A Barbezieux Thread.

[madriver]

I haven't, but I have only heard good things about her and her chickens. Friends of some other breeders I know and surely not a scam. Live chicks or eggs? Also keep in mind that even with the best seller eggs may fail due to any number of handing issues during shipping, I have bought from all over the country and have leaned the hard way to plan for a low hatch rate and put as many eggs in as you can. you only need a good m and f to get a nice flock going with some patience. Good luck!

 

[GabrielBane]

Thank you! We read review on their other breeds and just went ahead bought the entire lot of 8 chicks. The odds are in are in our favor for a decent ratio.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[StephWind]

I have! Beautiful, healthy birds!!!

 

[GabrielBane]

Been anxiously awaiting confirmation from them about confirming the sale, super excited to have these guys.

 

[indyNile]

I acquired a my "special" chicken Barb because she was not doing well with her flock. She was nearly 6 months when we she came home with us. She appeared underweight and her comb is very pale and dry. We wormed/vitamined/electrolyted/probiotics etc. and feed her high quality chick starter. She doesn't roost unless we put her up. She cant walk on slippery floors at all, just lays down. She seems to step on her own feet ALL the time. I wonder if she is a little knock-kneed? She MIGHT be deaf? or just reallly not care when we drive the riding lawn mower right by her. She goes into a kind of panic then ptsd catatonic state when put with other chickens and they DO NOT LIKE IT. So we have had her 2 months now and she lives alone in our BIG brooder in the garage. She is maybe 8 months now and comb is still pink, no eggs to be seen.
Oddly, she LOVES loves loves us humans. Any humans. Toddlers, neighbors, anyone. She loves outdoors time and scratches and pecks around while never straying more than 10 feet from us. If she gets bored, she just lays down and naps right where I am. She will follow us anywhere. She enjoys "visiting" the other chickens as long as they can't touch her. She even sits quietly in the passenger seat on car rides. She is so sweet we really love her, but man she is different. I recently purchased a small one-chicken type condo for her to put inside my main run so she can have her private space but maybe still have chicken friends??? Of course we will still take her for walks, but I hate to think of her alone so much.
This is Barb when we first got her, to recently.

 

[3riverschick]

wait, what? You have a therapy chicken? How cool is that! Have you thought of taking her to rest homes? Give her a nice bath and take her there for the old folk to pet? They love it. It think this bird is really special. She obviously has made her choice of fav species and it is human. I suppose she misses her own kind and I think your one bird condo solution is brilliant. But it appears she much prefers to be with you. How special! One thing, ( viewing the first pic of her) it looks like she may have a G.I. tract which is not maybe functioning as well as it might for who knows what reason. In any case, try putting Bovidr Lab Poultry Nutri-Drench in her water. I've had great success with it over the last decade with my dogs and poultry. It's a nutritional supplement which does not need digesting. Mainlines directly into the bloodstream. Excellent for birds stressed by anything. Gets them quick energy. http://www.nutridrench.com Add enough to make their water look like very weak tea. The Drench is al natural, very concentrated and lasts long time. I buy the smallest bottle at Tractor Supply for only 6.99
Best,
Karen

 

[indyNile]

Oh my gosh!!! She totally IS a therapy chicken! Why didn't I see it before?? Thank you!
And nutridrench! I'm getting some tomorrow. I was wondering if she might have absorption issues. She eats a ton and POOPS bigger than any chicken I've ever had. Thanks so much for the suggestion

 

[3riverschick]

Oh my gosh!!! She totally IS a therapy chicken! Why didn't I see it before?? Thank you!
And nutridrench! I'm getting some tomorrow. I was wondering if she might have absorption issues. She eats a ton and POOPS bigger than any chicken I've ever had. Thanks so much for the suggestion

More than welcome, enjoy your very special hen friend. If you do decide to bath her and take her to a rest home, watch the folks faces light up as they remember their youth!
Best,
Karen

 

[chonsey]

I hatched some out for New Years last year. Raised mine with my Brahmas. They were not aggressive, lost them to a predator in the Spring. I was feeding them organic feed with a flock block. They were dominate. But they had alot of Space, large pen, large outdoor pasture.

 

[prijicrw]

how did they taste??

Well, I have to admit that I am hugely disappointed in the SIZE of the roosters that I processed yesterday. I was planning on processing 4 birds - 1 that was free-ranging with my EE hens, and 4 larger birds that I had isolated (together) in a large breeder box for the last week. They had been free ranging prior to that. The smaller bird with the girls I found dead and stiff in the coop in the morning! The other 3 tried to attack us as we took them out of the box. They had very narrow chest openings, were difficult to clean, and weighed out at about 3 1/2 pounds each processed weight. I don't see that it is worth feeding them for an extra 5 months to get a 6 pound bird at processing. All of that said, I haven't actually tasted them yet, so if they are just phenomenal in taste, I might decide to maintain a roo for breeding. Otherwise I will just keep some of the girls in my egg-layer flock. They ARE beautiful birds, but I am really concerned about maintaining a roo with those huge wattles and comb here in the winter, so maybe this is for the best...?