Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[BarnyBabe]

Hi Happy Chooks, thanks for looking at the pictures. If I've understood you correctly, out of my 4 Barnevelders: older 2 in top photo, younger 2 in bottom photo: there is only one pullet. And she's in the bottom photo with white patch on wing, and her head is in the photo. Have I got that right? Cheers BB

 

[Bitterroot]

They look blue to me. Blues can vary from light to dark. Sometimes a few can appear so dark that they look black at first. Their color and pattern will change a lot once they get their adult feathers.

Trisha

Much appreciated advice! I recently hatched some blue barnevelders and came here to see if I could find out why these chicks look black. Now I know I need to sit on my hands and be patient. Thank you.

 

[memphis]

Its normal for my blues to start off black. The one thing I have noticed is their lacing looks more broken up or spotted. In other words my traditional colored Barnies brown lacing is a very solid lace but my blues lacing always appears sort of broken. Yet when they get that second set of juvie feathers they come out just fine.

 

[Piet]

Its normal for my blues to start off black.  The one thing I have noticed is their lacing looks more broken up or spotted.  In other words my traditional colored Barnies brown lacing is a very solid lace but my blues lacing always appears sort of broken.  Yet when they get that second set of juvie feathers they come out just fine.

I have not seen a decent reprasentative of a double laced blue Barnevelder in North America yet. The color sounds intriguing and pretty and therefor sells. However the double laced blue comes with a lot of its own problems and always has. One needs to breed very many numbers within in a very pure line over and over in order to have success with them. I constantly feel that they are being spreadout too early as there is no solid pure base and they are not even recognized. Piet

 

[tls_ranch]

Its normal for my blues to start off black.  The one thing I have noticed is their lacing looks more broken up or spotted.  In other words my traditional colored Barnies brown lacing is a very solid lace but my blues lacing always appears sort of broken.  Yet when they get that second set of juvie feathers they come out just fine.

I have not seen a decent reprasentative of a double laced blue Barnevelder in North America yet. The color sounds intriguing and pretty and therefor sells. However the double laced blue comes with a lot of its own problems and always has. One needs to breed very many numbers within in a very pure line over and over in order to have success with them. I constantly feel that they are being spreadout too early as there is no solid pure base and they are not even recognized. Piet

Piet, Congratulations on becoming the Vice President of the Barnevelder club, hopefully others will get to benefit from your input and experience .

I see the potential for good blues here in the USA. Yes, they need work and soon silvers will too as breeders are now working to create them. I enjoy the challenge and so do other breeders. Pretty birds are also popular and many people just want "eye candy" layers in their flock. Many have no interest in breeding. I have had people drive more than 8 hours round trip just for a few Barnevelders as pets for their backyard. Yet, If just a few of us keep working on them we will eventually produce show quality Barnevelders and blue Barnevelders. Yes, the blues are not accepted to the APA yet. If we keep working with them maybe they will be someday. And if not, there are many other breeds and varieties that aren't accepted and probably never will be. That doesn't mean we should give up breeding them.

Good advice is needed! I have heard lots of negative talk over the years about how bad Barnevelders are here in the USA. But, very little info is shared here in the USA on how to breed good Barnevelders. I guess we could wait until others import more. But, who's to say imports will work for everyone? I originally lost birds to heat stress. It gets HOT where I live. My flock is now adapted through selection for more heat tolerance. If I quit and started over with imports from lets say the Netherlands...they probably would all die the first summer due to heat. I have worked hard to improve my flock and create my blues. Without good advice any imports would probably be ruined in a few years too. Select the wrong birds as breeders and we will soon be back where we started from.

I am tired of doom and gloom statements about the breed in general. I have been looking at pictures of what birds I started with and comparing them to what I have now. I have made mistakes and even gotten some bad advice over the years. But, by wading through old articles and translating what I can ...I have learned a lot. A few breeders have even graciously shared some good info with me. I am now seeing more and more improvement in my birds. I still have much to learn and they are not perfect yet, but I am determined to keep going. I am hopeful others will also keep working with them too.

My first 60+ eggs for this year are in the bator. I can't wait to see how they turn out I will probably hatch about 200-300 this year.

Trisha

 

[RachaelS]

Quote:
Piet,
Would love to see some pictures of good representatives, of the Blue, they are so pretty! Also, if you can point out the difference in the quality hens over what Green Fire Farms has, that would be very educational.

