Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[gruffy]

Bought this barnie hen from poultry sale not sure how old she is her wattles and comb is quite red but is not laying any eggs. Wondering weather I bought a rather old hen or what anyone can tell me how old she might be pls??

I'd say she may be a few years but can hardly tell from picture. She may be young with wattles just coming in or they may just be small. Look at her face. If she has a droopy face she's likely to be older. And look at her feet. Older birds won't have smooth feet like a young one. (Depending on the bird) old chicken feet can look kinda gnarly They'll have broken/dead scales gunk between them and the claws look a bit worn.

 

[Junibutt]

So, you want a blue and chocolate laced looking bird? I am a little confused with your goal of using the chocolate and blue genes together.

Chocolate modifies black areas to a chocolate.
Blue modifies black areas to grey.

Neither really effects the reddish ground color of a Barnevelder ( brown/ gold with Mahogany and red enhancers) . Blue and chocolate only will change the apperance in areas of black pigment.

If you want a blue and chocolate like pattern you may need "dilute" added to a blue bird. I'm not familiar with this gene. Dilute on a blue bird might lighten the red/ brown ground color and the blue will change the black lacing to grey. Lavender might alter the ground color too as well as the lacing, but I again I'm just guessing as I have not looked into that gene either. I'm not sure how these genes will interact with the mahogany and red enhancers Barnevelders have. Keep in mind that the double laced pattern requires careful breeding and is easily disrupted by outcrossing.

Thats what I figured that the Chocolate will just replace black or blue and not the Mahogany so it is a non-starter. However, in case of Silver laced Barnevelders, silver was able to replace Mahagony. Silver obviously works different than chocolate, but still wondering how it came about and is there another color apart from Mahogany and Silver than can be introduced.

 

[tls_ranch]

So, you want a blue and chocolate laced looking bird? I am a little confused with your goal of using the chocolate and blue genes together.


Chocolate modifies black areas to a chocolate.

Blue modifies black areas to grey.


Neither really effects the reddish ground color of a Barnevelder ( brown/ gold with Mahogany and red enhancers) . Blue and chocolate only will change the apperance in areas of black pigment.


If you want a blue and chocolate like pattern you may need "dilute" added to a blue bird. I'm not familiar with this gene. Dilute on a blue bird might lighten the red/ brown ground color and the blue will change the black lacing to grey. Lavender might alter the ground color too as well as the lacing, but I again I'm just guessing as I have not looked into that gene either. I'm not sure how these genes will interact with the mahogany and red enhancers Barnevelders have. Keep in mind that the double laced pattern requires careful breeding and is easily disrupted by outcrossing.

Thats what I figured that the Chocolate will just replace black or blue and not the Mahogany so it is a non-starter. However, in case of Silver laced Barnevelders, silver was able to replace Mahagony. Silver obviously works different than chocolate, but still wondering how it came about and is there another color apart from Mahogany and Silver than can be introduced.

Silver replaces the gold ground color. Mahogany and autosomal red are " modifiers" that enhance the gold to a richer red color. You have to then breed out the red enhancers to get the silver to look pure. You can get chocolate laced silver that might look similar to what you maybe trying for.

 

[tls_ranch]

Basically, you are working with ground color and lacing color which are two different things. Ground color is silver or gold. Lacing is normally black which can be changed to blue, chocolate, or near white in splash. But , splash seems to interfere with the expression of the double laced pattern and you get near single lacing despite having the right pattern genes for double lacing.

 

[Junibutt]

Basically, you are working with ground color and lacing color which are two different things. Ground color is silver or gold. Lacing is normally black which can be changed to blue, chocolate, or near white in splash. But , splash seems to interfere with the expression of the double laced pattern and you get near single lacing despite having the right pattern genes for double lacing.

I got it loud and clear now! As I mentioned, novice to genetics so was just dreaming if that was possible, apparently not.

 

[gruffy]

I was always wondering what the mixes would look like. I can't seem to find another barnie hen anywhere in the state or anyone willing to send a few good eggs
But I did mix my roo with our ancona hen (all black undercoat with white tipped feathers) the chicks grew up all shiney black with a little white lacing randomly... hrmmm but the shinyness is gorgeous they turn purple and blue in the sunlight.
I've been socializing my chicks so they sell more as pets and bond with people while still being good layers. Some of them won't tame down they have the temperment of our wiley hen and bounce off the walls :/

I do have a question for the expert breeders. What would be a good breed to mix with that still lays well has a good temperment and would still have some of the look of a barnevelder with lacing or at least be very interesting looking. Oh and easier to find haha

 

[NadinesNest]

Gruffy, where are you located? Perhaps some of the members can help you find more Barnevelders. I've had pretty good luck finding day-old chicks, none of which were nearby, but they seemed to survive shipping reasonably well. Once you find a breeder, you may have to get on a waiting list and be patient, but they do come up available. Best of luck to you!

 

[gruffy]

I'm in new Mexico. The lady I bought our rooster from ordered from a hatchery but every last one was a rooster and most of them ended up being eaten I've been looking but we may very well have the only barnie in the state. And it would be hard even to find a mix especially one that wouldn't be related or avoid spending a small fortune on shipping them in. The only people breeding purebred birds seem to have shipped their stock in from out of state and even then none are barnevelders.

 

[NadinesNest]

For hatchery birds, Ideal has sexed Barnevelders. They're in Texas. If you order now, you can probably get some early next spring. I'm too new to the breed to comment on the quality of their stock, but I've liked the Barnevelders I've bought from them.

The only breeder I've purchased from so far was Blue House Farm in North Carolina (I think). She was very nice to work with, and the chicks are cute and healthy, but it's too soon to say much about their quality (assuming that I was knowledgeable enough to comment on them). I live in Colorado, and it was no problem getting chicks from there to here.

 

[rachelpotter]

I got two batches of eggs from a lady in Florida. She has eBay auctions every now and again. My first batch is about 4 weeks old and beautiful! Second batch is in the bator now.