Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[new2pheasants]

@theelchickinky
Thank you for that, I'm looking for people friendly chickens as much as possible as there will be a 13, 7 year old and two infants around. Ive had people selling the BCM say they are very sweet chickens, but who knows. So nice chickens will probably stay around longer then not nice ones, I'm manly keeping them for eggs but have no problem butchering.
I'm laughing that the breed my husbands decided he wants, Plymouth rock, is nowhere to be found so far, the 2nd breed was supposed to be a no hassle cheaper chicken.

We wanted to get eggs for the 2nd breed, to hatch for the kids as schools don't do that anymore as parents think its cruel if Chicks are hatched with no home in mind.
Here are the more common breeds I have easy access to for fertilized eggs if anyone wants to comments on a nice egg laying easy temperament bird.
Dark Brahma
Road island reds
Americana
Black stars
Orpington
I was thinking the Orpington before my husband decided that the Plymouth rock seemed like a good dual bird. These are all from local breeders who advertise good heritage stock, I also have a local auction available but with that you never really know.

Thank you for letting me fill up the thread and get a little off topic.

 

[Junibutt]

@theelchickinky
Thank you for that, I'm looking for people friendly chickens as much as possible as there will be a 13, 7 year old and two infants around. Ive had people selling the BCM say they are very sweet chickens, but who knows. So nice chickens will probably stay around longer then not nice ones, I'm manly keeping them for eggs but have no problem butchering.
I'm laughing that the breed my husbands decided he wants, Plymouth rock, is nowhere to be found so far, the 2nd breed was supposed to be a no hassle cheaper chicken.

We wanted to get eggs for the 2nd breed, to hatch for the kids as schools don't do that anymore as parents think its cruel if Chicks are hatched with no home in mind.
Here are the more common breeds I have easy access to for fertilized eggs if anyone wants to comments on a nice egg laying easy temperament bird.
Dark Brahma
Road island reds
Americana
Black stars
Orpington
I was thinking the Orpington before my husband decided that the Plymouth rock seemed like a good dual bird. These are all from local breeders who advertise good heritage stock, I also have a local auction available but with that you never really know.

Thank you for letting me fill up the thread and get a little off topic.

Here are my 2 cents:

Dark Brahmas- Very friendly large good looking birds, however lay a small egg compared to their size and thus eat a lot of feed. If you are going to use them for meat as well, then they are economical otherwise not.
RIR- Very friendly dual purpose breed, however not so friendly to other breeds. Some strains are also knows to have issues related to feather picking
Black Stars- Very good layers, friendly, however again not friendly to other breeds.
That leaves behind Orpingtons and Americaunas.
If you want tinted and large eggs, then the way to go is Americaunas
Orpingtons, very large, fluffy and friendly especially the English versions. So your kids may enjoy them more.

 

[cvandermerwe]

I know this is not a for sale page, but Barnevelders are so specialized I just wanted to say that I have several roosters available (Normal, Blue and Splash). I am located in eastern Iowa. I posted this here because I would prefer they go to someone who actually knows what they are if you know what I mean.

Thanks,

C.J.

 

[new2pheasants]

I know this is not a for sale page, but Barnevelders are so specialized I just wanted to say that I have several roosters available (Normal, Blue and Splash). I am located in eastern Iowa.  I posted this here because I would prefer they go to someone who actually knows what they are if you know what I mean.

Thanks,

C.J.

Not that I can take them being in Canada but PICTURES PLEASE!
If you can.

 

[cutipatooti]

@theelchickinky
Thank you for that, I'm looking for people friendly chickens as much as possible as there will be a 13, 7 year old and two infants around. Ive had people selling the BCM say they are very sweet chickens, but who knows. So nice chickens will probably stay around longer then not nice ones, I'm manly keeping them for eggs but have no problem butchering.
I'm laughing that the breed my husbands decided he wants, Plymouth rock, is nowhere to be found so far, the 2nd breed was supposed to be a no hassle cheaper chicken.

