Barnevelders
Most lines of Barnevelder seem to produce male and female chicks that are difficult or impossible to reliably distinguish from one another at hatching. However, BYC member TLS_ranch has a line of Barnevelders that can be sexed reliably on down plumage, as illustrated below. Note that this feature will probably not be useful with most lines of Barnevelders, but the fact that it's possible without compromising the quality of the grown bird (see here for a photo of some stunning TLS hens at 15 weeks) might provide some incentive to anyone trying to establish breeding lines of this bird. It may be possible to use speed of feathering to sex some other lines of Barnies (females feathering up more quickly than males), but this feature also seems unlikely to be reliable across the board. More general differences between males and females include head gear (differences from around 4 weeks) plumage shape (including saddle hackles and tail, probably noticeable from around 8-10 weeks), and plumage colouration (also probably 8-10 weeks, though I need to see more photos of males to confirm this!).
1 day
10 days
2 weeks
18 days
24 days
4 weeks
6 weeks
16 weeks
1 day
posted by tls_ranch Northern California, USA
TLS_ranch has a line of Barnevelders that can be sexed reliably on down plumage, as illustrated below. Note that this feature will probably not be useful with most lines of Barnevelders, but the fact that it's possible without compromising the quality of the grown bird (see here for a photo of some stunning TLS hens at 15 weeks) might provide some incentive to anyone trying to establish breeding lines of this bird.
As day-olds: dark breast= girl, light= boy
Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy
2 day old chicks from the TLS_ranch line posted by enggass
Two females:
and boy here
10 days
posted 16/3/2010 by tls_ranch Northern California, USA
female and male
Pullet chick= longer wing feathers at 10 days.
Cockerel chick= short even wing feathers at 10 days.
BUT:
On the other hand, the Julie Gabbard (Kelly Cratty) line I have was all over the place. Some pullets feathered very slow and some cockerels feathered fast. There was one cockerel that feathered so fast I would of sworn it was a girl.
2 weeks
posted 16/5/2011 by tls_ranch Northern California, USA
female and male
At around 2 weeks:
Pullet= longer wings almost to tail or past, back feathers starting to come in, longer tail feathers, thin legs.
Roo= short stubby wings, almost no tail, very few back feathers, thicker legs. Maybe already some comb development showing (if you look closely)
Pullet left, Roo right
female
BYC member: mother o' chicks72
Portland, Oregon, USA
posted 5/5/11
this is agnes, our barnevelder that we are fostering for a friend
18 days
female
posted by Direchicken Cork, Ireland
Ember
24 days
female
posted by Direchicken Cork, Ireland
Ember
4 weeks
BYC member: tls_ranch
Northern California, USA
posted 16/5/2011
At 4+ weeks:
Roos= upright stance, larger thicker body and legs, color/size showing on comb/wattles, less feathering overall (back, wings, tail, breast)
Pullets= almost feathered, longer slender body/legs, no comb or wattles.
posted by enggass
on 16/5/2011
females (TLS_ranch line)
6 weeks
posted by: nzchicke
posted on 5/5/2011
male with e+ feathering, checking with poster that this bird is in fact 6 weeks old (looks a smidgeon older)
female
posted by Direchicken Cork, Ireland
Ember, 44 days
Ember, 45 days
16 weeks
These hens are actually 15 weeks, photos taken in late July 2011. TLS_ranch line
posted by enggass
posted on 13/1/2011 BigIslandChicks
female
posted on 15/4/2010 by Jenandnaomi
male
Most lines of Barnevelder seem to produce male and female chicks that are difficult or impossible to reliably distinguish from one another at hatching. However, BYC member TLS_ranch has a line of Barnevelders that can be sexed reliably on down plumage, as illustrated below. Note that this feature will probably not be useful with most lines of Barnevelders, but the fact that it's possible without compromising the quality of the grown bird (see here for a photo of some stunning TLS hens at 15 weeks) might provide some incentive to anyone trying to establish breeding lines of this bird. It may be possible to use speed of feathering to sex some other lines of Barnies (females feathering up more quickly than males), but this feature also seems unlikely to be reliable across the board. More general differences between males and females include head gear (differences from around 4 weeks) plumage shape (including saddle hackles and tail, probably noticeable from around 8-10 weeks), and plumage colouration (also probably 8-10 weeks, though I need to see more photos of males to confirm this!).
1 day
10 days
2 weeks
18 days
24 days
4 weeks
6 weeks
16 weeks
1 day
posted by tls_ranch Northern California, USA
TLS_ranch has a line of Barnevelders that can be sexed reliably on down plumage, as illustrated below. Note that this feature will probably not be useful with most lines of Barnevelders, but the fact that it's possible without compromising the quality of the grown bird (see here for a photo of some stunning TLS hens at 15 weeks) might provide some incentive to anyone trying to establish breeding lines of this bird.
As day-olds: dark breast= girl, light= boy
Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy
2 day old chicks from the TLS_ranch line posted by enggass
Two females:
and boy here
10 days
posted 16/3/2010 by tls_ranch Northern California, USA
female and male
Pullet chick= longer wing feathers at 10 days.
Cockerel chick= short even wing feathers at 10 days.
BUT:
On the other hand, the Julie Gabbard (Kelly Cratty) line I have was all over the place. Some pullets feathered very slow and some cockerels feathered fast. There was one cockerel that feathered so fast I would of sworn it was a girl.
2 weeks
posted 16/5/2011 by tls_ranch Northern California, USA
female and male
At around 2 weeks:
Pullet= longer wings almost to tail or past, back feathers starting to come in, longer tail feathers, thin legs.
Roo= short stubby wings, almost no tail, very few back feathers, thicker legs. Maybe already some comb development showing (if you look closely)
Pullet left, Roo right
female
BYC member: mother o' chicks72
Portland, Oregon, USA
posted 5/5/11
this is agnes, our barnevelder that we are fostering for a friend
18 days
female
posted by Direchicken Cork, Ireland
Ember
24 days
female
posted by Direchicken Cork, Ireland
Ember
4 weeks
BYC member: tls_ranch
Northern California, USA
posted 16/5/2011
At 4+ weeks:
Roos= upright stance, larger thicker body and legs, color/size showing on comb/wattles, less feathering overall (back, wings, tail, breast)
Pullets= almost feathered, longer slender body/legs, no comb or wattles.
posted by enggass
on 16/5/2011
females (TLS_ranch line)
6 weeks
posted by: nzchicke
posted on 5/5/2011
male with e+ feathering, checking with poster that this bird is in fact 6 weeks old (looks a smidgeon older)
female
posted by Direchicken Cork, Ireland
Ember, 44 days
Ember, 45 days
16 weeks
These hens are actually 15 weeks, photos taken in late July 2011. TLS_ranch line
posted by enggass
posted on 13/1/2011 BigIslandChicks
female
posted on 15/4/2010 by Jenandnaomi
male
