Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed

[ChickenExtreme]

They should show pretty much what their general pattern is by the they are about 4 (+/-) months old. Pullets can go through a "final" juvenile moult right before they lay. Then sometimes the lacing will change with their first "true" or adult moult. That's one of the reasons breeders recommend not breeding pullets, but waiting until they are at least 2 year's old.

That is awesome info, I appreciate it. Can't wait till I get enough knowledge to help other people. So now I know not to breed a new strain till my hens are about 2 years old. Thanks tls_ranch

 

[tls_ranch]

There's no problem with breeding eariler, but most "master breeders" will wait until a hen is at least 2 before breeding. That way one gets a better idea about all sorts of traits like rate of lay etc. But master breeders generally have a good amount of birds to choose from and can be very picky. If you are just starting out...you may only have a handful of birds. Go ahead and hatch Learn what you can, develop your "eye" for the breed standard and just have fun

Trisha

 

[pickledchicken]

There's no problem with breeding eariler, but most "master breeders" will wait until a hen is at least 2 before breeding. That way one gets a better idea about all sorts of traits like rate of lay etc. But master breeders generally have a good amount of birds to choose from and can be very picky. If you are just starting out...you may only have a handful of birds. Go ahead and hatch Learn what you can, develop your "eye" for the breed standard and just have fun

Trisha

Trisha were can I find info on the breed standard what exactly should I be looking for. What traits should we really focus on and what traits should we cull out. I would like to know more about what the idea Barnevelder should be. Thanks for all the recent posts and info

 

[Helen in the Desert]

I agree with changing the American standard to the Dutch standard. Trish, that hen you posted with the chicks that is your favorate, how would your rate her for show/breeding ? It would be great to have some pics of what the rest of us shoud be striving for, not just colour but also conformation and egg colour.

 

[tls_ranch]

I agree with changing the American standard to the Dutch standard. Trish, that hen you posted with the chicks that is your favorate, how would your rate her for show/breeding ? It would be great to have some pics of what the rest of us shoud be striving for, not just colour but also conformation and egg colour.

I would show her, but since she's "irreplaceable" to me I wouldn't want to risk her. She has good type, size and is a good layer. Her lacing is very clean (no peppering), but could be considered a bit dark (the black too thick). Her egg color is medium dark with some light speckles and good gloss. Overall she's been my favorite.

Here's a painting of what US Barnevelders should look like. I would say the rooster is a bit too red though.



I'm afraid to post pics of other breeder's birds as examples without permission, but here's one of Cheshire Poultry's Barnevelders. I really like the cockerel in this picture I hope they don't get mad at me for borrowing their pic as a reference.

 

[Tailfeathers]

I'll throw my two-cents into the ring...

Before I'd be in favor of changing the existing SOP, I'd like to hear from some of the original breeders that got them approved into the APA in the first place. I happen to know one as he's the guy who got me started on Barnies in the first place. I know the Barnies and Wellies were both accepted in 1991 at the same show in Vancouver, WA - and I think the same five breeders were responsible for getting both breeds into the SOP.

The next time I see him, I'll ask why they chose the standards they did. Since I'm not a geneticist and any of the e+ over ER stuff is just flat over my head, I have to rely on those in the know when it comes to what is genetically possible and what is not. I can tell you that my friend is not knowledgeable in that either.

I know I've been working on trying to get more lacing in the breast of my males along with getting the deep, yellow ochre legs back too. I have NO way of proving this but it is my suspicion that the reason we don't see lacing in the breasts of males is because it simply hasn't been a focus in the selection process. I know I have never seen a Barnie male in the USA that has a nicely laced breast. So unless folks are constantly checking their SOP (or have it memorized which I certainly don't yet), this can easily get overlooked. Especially when one goes to a show and wins BB or even Best Continental and yet the bird is drastically missing an obvious trait which is required. I will confess I have fell victim to this in the past. It wasn't until I began to experience judges placing birds above others that I brought where IMO opinion they simply did not place the birds properly. And I'm talking about my own birds. Case in point, one of my BW Ameraucanas was placed 3rd under another one of my birds that got 1st and I'm absolutely convinced that the 3rd Place bird was much better than the 1st in every way. What I don't know is how it was standing and acting and looking when the judge came by.

I have one of the best males I've had in a long time right now. If it were not for having a little less lacing on the wing bows, a little more reddish-brown on the back than I like, and a LOT less lacing in the breast that what there should be - he'd be perfect for me. He does have some lacing in the breast but you have to part the feathers to see it. However, I am working on trying to get more lacing in the breasts of my males. I will have to see if there is any correlation that crosses over to the females. Some of my females are actually triple-laced.

I very recently read an article by Kenny Troiano regarding "sex-linked traits". Now I have NO idea what traits are sex-linked but he did say if you want to see what your males are throwing, look at their daughters, and to see what the mothers are throwing look at their sons. Now as I understand it that only applies to sex-linked traits. So now I have to figure out which ones those are!

I also wanted to say that I agree with Trisha on her observations of the UK Barnie cock and the painted Barnie male. I have seen - and in fact have had - some Barnie males that were downright orange hackled and orange saddles with very little black/green sheen in the feathers at all. I personally favor the overall dark look with just enough reddish-brown to be visible. And that goes in both the hackles and saddles. If I can keep that while getting lacing in on the breast and thighs, why I'll be as happy as a pig in mud.

God Bless,

 

[Happy Chooks]

Great discussion. I would be interested in learning why they chose a laced breast for the SOP as well. I love seeing pictures, I'm really a visual person and pictures really help me learn. I love that Cheshire rooster, he's beautiful. I like his tail set as well. I'm itching to hatch some barnevelder chicks, but we are going on vacation soon - plus I have a couple of hens that should go broody soon as they have plucked their bellies.

I too prefer the dark, mahogany look in the barnevelder males.

 

[ChickenExtreme]

Got another silly question, what is SOP ?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Got another silly question, what is SOP ?

Standard of Perfection.

 

[ChickenExtreme]

Standard of Perfection.

Wow, now I feel dumb, lol.