Peter Siddons is the gentleman who was long associated with the Black Rock, and we wish him a long and happy retirement.
Throughout 2009 the family moved the Black Rock Hatchery from Muirfield at Kinross, to a close and well respected associate,Mr E. Lovett, at Bridge of Weir, lock, stock and two smoking incubators!!!
This has been no mean feat, but preserving the integrity and quality of the Black Rock has been the sole aim of all those directly involved in the past and future of the Black Rock chicken.
Peter's legacy of the best free range commercially profitable, hardy, healthy and long lived chickens, who reward good husbandry and lots of space with consistantly high quality, strong shelled eggs, is now safe.
And the production of young hens for commercial and domestic free range egg laying customers can continue in to the next 40 years !

However it is going to take some time, maybe years, to get the grand parent, parent and Black Rock hatching numbers back up to the numbers to supply the growing needs of the poultry world.
There is a shortage of chicks and pullets, and that will remain the case for several years to come. Demand has often outstripped demand even when Peter was in full production, but, while the parent and grandparent birds numbers have to be built up, we will all have to be patient.

Sadly many growers, dealers, and sellers of birds have no patience, and you will find people telling you all sorts of stories.

• Despite the claims of some, there are no other breeders of Black Rocks. No-one has the quality of RIR or Barred Rock that Peter has worked with for more than 40 years, and inherited from Arbour Acre, so NO-ONE has the genetics to produce a bird of the same high quality.
• The map - this link here is now completely out of date, inaccurate and should not be used to source Black Rocks in 2010 and beyond.
• The map here - click THIS link - is the most up to date list of people who are approved to sell Black Rocks -- anyone else may say they are, but BEWARE, not all are as they seem.
• There are many people who are selling all sorts of crosses that look similar and saying they are the same quality, they are not, but they will probably keep you going until the Black Rock numbers increase.
• Rhode Rocks, Bovan Neras, Hebden Blacks, all of these and more, are NOT Black Rocks.

or phone 01505 613075

The hatchery has all the grand-parent and parent birds to breed, and build up stocks, and look after as well as hatching all the chicks.

When you cross the gold feathered genetics of the Rhode Island Red with the silver feathered lines of the Plymouth Rock you get a sex linkage feature that identifies each sex at hatching.
This is why there are no Black Rock cockerels ever. Anyone who tries to sell you one as a domestic pet is lying.

The female chicks are then sent out to recognised growers, like ourselves, around the country who raise the youngsters on for customers to buy.

We are ALWAYS well booked up in advance, this is because

we are one of the few growers on the West Coast of Scotland,

we free range rear, which makes for an even stronger, healthier, and fuller feathered bird. Most growers keep their birds inside in barns, but we know from our many many years experience that being outside as they grow produces a far superior bird. We always keep some birds from each batch we raise, for our own laying flocks, so we are not raising birds just for you, we are raising them for ourselves.

We raise small batches so as to be able to give them the highest quality care.

PLEASE do not contact us here at Kintaline about other agents or exporting or such. We do not have that sort of information. See this map for details

Tim and Jill Bowis
Kintaline Mill Farm, Benderloch, OBAN Argyll PA37 1QS Scotland
all text and images are copyright, do not use without express permission and links back to this site. Website online : 1999-2011
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