Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[Apdeb]

Your so lucky beautiful up there

 

[sherpagirl]

This thread seems dead, so here's a feeble attempt at re-kindling it.

It's coming into fall, I'm sure many are starting to begin the culling and selection process for next years keepers. How are your babies looking?

I'm pleasantly surprised with what I'm seeing. I was only able to hatch out 100 barnie babies this year, but I"m seeing nice pullets that are potential keepers and many very nice cockerals. I didn't expect to see this many nice ones, I thought there would be more variety in type as this was an outcross year - boy from one line, girls from another. So it'll be nice to have a good selection to pick from. Saw one girl yesterday and was thinking, "wow, where did you come from!!!". I ended up hatching what I thought was initially 90% boys, but that's come down - I tagged the first babies and the breast down was 100%, but the later hatches didn't have those same odds - THANK GOODNESS or I'd have a lot of boys. Still probably 70% boys, better than 90%. Have one more batch of eggs to hatch, and many young babies to watch as they grow. Yes, our winters are mild here, so I can have winter babies.

So looking forward to watching these babies continue to grow.

Glad you got more girls than you initially thought! When I look at my chicks I see three colors. If you tag your chicks in your next hatch based on chest color only, a suggestion would be to try having 3 categories, boys, girls, and not sure. The super whites- boys, dark gray- girls, and then the creamy chested ones- the could go either way group. This is by no means 100% accurate but when I sell chicks I try to give each customer an equal selection of colors in an effort to make it fair for everyone.

 

[ke5hde]

Glad you got more girls than you initially thought! When I look at my chicks I see three colors. If you tag your chicks in your next hatch based on chest color only, a suggestion would be to  try having 3 categories, boys, girls, and not sure. The super whites- boys, dark gray- girls, and then the creamy chested ones- the could go either way group. This is by no means 100% accurate but when I sell chicks I try to give each customer an equal selection of colors in an effort to make it fair for everyone. 

It's pretty close to accurate though. I actually ended up with less boys than we initially thought. Of 12 chicks, we only ended up with 3 boys.

Chris

 

[southernfiction]

Nice pics, I might have to try putting a roost in the pen like you do, I'm having such a hard time of getting pics. My pics all seem to be of the tip of the beak, or the tail end of a crowd at the other end of the pen. I'll keep trying.

It'll be interesting to see them when they are older, my fav is #2, such a pretty expression and pretty lacing already.

Islandgal, I love the way you describe picture results. Thanks for a giggle. Happens to me all the time.

 

[southernfiction]

OK, next question, I have hatched chicks with V and no V , all from the darkest eggs I had and raised them all to maturity but the V chicks were unmarked from the dark headed chicks. I culled from the adult birds and what remained are some nice mahogany brown, nicely double laced hens with good to excellent type. The roos do not have too much red in the hackles and the hens do not have red in the breasts. I checked today and no one has light feather shafting. So, it's possible that the birds that were culled were the V heads as chicks, or can a V head chick still feather out a nice bird in type, lacing and color also but carry the e+. I am however going to mark the V chicks from now on so I know which ones they are as they grow out so I can see for myself.

I just separated my first 10 Barnevelder chicks, which are 3 weeks old, into two groups. Pen 1 holds three brown-headed pullets and the two cockerels who also have brown heads. Pen 2 holds the five V-marked chicks. Some of the V-marks are mottled. Here's the odd part. All the fiesty, friendly chicks ended up in Pen 2. The shy ones are all in Pen 1. Next: the biggest and darkest pullets all ended up in Pen 1. I certainly don't have enough data to be sure, but isn't it weird that the brown heads went with bigger and darker? I'm keeping everybody until the girls are ready to lay and then choose the few I can keep.

 

[RachaelS]

Quote: Where did you get your Barnies from?

 

[southernfiction]

Where did you get your Barnies from?

I cringed when I saw the question. I innocently shared the information somewhere else and was basically tarred and feathered for buying from a hatchery at all. I don't innocently share there anymore! But it's Ideal Poultry and they've been good with customer service except for my last call asking for the breed department! That didn't go anywhere. Lol. I'd still recommend them. The chicks are healthy and thriving and all are beautiful.

 

[Apdeb]

Rachel s pm me if you need to buy some Barnevelders i am in the breeders club
Mine too young but good options near ypu

 

[RachaelS]

Quote: I got some from Ideal also, to be part of a project I was working on. They were not bad birds at all. Most actually ended up with really pretty lacing. They were not as "stocky" as my Trisha girls, but very pretty in their own right. Pretty sure the girl in the back is a Trisha Baby and one in front is from Ideal.


In this picture 2 are Trisha babies and 2 are from Ideal, can't remember any more with 100% certainty which is which. I am pretty sure the on left front is a Trisha girl. The Rooster is 100% Trisha

 

[RachaelS]

Rachel s pm me if you need to buy some Barnevelders i am in the breeders club
Mine too young but good options near ypu

Thank you! I am not in the market for any chickens right now. Just curious where she got hers. If I did get some more, I would go with Trisha's all the way again. Great hatch rates, good healthy birds.