Appenzeller Barthuhner Thread!

[McCormack Farms]

I'm not worried since they came from greenfire farms.

Never. Never should you trust a breeder based off intuition. Know your facts, and if they don't match up, something is wrong. You should never assume something is right or okay because of good feeling. Greenfire imported these fabulous birds, yes, but that does not mean that Gf does not have the ability to mess up.
I am not saying there is something wrong with your birds, nor am I saying that Greenfire messes up often. I am merely remarking on the mentality of the statement. You should always know the facts and never assume something is the way it's supposed to be just because it came from a certain name.
That's all, no harsh feelings, just hope you understand!

 

[Overoberyl]

Never. Never should you trust a breeder based off intuition. Know your facts, and if they don't match up, something is wrong. You should never assume something is right or okay because of good feeling. Greenfire imported these fabulous birds, yes, but that does not mean that Gf does not have the ability to mess up.
I am not saying there is something wrong with your birds, nor am I saying that Greenfire messes up often. I am merely remarking on the mentality of the statement. You should always know the facts and never assume something is the way it's supposed to be just because it came from a certain name.
That's all, no harsh feelings, just hope you understand!

I couldn't agree more. People make a lot of assumptions based on a pretty website.

 

[sandiklaws]

I couldn't agree more. People make a lot of assumptions based on a pretty website.

My chicken friend from Virginia bough several Olandsk Dwarfs from GF... and he had to return 4 of them for major defects, including 1 pullet who not only was brown but also had legs and a head like a modern game, complete with dark skin. The other defects were; one roo was missing a wattle, another roo had a small eye, and a pullet had a slight crossed beak. The 4 were out of 8 birds total that he bought as a group at a SLIGHT discount, however there was NO MENTION of any of the above defects. Even worse was 3 of the pullets (originals and 1 replacement) died from being egg bound when they started egg laying and the 2 of 27 eggs set that actually hatched and produced chicks that survived, died at 3 weeks of age when they lost their light for an hour... but the Ohiki and English Orpington bantams, (both groups hatched from the same set, from his own eggs with near 100% developing and hatching), were all fine. The O.D.s were in with the Ohiki which are known for being hot house flowers, yet they took the 2 hours without an issue. GF did make good on all of the investment but it was VERY frustrating to say the least. When the pullets started dropping for no reason he gave up on them entirely... I do have another friend who has the same breed from GF and whose flock has had zero issues, however she bought her birds from a different pen (GF rotates pens for what leaves for genetic diversity we were told) so perhaps there is a good pen and a bad? Regardless GF treated him right in the end, despite their giving him tons of excuses and trying to say that some of the issues had nothing to do with breeding... but why should anyone have to go through all that, especially when paying so much money?

 

[madamwlf]

I completely agree. Let me tell you the issues I've been having with the partridge barthuhners. All of mine were gotten as chicks. I believe I've gotten close to 30 chicks give or take a few. I've had to put down 8 chicks due to cross beak. Yes, 8. I've put 2 more down due to other beak issues. One was recently put down. It's beak was too short and would not completely close. I have sent emails and pictures to GFF of these chicks letting them know they had a serious issue with their birds. I've recently found out they have culled a large portion of their partridge barthuhner flock due to issues. So if you recently got hens from them it is most likely the ones they got rid of due to genetic issues. I would say those of you with adult birds need to watch and cull hard any genetic problem with these birds. GFF is far from perfect. They are not breeding for perfection, they are breeding to make money.

 

[Overoberyl]

This is all horrible, but nothing compares to sending birds to people that are sick with coryza and infected with Marek's, which I know has happened. That is just unforgivable, imo. So no, do not be impressed by a pretty website, it means basically nothing.

 

[madamwlf]

This is all horrible, but nothing compares to sending birds to people that are sick with coryza and infected with Marek's, which I know has happened. That is just unforgivable, imo. So no, do not be impressed by a pretty website, it means basically nothing.

I know a few someone's who got sent sick birds as well.

 

[McCormack Farms]

Glad to see so many who actually have some sense in them. It's good to see after dealing with so many who do not.
Anyway, my experiences with the Barthuhners, least the ones I have had, have been quite good. I have some hatching now, and the ones that come out are always the most hardy. Everything I have seen with them has been positive. I think the problems many of you are facing is directly related to inbreeding by GF. Not sure if it's really their fault because of the rarity of the breed, but it does pop a few questions...

 

[McCormack Farms]

Kinda changing the subject, but does anyone know of any Barthuhner standard out there, like what specifically they should be bred to and look like?

 

[HalfAChanceFarm]

Do any of you guys have some for sale?

 

[McCormack Farms]

Do any of you guys have some for sale?

I just had a pretty nice hatch, PM me.