Barnevelders or dark cornish? also, what gender are they (11 wks old)

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I purchased 2 barnevelders, at least that's what they were advertised as from a feed store. I saw an ad on craiglist from this feed store advertising barnevelder pullets about the same age as the chicks I had already purchased from another feed store, so I ran down to get a couple to add to our flock. The feed store didn't have any other chicks for sale other than about 10 of these barnevelder chicks (about 4-5 weeks of age at the time), so I know I didn't pick the wrong chicks.

My pullets? don't look identical and maybe that's due to being sold as hatchery stock rather than from breeders? One has a brown chest - the other has a dark chest with a little lacing. Their combs are about the same size and redness. Could the difference in colors be because one is a cockeral and one is a pullet? Are they really barnevelders or could they be dark cornish instead? If anyone here has pictures of their young barnvelders, I'd love to see them - the only pics I can find online are of full grown hens & roosters. As for their personality, these two chickens are independent and the least friendly of our 11 chicks, but I'm guessing that could be because they were a little older when we got them -- 4-5 weeks versus 1 1/2 weeks with the other chicks.

Both Penny & Lacy are about 11 weeks old in these photos (taken today). The first 3 photos are of Penny (the darker chested one). The last pic is Lacy - she escaped from her captor before I was able to take any more photos.

 

[Harley's girl]

hmm, does not look like cornish legs. I say a hen!

 

[Southerngirl]

Here is a pic of our Dark Cornish Cowgirl. She is about 7 months old in the pic.

 

[smith2]

They look like Barnies to me. Mine looked just like that. I had real trouble getting mine to lay. Mine were slow to develop and didn't lay until about 36 weeks and then I had to put an artificial light on them. They are really beautiful birds, but I was somewhat disappointed in their laying ability. If you have any questions let me know. The eggs I am getting are a deep rich brown and pretty big. Some are so big they won't fit into a regular carton.

 

[beakkeeper]

That doesn't look much like this Barnie...

I would love to get a barnie, but they seem VERY rare...

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Barnevelder-B21.aspx

The pullet looks like southerngirl's cornish to me.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Beakeeper,
Thanks for the link - my chicks don't have as much lacing as those pictures, but they do have the single comb that was listed on that link. I looked up cornish chickens on the same website and it says that cornish chickens have a pea comb, which mine do not.

Also, one more thing that I just noticed in that last picure of the barnevelder hen is the green tint to the dark feathers - mine do have that green tint also. I agree, they do look similar to southerngirl's chick, but I'm inclined to believe they are not cornish after all - mine are a different build, have a different comb, & don't have the thick legs shown in these pictures on mypetchicken.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/Cornish-B39.aspx

I'm wondering now if they are just not top quality (not sure of the breeder) because of the lacing differences or... maybe they will feather out differently as they mature?

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
I do have questions for you! Did yours have different coloring on their bodies (of the two chicks, one has a lot more brown on her chest and neck than the other)? Did their feathering change as they got older? My chicks don't have the same lacing as I see in other pictures of barnevelder hens and I haven't been able to find any pics of young barnevlder pullets.
Was it easy to tell the difference between males & females? Do mine look like pullets to you? That is dissappointing to hear about them being slow to start laying and needing extra light. We live near Phoenix, AZ with lots of sunshine - I wonder if that will make a difference. How did your barnies compare in size with your other standards when they were young. Mine are 1-2 weeks older than the other chicks (I bought them separately), but about the same size as the rest of the flock.

Here's a photo taken 2 1/2 weeks ago (to show size comparison):

 

[smith2]

Quote:
I do have questions for you! Did yours have different coloring on their bodies (of the two chicks, one has a lot more brown on her chest and neck than the other)? Did their feathering change as they got older? My chicks don't have the same lacing as I see in other pictures of barnevelder hens and I haven't been able to find any pics of young barnevlder pullets.
Was it easy to tell the difference between males & females? Do mine look like pullets to you? That is dissappointing to hear about them being slow to start laying and needing extra light. We live near Phoenix, AZ with lots of sunshine - I wonder if that will make a difference. How did your barnies compare in size with your other standards when they were young. Mine are 1-2 weeks older than the other chicks (I bought them separately), but about the same size as the rest of the flock.


Here's a photo taken 2 1/2 weeks ago (to show size comparison):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/19548_chickens_002.jpg

Yes, mine had somewhat different coloring on their bodies. Some had lots of brown and some not so much. My cocks look very different than my hens. The cocks look very much like the picture from the earlier post. The hens are much more laced. Mine got a lot more defined in their lacing pattern as they got older. I also have single laced and double laced.
When they finally got full grown they are about the size of a sex-link, RIR, small BO, etc. They are nice sized bird. Living in Phoenix, you shouldn't have as much of an issue with your light as I did. When my eggs finally started coming they are deep, rich, terracotta brown, and really big. I think yours look like pullets.

 

[smith2]

My pullets look exactly like yours. None of yours look like a roo to me. I am by no means an expert, but I have been messing with this breed for the past year. I got my first ones from a hatchery. Another issue I have had is the fact that they don't seem as cold hardy as some of my other breeds, nor are they as disease resistant. Even though they were developed in the cold Netherlands, they just don't seem to do as well in the cold as my others. With you living in Phoenix, that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[ole-crone]

Barnvelders lay eggs? Boy, I need to go remind my girls.

I bought some last year from Ideal and sold half to a friend. I don't know if they ever laid an egg but they sure quickly went broody. He had the same problem so sold his. I'm debating getting rid of mine too.

They are pretty and if they are rare it's because they don't do much to reproduce.