 

[memphis]

Well Piet I was simply offering up my observations of how my black Barnevelders turned blue. I don't breed chickens. Don't even own a rooster. Just a fan of the breed. When I'm ready for a few young girls I will buy them from a breeder. Prefer the black and the blue was a surprise to me. I've owned Barnies for a long time and have had this happen a few times now. I agree with Trisha. Folks that want to produce blues realize there is a lot of work to do. But that's for those diligent and devoted enough to work to get there. Me....I just like the breed and was only responding to someone's query. And maybe my blues aren't "decent" reps of the breed but they are well loved and decent enough for me.

 

[Piet]

Hey, its quite simple and I already said it. The blue is just hard to deal with and can be a struggle for even the most seasoned breeders. And importing birds does not help anything, all the birds in the USA were once imported to begin with. It depends on who's hands they end up in. There are some good ones out there and the means to make great ones are for sure already here. The Barnevelder does not work for a hatchery, they simple need to be bred quite selectively. All I will and can say about Greenfire is that they are a business and a business MUST make money. I am just a breeder, I breed for my own pleasure and show. I love the eyecandy and big dark eggs. But if I had to make money off it, I would quit, because the quality of the birds would suffer.
Back to the blue, everything that is black on the original Gold double laced should be blue and nothing else. just like that. If you want to know more about the Barnevelder and be part of PRESERVING the Barnevelder, then you can join the BBA. A book is also in the making, I am working on that with judges and our partner club in the Netherlands. Piet

 

[RachaelS]

Hey, its quite simple and I already said it. The blue is just hard to deal with and can be a struggle for even the most seasoned breeders. And importing birds does not help anything, all the birds in the USA were once imported to begin with. It depends on who's hands they end up in. There are some good ones out there and the means to make great ones are for sure already here. The Barnevelder does not work for a hatchery, they simple need to be bred quite selectively. All I will and can say about Greenfire is that they are a business and a business MUST make money. I am just a breeder, I breed for my own pleasure and show. I love the eyecandy and big dark eggs. But if I had to make money off it, I would quit, because the quality of the birds would suffer.
Back to the blue, everything that is black on the original Gold double laced should be blue and nothing else. just like that. If you want to know more about the Barnevelder and be part of PRESERVING the Barnevelder, then you can join the BBA. A book is also in the making, I am working on that with judges and our partner club in the Netherlands. Piet

Piet,
Sorry I really don't understand, all breeds and all colors are a struggle for even the most seasoned breeders, that is why it is called the SOP. There are a lot of breeds in the US, from other countries that seem to be doing okay, we are not that bad in breeding. So it would be helpful if you can show why the Barnevelders in the US, regardless of color but also including color, are not to standard and guide from there. Pictures help if possible.

I personally bought some Barnevelders from a hatchery, and nope not the BEST quality but they had really good clean double lacing. They were not over all "bad", they laid a super dark egg, another quality of them, went broody, so pretty much not a bad rep, just not the best.

What is the BBA? That must be a new group.

Please feel free to post pictures of yours, I would love to see them!

 

[tls_ranch]

Hey, its quite simple and I already said it. The blue is just hard to deal with and can be a struggle for even the most seasoned breeders. And importing birds does not help anything, all the birds in the USA were once imported to begin with. It depends on who's hands they end up in. There are some good ones out there and the means to make great ones are for sure already here. The Barnevelder does not work for a hatchery, they simple need to be bred quite selectively. All I will and can say about Greenfire is that they are a business and a business MUST make money. I am just a breeder, I breed for my own pleasure and show. I love the eyecandy and big dark eggs. But if I had to make money off it, I would quit, because the quality of the birds would suffer.
Back to the blue, everything that is black on the original Gold double laced should be blue and nothing else. just like that. If you want to know more about the Barnevelder and be part of PRESERVING the Barnevelder, then you can join the BBA. A book is also in the making, I am working on that with judges and our partner club in the Netherlands. Piet

I agree, the blues are harder. I have worked with them for about 5 years now. I don't make money either, i sold one batch of eggs today and turned around and spent over double that on feed at the feed store on the way home. I also gave away 3 cockerels this week to "beginning" breeders to help start their flocks.


So here is one of my blue pullets. To me she shows promise and improvement over last year. Pictures like these don't really show her well, you really need to see her in person and put your hands on her.

Trisha