Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[Chickenman76]

Sorry, Nice to meet everyone, A big hi from Ohio

 

[DiamondDust]

My understanding is that Barnies go broody no problems, lol. Maybe you should let her hatch some out?

Welcome Chickenman76.

 

[mountainvieworchards]

Trisha how well does the double stacking in the incubator work? Do you expect some to be quitters and just overstock it or do you hatch that many at a time? I always use the auto turner racks, but I am getting in the same situation as you describe with egg supply so may have to go to plan B or else just resist temptation to set so many. I have two hovabators running steady and I love them. I dread pulling down the old LG I have stashed away in the barn. It is so unstable.

Everyone is laying up a storm right now. I also am thinking of putting up the no vacancy sign in my brooder and grower coops. Lots o chix. Time to sell some of last years odd lot layers and mid-project birds to make room for the new pullets. Its a good time to be choosy with last years birds when you have lots of young birds coming on. I have to say though that I have some two and three year old double laced hens that I am just thrilled with and plan to keep them around in my breeding pens, the youngsters of course are some insurance for now against mishaps and also are my future core breeders. I like what Royce said about flock health and breeding older birds. Of course you can't breed old birds when you are starting out with youngsters but once you get some nice older stock you get the feeling that you are breeding health into your flock by using birds that are 2+. I do breed my pullets now that they are nearly one, because I have had no major health issues with this flock of Barnies. but my main Johan pen is made up of 2 to 3 year old hens.

On the other topic brought up, I have never had a Barnie go broody, I have mostly Johans and mine don't even get mildly broody. The line of Rocks I crossed out to, to make my blues and silvers are a broody line so I will probably see it in the blues and silvers down the road.

 

[pysankigirl]

I hava a pair of broody barnies right now teaming up to raise their little clutch:

 

[KPenley]

I hava a pair of broody barnies right now teaming up to raise their little clutch:

That is so sweet!

 

[tls_ranch]

Trisha how well does the double stacking in the incubator work?  Do you expect some to be quitters and just overstock it or do you hatch that many at a time?  I always use the auto turner racks, but I am getting in the same situation as you describe with egg supply so may have to go to plan B or else just resist temptation to set so many.  I have two hovabators running steady and I love them.   I dread pulling down the old LG I have stashed away in the barn.  It is so unstable.  

Everyone is laying up a storm right now.   I also am thinking of putting up the no vacancy sign in my brooder and grower coops.  Lots o chix.  Time to sell some of last years odd lot layers and mid-project birds to make room for the new pullets.  Its a good time to be choosy with last years birds when you have lots of young birds coming on.  I have to say though that I have some two and three year old double laced hens that I am just thrilled with and plan to keep them around in my breeding pens, the youngsters of course are some insurance for now against mishaps and also are my future core breeders.   I like what Royce said about flock health and breeding older birds.  Of course you can't breed old birds when you are starting out with youngsters but once you get some nice older stock you get the feeling that you are breeding health into your flock by using birds that are 2+.  I do breed my pullets now that they are nearly one, because I have had no major health issues with this flock of Barnies.  but my main Johan pen is made up of 2 to 3 year old hens.       

On the other topic brought up, I have never had a Barnie go broody, I have mostly Johans and mine don't even get mildly broody.   The line of Rocks I crossed out to, to make my blues and silvers are a broody line so I will probably see it in the blues and silvers down the road.  

I usually just set the normal amount that the turner can handle, but I had so many extra eggs stockpiled. I kept holding on to the " prettiest" eggs that were laid in between egg shipments. Then I also had a customer flake out on an egg order and I ended up with even more eggs.

I expect a few clears or quitters because some of the eggs are well over 2 weeks old, but the rest were pretty fresh. I will hand turn the top layer and let the auto turner do the rest. I also try to rotate some of the eggs in the turner with the double stacked eggs.

I would say that about 1/3 of my pure barnies go broody. 3/4 of my blues and "cornevelders" go broody. The blues and cornevelders are more broody on average than my pures. I also have some 2,3 and 5 year old hens that have never even thought about going broody. Others go broody every year.

Right now I have one blue broody with 15 chicks and my best barnie hen( 5 years old) is broody. I also have a cornevelder hen who is broody. I think I will have a bunch more soon as I am feeling a lot of plucked bellies when I collect eggs. My first broody of he year was a pullet that went broody at 9 months...I have her on my "cull" list. She went broody tooooo young and was not good at it either. I like hens to go broody...not pullets. And if they go broody and aren't good mothers then what good are they to me? No eggs and no chicks= worthless.

I am also thinking about which hens to part with and which hens to keep. I need to make room for the new pullets too. I haven't had any health issues and don't mind breeding first year pullets. I do keep the best of the best of the older hens no matter what their age. Older hens can be the jewels of the flock and may carry the best genetics. They are the ones that made it through multiple culls and still make the grade.


Trisha

 

[tls_ranch]

Oops double post.

 

[BantamCastle]

Not my ad or my birds (they are in the UK) but I figured people might want to see the pics...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXTREMELY-R...t=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item4d0c090165

After spending some time looking at the GFF pics and videos I am convinced the first picture in this add is "borrowed" from GFF. The GFF birds show a snowy white that is highly desirable and much more difficult to achieve. The rest of the pics definitely have more of that red bleeding through that Andy mentioned. Even though they are a "dirty" white they appear healthy and well patterned. They would make great breeding material for a silver project. ;-)

BTW. Thanks to all for the great insight on breeding strategies!

Al

 

[stoneunhenged]

After spending some time looking at the GFF pics and videos I am convinced the first picture in this add is "borrowed" from GFF. The GFF birds show a snowy white that is highly desirable and much more difficult to achieve. The rest of the pics definitely have more of that red bleeding through that Andy mentioned. Even though they are a "dirty" white they appear healthy and well patterned. They would make great breeding material for a silver project. ;-)

BTW. Thank to all for the great insight on breeding strategies!

Al

You are correct and thanks for pointing this out. The first picture is stolen from Greenfire. I emailed the seller on eBay but have not heard back. I suspect the winning bidder will not be too pleased to find out that given the red leakage in the chicks they hatch there will not be a close match with the birds in the Greenfire photo.

Here's an update on our bantam silver double laced Barnies. We looked all over Europe for the best stock we could find and ultimately were able to locate what we think is one of the best lines of these birds. We imported a trio in the fall of 2012, and after a couple months of settling in the hens began to lay. The eggs are not Barnevelder brown --bummer, and something to work on in the future-- but the birds are highly fertile and the chicks unusually robust. Almost all the eggs hatch, and almost all the chicks live. Once they get going the hens are fairly reliable layers. The eggs tend to me a cream color, or 'tinted' as they say in the UK. The birds are very docile, especially for bantams. Hand feeding is not a problem and doesn't require much training. Overall, a great backyard breed for any level of hobbyist, and so stunning that you never get tired of looking at them. The color pattern is that surreal.

We are now growing out a few chicks and are tentatively expecting to release them to the public in about October of this year.

Thanks again for the heads up.

 

[BantamCastle]

stoneunhenged,

It's really frustrating to me that people and hatcheries mislead buyers by using others photos. I suspect no one feels this way more than you do.

I'm so glad to hear your Silvers are healthy and productive. You have beautiful birds and I can't wait to see more of them around. They are my favorites by far.

-Al