Dark Egg Breeds Thread

[1 Bad Rotti]

Are the barnevelders good layers? How do they compare to the wellies & marans? Only problem is I live in north Ga and don't know anyone close that has them.

 

[geebs]

Very few ppl get barnies with a sufficient egg color in the states..there is one fella by me that is rumored to have a good set of em... but on whole I think you should get some Wades...

and some Wellies.. Pink can hook you up with the Wellies. She has some nice dark layers... She is a finicky breeder (sorry and your welcome Pink

).

 

[Medicine Man]

it seems to me though everything is awailable in Florida and close to Florida.

 

[geebs]

MM are you stalking me???

(he he)

 

[Medicine Man]

Quote:
no are you in Florida. everything that i see is so often in Florida that i am looking for. and then it goes to California immediate and then they spread inways. it is like an invasion! haha!

 

[1 Bad Rotti]

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Isn't pink in Washington? I'm in north Georgia, Washington is a little far for me and I know nothing about shipping chickens. If they have to be picked up at the airport there is no way, post office would be good though. The airport here is a nightmare

 

[geebs]

I buy shipped eggs all the time.. she can hold your hand... you are in GA??? there is some fine birds in your backyard!!!

 

[pinkchick]

Barnies~

Great birds! Friendly. Beautiful. Hardy. LF Barnie females are a little smaller than a Welsummer hen even though the standards say they should be the same. Can't comment of rate of egg production as my Barnie pullet has not started laying yet, but it is said they are not as productive as a Welsummer or Marans. I think that I read somewhere that they should lay around 180+ eggs per year. They are also not known for going broody but it does happen sometimes. Hoping more will come along and give you their experience with their Barnies and correct me if I am wrong. There are Barnie breeders near you, but the problem with some Barnies is that they have been crossed with Welsummers here in the states to try and improve egg color. Now don't get me wrong Welsummers were created with Barnevelders so crossing them is not the issue, the issue is offspring that are being sold as pure Barnies that resemble Welsummers or a mix of the 2, and folks believing that they have pure Barnies and infact they have a crossbreed bird. Careful selection of crossed offspring and back crossing until the color and pattern of the birds is back to pure, is what is needed and it can be done. Egg color here in the U.S. is lacking and some very dedicated breeders are working on it, egg color in Europe is also being worked on. Their eggs should never be as dark as that of a Marans, but their egg color should resemble that of a Welsummer but with a slightly different coppery tinge.

When looking into Barnies as with any breed of chickens careful research is a must.

Hope this helps and again hope others that work with them will stop by and give their comments.

 

[pinkchick]

I am a finicky breeder Jan and that is okay that you said it, I don't mind. But I will say that my first and foremost goal and intent with the 3 dark egg breeds that I work with is EGG COLOR!!!!!!!!! I want to help conserve these birds for what makes them special and that is their egg color, so if I get a bird that does not give sufficent/acceptable egg color it will not be bred, but if egg color is good even if the bird has faults I WILL breed it. Faults can be worked with more easily in my opinion than egg color, granted faults may take longer to work out, but as long as I've got egg color for the entire ride, I'm happy. I will also tell you that it is a very slow road because along with egg color, I also try to find a happy medium so that I don't loose type either, this is a very fine line and hard to do. Lots of very hard culling decisions. The painting of the barn is the last thing to me......it's much easier to paint the barn, then build it.

 

[geebs]

PINK!!! SWACK