Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[WestKnollAmy]

You won't find any dark eggs from this breed. They lay about as dark as a Barred Rock but not as dark as a Cuckoo Marans. The breed is very sweet and calm natured. The roos are majestic and the girls are lovely.
I have a pair for sale and eventually may have to sell them all because I need to focus on my other projects more but for now I am still enjoying how nice they are.

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

but when i looked at bluehens site the eggs seemed alot darker then a barred rocks egg

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Don't be disappointed with some photos you see and then the real eggs. Nor with chicks that hatch from some darker eggs.
Be careful who you buy from and get as many references as possible.
I'm not saying that this particular person is shady but so many people get taken in with altered photos or mixed breeds that are not true Barnies. Also, look at the stock you are buying from. Research what the breed is supposed to look like before deciding that a breeder has the "correct" type of birds.
Ultimately, we will get back to dark eggs on the Barnies but for now, there just isn't a very dark egg to be laid by any Barnie hens.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
There are several of us who are trying to darken the eggs up as well as improve the birds in other areas as well. I am a member of another group specifically for Barnevelders and I can tell you the breed needs a lot of work and is getting a lot of attention - in egg color and many other areas too.

As for Barnies, my first line came from my original breeder who is the same person that I got my Welsummers from and many on here know that he was one of the five original breeders that got both the Barnevelders and the Welsummers accepted into the APA in 1991. I’ve got a dozen chicks I hatched out that came from Christine Cole. Her birds come from Christina Ledford (whose maiden name is Barneveld!), Johan Achtenberg, and Julie Gabbard. From talking with both Christine and Christina, the Ledford line came from Kelly Cratty. Christine’s eggs were darker than my breeder’s but none of them compare to Welsummers - yet. Egg color is something we are all working on with the Barnies.

If you are truly looking for a "dark" egg, then you need to look elsewhere than Barnies. Perhaps a BCM, Penedescenca, or Welsummer.

God Bless,

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

i also think barnys are beutiful and seem like they have good personality also the roos seem very calm id like a bird to lay a dark brown egg but this bird seems likeit would be fun to have and i also would love a project

thx you for your advice and blessings

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

after seeing what my friends have to say and what people on this thread say i think this breed is the right breed for me

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I have 2 barnevelder hens - probably hatchery stock. Ours are not friendly like our easter eggers (most like to be held & petted) or bold like our barred rocks. Our barnevelders are calm, shy, and gentle chickens that mind their own businesss (similar to our australorp pullet). Their eggs are definitely darker than my barred rock eggs (see pic).

This pic was taken when all my chickens were young pullets - all the eggs are larger and a little lighter now (the hens that laid these eggs are now 14 months old and haven't molted yet)
From left to right on bottom row: 2 barred rock eggs, production red egg, two barnevelder eggs, 1 white leghorn egg

This is Penny, the hen who lays the darkest egg:

She made a wonderful broody - hatched her eggs successful and was a good mother - she looks terribly fierce in this picture, but never pecked me - I was able to take eggs out to candle and remove chicks whenever I wanted to.

Penny with her chicks (mostly australorp chicks - no barnies - we have no roosters & had to purchase eggs for her)

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Awwww! Penny looks like such a good mama hen!
None of my Barnies have ever gone broody. I don't care if they do or not but my oldest are 2 years old and I wonder if they will ever go broody. Mine are friendly birds. They are not flighty and the roo is definitely not mean.
I really like them as far as beauty goes. I would like a lot more eggs from them. But then they aren't here to compete with my sex links.

 

[Kansaseq]

Penny is lovely! I'm not expert,but her lacing looks pretty nice to me? I'll have to get photos of my girls and roo once they can get out again. The refuse to walk in the snow, so both coops are MESSY--ugh! Glad I cleaned before the storm.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I only have 2 barnies - both of them went broody before they were 1 year old - 1 of them, Lacy, went broody twice. Penny made an excellent broody, but Lacy was terrible.

Lacy sat on her eggs faithfully for the entire 21 days, but would crack or break one every so often - such a clutz - till on day 21, there was only two eggs left (from 8). That morning, there were two eggs - a few hours later, I found one of the eggs broken with a fully developed dead chick in it - I brought the remaining egg inside because I was afraid she'd break it too. After keeping that last egg inside under a lightbulb and in the bathroom with the room humidifier going, the last remaining chick hatched on her own. Lacy went broody again a couple months later, but I broke her of it instead of giving her eggs again.