Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[faykokoWV]

Quote:
I ordered eggs from 3 different breeders, all 3 different lines - and none of the eggs I'd classify as "deep terra cotta". They have kind of a golden, pinky color to them. I knew going into this breed that egg color is something that is in need of work, but I don't know that they are supposed to be terra cotta.

I responded to them with some education, I'm pretty sure Barnevelder eggs are to be a golden/coppery brown. Before I got Barnevelders and started researching, I expected darker eggs as well. I think the hatcheries list them in the same category as Marans and Welsummers and this is misleading. Some of my eggs are light as a few of the hens are going on 3 years old, but the younger hens all lay a golden brown.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I found this information for you:

http://community-1.webtv.net/@HH!61!8D!4B91BA8C6529/hotwalker05/Christineschickens/page2.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=215686

 

[crazychicken]

Just moved the nine babies into the brooder, well at least the temporary brooder, I don't think they will all fit in there for long. They all still smell of incubator/after hatch

Hopefully they will air out some now that they are out of the incubator.

 

[faykokoWV]

Just sharing some pictures. The roo hatched in Dec. I think he is filling in quite nice. The hens are two years old, I'm amazed at how much their leg color has faded. They were bright yellow for the first year.

 

[crazychicken]

The woes of first eggs.....
1st egg~ All nice and pretty in the nest box.
2nd egg~ In the middle of the run with a hairline crack.
3rd egg~ On the coop floor about a foot away from the nest box with a big crack running down it.

Guess they have to start somewhere and learn..... one of my Barred Rocks when she first started laying would drop them from the roost.

Here are some pics of my nine barnevelder chicks.... any guesses on the genders ? Also I have not seen any with V's do they all look ok color wise ?

(Please note that the chick farthest to the left in this pic is the ninth chick that hatched with a bit of unabsorbed yoke, so it is still a little wet/wobbly.)

 

[tls_ranch]

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Hi Steve here's some history about the Barnevelder. This info may not be exact and is just what I've gathered.

Barnevelders were introduced with a fixed standard in 1921. I haven't heard much about exactly who and when they were first imported to the USA. I've heard some were imported by the late Lowell Barber and a few of his friends about 20+ years ago. Barnevelders were also being bred by German immigrants in Canada before Barber imported and some may have made it to the US that way. Johan did import his line himself and later importing became near impossible from overseas. There were rumors of other imports to the US by earlier immigrants, but may have died off or been replaced by RIR etc.

Barnevelders' susceptibility to Marek's and the rise of more productive brown egg layers like the RIR and New Hampshire caused Barnevelders to fade away.
Marek's took it's toll on many breeds during that time. Welsummers were not affected to the same extent. At least one breeder in a attempt around 1988 to "save" the Barnevelder tried crossing them with Welsummers. I've heard that Sandhill Preservation ended up with one of those "lines".

The desired egg color is not brown/chocolate as such (like in Marans), but is rather more of a dark red-brown (like ochre). A highly glossed, smooth egg was considered desirable by the original Dutch breeders because it improved egg longevity (remember this was before refrigeration). When the birds first appeared in England, mottled or speckled eggs were highly sought after. So prized were their red-brown speckled eggs that arrived in London by steam packet in the late 1800s, they would sell for the direct equivalent of about $6 each - but $6 then had the buying power of $275

Barnevelder eggs should not look like Welsummer or Marans eggs. This is picture of eggs from a breeder who claims his stock is undiluted from early settlers to Australia and Tasmania. Located in Tasmania, He claims to have the only surviving heirloom line of Dutch barnevelder in the world. During World War I, all the Dutch stocks of barnevelders were eaten and the British "ruined" the breed by crossing it with Indian breeds to improve its looks for showing. Oddly the hens that I own that lays the closest to the egg color in this picture have D. cornish in them.

 

[tls_ranch]

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They look pretty good to me colorwise
Here's my guesses:

pic1: boy / girl/ boy
pic2: boy /girl/ boy
Pic3: girl/ boy/ girl? (not as sure)

Trisha

 

[crazychicken]

Thats about what I guessed, I said that it looked like 5 girls and 4 boys ( I was guessing that all three in the last pic were girls.). Your guess is probably more accurate though, you have more experience with sexing them than I do, and I usually tend to have more boys than girls. My very first hatch I had 24 eggs go into lockdown and I had 22 hatch. Out of those 22 chicks 18 were roos. five boys and four girls would put them at about 50/50 though, that would be a nice change.

 

[vanalpaca]

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Oh My Goodness, with that chick stepping out like that, it looks like they are learning a line dancing step!! How funny!!
Maybe those white down chests on Barnie's are the genetics in my Welsummers throwing downy white chests instead of the proper tan ones!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Beautiful. And a handsome rooster too.