Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[Jomini]

I have 2 Barnevelders the one up front I think is a roo and the one in the back a pullet. They are more skittish than my other babies.

 

[DiamondDust]

Bonneylass, in last picture it looks like three boys and one girl. My first few hatches have been like that....very heavy on the boys. This last hatch was finally almost 50/50 (odd number so, of course, the extra was a boy). The good thing about lots of boys is that you have a lot to choose from for breeding stock if you are looking to upgrade your cock next year.

 

[DiamondDust]

I have 2 Barnevelders the one up front I think is a roo and the one in the back a pullet. They are more skittish than my other babies.

I agree with you that the one up front is a boy but I can't see the one in back well enough to know what it is. Can you get a better picture of that one? My chicks tend to be a bit skittish too...I think because I raise them very "hands off". Once they get a little bit bigger mine have gotten more friendly though.

 

[bonnylass79]

Bonneylass, in last picture it looks like three boys and one girl. My first few hatches have been like that....very heavy on the boys. This last hatch was finally almost 50/50 (odd number so, of course, the extra was a boy). The good thing about lots of boys is that you have a lot to choose from for breeding stock if you are looking to upgrade your cock next year.

They actually look more yellow in person, but then after looking at the picture I was like, I think they're boys. I'm breeding for next year's show season and breeding pens, so it would be nice to have a little of both. I'll have another batch of eggs going in a few weeks. Honestly, we had some issues with this hatch, so I was happy to get any.

 

[bonnylass79]

Boy or girl?

I know the first one is a girl, but I can't figure out the other two. These are out if TLS birds.

The boy in my hand is actually one of the boys in the bottom photo. The top photo is a better representation of the actual color.

 

[malndobe]

I purchased 4 chicks about 3 months ago that are supposed to be Blue Double Laced Barnvelder. 2 are blue and 2 are splash. What I'm curious about is the lacing. Below are photos of one of my splash and one of the blues, you'll have to forgive the lack of tail on the blue. A couple of my young dogs got out about a week ago and I think he got grabbed by the tail and lost his feathers. Otherwise I have a feather picking problem, but nobody else is missing feathers so ... I'll blame it on the dogs.

My question is about their lacing. I know my laced Wyandottes go through some odd stages before finally getting their correct adult plumage, are these going through a weird stage also, or should I give up on the idea of them having proper double lacing?

 

[bonnylass79]

I purchased 4 chicks about 3 months ago that are supposed to be Blue Double Laced Barnvelder. 2 are blue and 2 are splash. What I'm curious about is the lacing. Below are photos of one of my splash and one of the blues, you'll have to forgive the lack of tail on the blue. A couple of my young dogs got out about a week ago and I think he got grabbed by the tail and lost his feathers. Otherwise I have a feather picking problem, but nobody else is missing feathers so ... I'll blame it on the dogs. My question is about their lacing. I know my laced Wyandottes go through some odd stages before finally getting their correct adult plumage, are these going through a weird stage also, or should I give up on the idea of them having proper double lacing?

You probably won't see good lacing on the splash. The lacing doesn't come through very well on the double dilutes. It's why it's difficult to use them for breeding. The blue may get better, but it looks like she's single laced, rather than double. Not sure if that will get better. Edited: actually, it looks like the blue could be a cockerel. In that case, you won't see the double lacing like on a hen. It's typical for their lacing to look very dirty at this age. You'll just have to grow him out and see what happens.

 

[tls_ranch]

I purchased 4 chicks about 3 months ago that are supposed to be Blue Double Laced Barnvelder. 2 are blue and 2 are splash. What I'm curious about is the lacing. Below are photos of one of my splash and one of the blues, you'll have to forgive the lack of tail on the blue. A couple of my young dogs got out about a week ago and I think he got grabbed by the tail and lost his feathers. Otherwise I have a feather picking problem, but nobody else is missing feathers so ... I'll blame it on the dogs. My question is about their lacing. I know my laced Wyandottes go through some odd stages before finally getting their correct adult plumage, are these going through a weird stage also, or should I give up on the idea of them having proper double lacing?

Evaluating pattern on splash Barnevelders is more dificult than on blues. The blue gene interferes with the expression of the lacing. The slashes ( with two copies of the blue gene) are pretty birds, but I do not uses them much for breeding. With the splashes, the lacing is usually " disrupted" so much I can't tell if the two copies of the blue gene is the problem or if they have other problems with pattern. Blues only have one copy of the blue gene and can still have decent pattern if bred right. Black laced birds usually have the best, clearest pattern. Your blue cockerel is still very young and it is harder to evaluate pattern on young birds. Trisha

 

[malndobe]

You probably won't see good lacing on the splash. The lacing doesn't come through very well on the double dilutes. It's why it's difficult to use them for breeding. The blue may get better, but it looks like she's single laced, rather than double. Not sure if that will get better.

Thanks. I love the splash color, have a number of splash BLRW. I was hoping to get splash double laced. These are my first Barnvelders. Are single laced birds even in the SOP? I'm not planning to start breeding them, except maybe to maintain a few in my flock, I just thought they were always double laced.

 

[tls_ranch]

Bonnylass79 you beat me to it we must of been typing at the same time

Trisha