We wanted to get eggs for the 2nd breed, to hatch for the kids as schools don't do that anymore as parents think its cruel if Chicks are hatched with no home in mind.
Here are the more common breeds I have easy access to for fertilized eggs if anyone wants to comments on a nice egg laying easy temperament bird.
Dark Brahma
Road island reds
Americana
Black stars
Orpington
I was thinking the Orpington before my husband decided that the Plymouth rock seemed like a good dual bird. These are all from local breeders who advertise good heritage stock, I also have a local auction available but with that you never really know.

Thank you for letting me fill up the thread and get a little off topic.

Brahama good for dual and good temperament not the best layers
RIRS tend to be aggressive with other birds
I don't know about black stars personally but a friend of mine has the mixed breed layer and they die off after 2 years. It could just bee that she keeps the light on all winter to keep them laying all year. She also heats their coop.
Love the Ameraucanas temperament they are wonderful. Great layers but I find their eggs a bit on the smaller side, could just be mine though.
Orpingtons are nice if you get the English ones. But good quality English ones are expensive.
I have the Blue black splash Bresse as layers, and really like them. They also come in white. They are a dual purpose breed. The blue black splash are smaller then the white but lay larger eggs. Again, very impressive layers.

 

[cutipatooti]

Quick question, I was only going to start with 6 chickens but my husband really wants a rooster. They breeder insists that I need 8-10 hens for a rooster or he will hurt the hens with his attention. Would having 4 or 5 hens and 1 rooster be a mistake? Would it be better to not get a rooster, pen him apart or just keep a bigger flock?

I would say go with a rooster. Some people only keep breeding trios so you should be good. They may loose some feathers but you can always get a chicken saddle. Plus roos always have their favorites, even with 20 hens if a Roo has a favorite she will lose some feathers.

 

[new2pheasants]

I would say go with a rooster. Some people only keep breeding trios so you should be good. They may loose some feathers but you can always get a chicken saddle. Plus roos always have their favorites, even with 20 hens if a Roo has a favorite she will lose some feathers.

So that's why people get chicken saddles, I'm so silly, I actually thought it was some sort of fancy way to ID your chickens.
Thank you for this, I've decided to get some barred Plymouth rocks, I FOUND A SOURCE! and do some more research on barnevelders.
I can get 3 pullets for 100$, or straight run chicks for 40$ each or fertilized eggs for 15$ each from a very good heritage breeder or get hatchery birds from another source for 22$ each, so still deciding.
I'm worried about spending a lot of money straight away and having something go wrong with my set up, so I may test with the BPR and see how I do.

 

[THeelChickinKY]

@new2pheasants
A heads up on the saddles - don't leave them consistently on a hen for too long at a time. Now it seems obvious, but we didn't think about it and left it on our roo's favorite for a couple of months. She got a terrible infestation of mites. The others didn't; the mites were very happy to hide under the saddle on her. The saddle keeps the chicken from properly cleaning herself with dust baths, so the covered area is a perfect spot for mites to move in undisturbed. I just didn't think about! We removed the saddle and the mite problem was gone after a few dust baths. Saddles are good - just don't leave them on for a prolonged period of time when you get to that point!

 

[new2pheasants]

@new2pheasants
A heads up on the saddles - don't leave them consistently on a hen for too long at a time. Now it seems obvious, but we didn't think about it and left it on our roo's favorite for a couple of months. She got a terrible infestation of mites. The others didn't; the mites were very happy to hide under the saddle on her. The saddle keeps the chicken from properly cleaning herself with dust baths, so the covered area is a perfect spot for mites to move in undisturbed. I just didn't think about! We removed the saddle and the mite problem was gone after a few dust baths. Saddles are good - just don't leave them on for a prolonged period of time when you get to that point!

Thank you for that note, I dont think I would as I love taking photos and I'd remove the saddles if I did as shoot.
Glad your chickens are mite free!

 

[Double Laced]

This is one of our blue laced barnevelders.

and a pure blue.