Kentucky, on the Poultry Extension site: Sexing Day-Old Chicks.
• Mississippi State University Extension: Sexing Day-Old Chicks.
• Penn State Extension: Successfully Raising a Small Flock of Laying Chickens.
• Penn State Extension: Poultry Cannibalism Prevention and Treatment.
• Jacquie Jacob, University of Kentucky, on the Poultry Extension site: Frostbite in Chickens.
• University of Kentucky: How Much Will My Chickens Eat? (ASC-191, PDF).
• CDC: Backyard Poultry.

Sources checked October 26, 2026. The 1-pound and 1.5-pound gaps and their percentages are my math from the weights the sources give. We aren’t vets. If a hen looks sick, call a vet who sees poultry.

Related read: How to Raise Chickens for Eggs — Instant PDF download. Secure checkout by Stripe