Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[elizmartin]

HI, i was wondering about the size too....Couldn't tell if Trisha's hands were smaller or the eggs real big.....look real nice.......

 

[tls_ranch]

HI, i was wondering about the size too....Couldn't tell if Trisha's hands were smaller or the eggs real big.....look real nice.......

, my hands are a bit small. The eggs are decent size for pullet eggs. The pullets just started laying about a week ago..so I think the size is pretty good.

Trisha

 

[plantcityhomestead]

I have my first Barnevelders on lockdown, so I feel I can legitimately start posting in the group now. They were some terrible (lighter than my Australorp) ebay eggs, but I really wanted to get a Barnie flock started. I do want to get some better birds this spring, but it is hard to find anything close to Florida. Does anyone know where I might be able to purchase eggs from some better birds this spring that is reasonably close to Florida? Even though I think the blues are beautiful, I am partial to the traditional color. I am more concerned with type than I am egg color if that helps with your recommendations.

cindy

 

[mountainvieworchards]

Hi Cindy

Good luck with your hatch!! Its exciting. I will go through my receipts and see if I sold any eggs to any Florida people, I think I might have. If so maybe they can provide you with some nice birds or eggs. I am hatching today and have a few chicks out. No Barnies today I should be setting some of them next week.

Look forward to hearing about your chicks.

Andy

 

[plantcityhomestead]

Hi Cindy

Good luck with your hatch!! Its exciting. I will go through my receipts and see if I sold any eggs to any Florida people, I think I might have. If so maybe they can provide you with some nice birds or eggs. I am hatching today and have a few chicks out. No Barnies today I should be setting some of them next week.

Look forward to hearing about your chicks.

Andy

I just hope they hatch, Andy. I haven't heard any chirping yet, and I haven't liked the development I have seen. I only have one that I have any real hope for. I have learned the hard way not to ship eggs around Christmas. Too many delays in shipping.

I appreciate you checking for me to see if anyone around here has your birds. My experience with long distance shipping of chicks and eggs has been poor.

cindy

 

[mountainvieworchards]

Well remember it is always darkest just before the dawn. or more to the point it is always quietest in the incubator just before the first chirp....I have hatched a lot of eggs and still love to hear that first sound and see the first pip. The greatest virtue in hatching chicks is patience, in letting the chicks do the hatching and just staying out of the way.

I have had mixed results with hatching shipped eggs. The trip with the USPS is a test and only the strong and the very lucky survive. It is a necessary evil of distributing the breed around the country. I also think we are selecting for what I call the USPS gene, There is a greater chance of chicks with the USPS gene surviving shipping and they pass it on to the next generation. I wonder what other genes if any are linked to this imaginary gene.

Enough of that... good luck with your Barnevelders, they are an excellent breed of chicken, and though the work of the breeders here are only getting better in the USA.

Andy

 

[plantcityhomestead]

Well remember it is always darkest just before the dawn. or more to the point it is always quietest in the incubator just before the first chirp....I have hatched a lot of eggs and still love to hear that first sound and see the first pip. The greatest virtue in hatching chicks is patience, in letting the chicks do the hatching and just staying out of the way.

I have had mixed results with hatching shipped eggs. The trip with the USPS is a test and only the strong and the very lucky survive. It is a necessary evil of distributing the breed around the country. I also think we are selecting for what I call the USPS gene, There is a greater chance of chicks with the USPS gene surviving shipping and they pass it on to the next generation. I wonder what other genes if any are linked to this imaginary gene.

Enough of that... good luck with your Barnevelders, they are an excellent breed of chicken, and though the work of the breeders here are only getting better in the USA.

Andy

Andy, you are so funny.....USPS gene. I love it.
I am, at this point, the proud owner of one Barnevelder. I am used to hearing chirps before they start pipping, but this little guy didn't make a sound until he was out of the shell.
I remember reading that it was possible to sex the chicks, but I don't remember how. Something about the color on their chests. Would someone fill me in?

cindy

 

[Happy Chooks]

USPS gene.

 

[mountainvieworchards]

Cindy

Congrats on your Barnie, how about a pic?

Color sexing Barnevelders at hatch depends some on the line you have. Typically a stark snow white breast is a male and a slate or brown gray breast is a female. The ones that are in between I cannot reliable sex at hatch.

I was out taking pictures in our sun break (what we call 5 minutes of winter sun in Oregon). Here is my favorite Johan cockerel from last summer. I know his wing looks funny in the pic but it is fine.

Andy

This is Yellowjack

 

[mountainvieworchards]

I am not sure how this will come out online but it looked great on my screen at home. Here is the front end of my Johan rooster, you can see some red flecks in his breast, hardly what I would call laced. He is a fine looking bird to my eye. I love the iridescence in the Barnevelders.

Some food for thought on male breast color:

Most of us agree we don't want to do double matings. So what if neither the laced or the solid black male gives the best laced hens, what if it is something like black with a few flecks, just supposing. I know some of you believe in perfection, but defining it is almost as elusive as achieving it. I think when you write a standard for something it should be both desirable and achievable.

Some breeds like the black copper marans have a standard that is something like breast is black and may have a few flecks of copper, that is my paraphrasing. I personally don't think the color of the roosters breast should be such a defining point in Barnevelders, I feel that the defining color is the double lacing of the hen and therefore the desireable color of the rooster would be that that comes from and produces the best double laced hens. Viola no double mating.

Any way here it is