- Jan 4, 2009
- 168
- 32
- 137
Hello you all,
Several things in this discussion are pretty interesting. I need to make clear, though, that almost everything (except for what paucity I have had of personal experience with the Barnies) I have stated about breeding issues and color of the breast on the male is what I have picked up from reading Dutch articles on the breed, including the finding that a black breasted male would produce the better laced female. I have also come across a description to the effect that there should be no or little "visible" brown on the breast of the male, which suggests that the [single] lacing is so broad that there is but a small portion of mahogany red at the very base of the feathers. Some of the winning birds from shows in Germany and Scandinavia (bantams at least), however, show lacing in the breast of the males. It was for that reason that I contacted the Dutch breed club, and also having already read several articles claiming that Barnevelders need/should not be double mated -- i.e., one type of mating for males and another one for females -- and it was the response from the Dutch club that I reported earlier. I have no particular bias one way or the other, but it may make it easier for people working with the breed to go along with the Dutch practice ... or?
Ideal Barnies are stunning birds, and I always loved the incredible sheen some could have. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen a more beautiful breed. It is also encouraging to see that so many people in this country (and also several in Canada) are working with these birds. Breeding issues and APA standard specifications should be dealt with as a result of you, the primary breeders, communicating amongst yourselves and then make requests or recommendations to the APA to adjust the standard if desired (for instance, I think the color description is misleading; it should be more in line with that for the Dark India Game (Cornish) in my opinion). The double laced blues are also very striking. I wish we could also see some Black Barnies, as the ones they used to have in the UK, for they were equally stunning with that gorgeous sheen, yellow legs, and beautiful shape.
I know many people have crossed the Barnies with other breeds -- for a variety of reasons: to darken eggshell color (x Wellies), to "set" the lacing (x India Game, to increase vigor (x Golden Laced Wyandottes or x Partridge Rocks -- the latter also described as "partridge" but clearly different from the specifications for the "partridge" of the Barnies) -- but I have never seen any good specimen resulting from such. I myself crossed Barnie and Wellies and had some nice birds for layers, and even after a second back cross to the Barnies I was not getting anything like a good Barnevelder. If anything good could result from yet another back crossing to Barnevelders I don't know (most likely some improvement though), but I never tried it. Whatever people have evidently been able to achieve over a very short time span in this country is very, very impressive, I think, and doing away with any ambiguity as regards breeding or APA standard description will serve only to support and corroborate the improvements and successes of the serious breeders of the present and the future.
Several things in this discussion are pretty interesting. I need to make clear, though, that almost everything (except for what paucity I have had of personal experience with the Barnies) I have stated about breeding issues and color of the breast on the male is what I have picked up from reading Dutch articles on the breed, including the finding that a black breasted male would produce the better laced female. I have also come across a description to the effect that there should be no or little "visible" brown on the breast of the male, which suggests that the [single] lacing is so broad that there is but a small portion of mahogany red at the very base of the feathers. Some of the winning birds from shows in Germany and Scandinavia (bantams at least), however, show lacing in the breast of the males. It was for that reason that I contacted the Dutch breed club, and also having already read several articles claiming that Barnevelders need/should not be double mated -- i.e., one type of mating for males and another one for females -- and it was the response from the Dutch club that I reported earlier. I have no particular bias one way or the other, but it may make it easier for people working with the breed to go along with the Dutch practice ... or?
Ideal Barnies are stunning birds, and I always loved the incredible sheen some could have. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen a more beautiful breed. It is also encouraging to see that so many people in this country (and also several in Canada) are working with these birds. Breeding issues and APA standard specifications should be dealt with as a result of you, the primary breeders, communicating amongst yourselves and then make requests or recommendations to the APA to adjust the standard if desired (for instance, I think the color description is misleading; it should be more in line with that for the Dark India Game (Cornish) in my opinion). The double laced blues are also very striking. I wish we could also see some Black Barnies, as the ones they used to have in the UK, for they were equally stunning with that gorgeous sheen, yellow legs, and beautiful shape.
I know many people have crossed the Barnies with other breeds -- for a variety of reasons: to darken eggshell color (x Wellies), to "set" the lacing (x India Game, to increase vigor (x Golden Laced Wyandottes or x Partridge Rocks -- the latter also described as "partridge" but clearly different from the specifications for the "partridge" of the Barnies) -- but I have never seen any good specimen resulting from such. I myself crossed Barnie and Wellies and had some nice birds for layers, and even after a second back cross to the Barnies I was not getting anything like a good Barnevelder. If anything good could result from yet another back crossing to Barnevelders I don't know (most likely some improvement though), but I never tried it. Whatever people have evidently been able to achieve over a very short time span in this country is very, very impressive, I think, and doing away with any ambiguity as regards breeding or APA standard description will serve only to support and corroborate the improvements and successes of the serious breeders of the present and the future.
