Barnevelders

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
I could but unfortunately I can't as two of them are passed away and the other three do not wish to have their names publicized. One of them is my breeder for Barnevelders and Welsummers and I just got some of chicks of both last Saturday from him. I am working with him on getting a website put together and then he will have more exposure but for now I am sending some folks his way for hatching eggs only. I am also talking with another one and talking with him to try and get a history of the Barnevelders & Welsummers in the USA put together.

The answer to your second question is "No." Unfortunately, according to the two original breeders I'm talking to, their lines are no longer pure. One was wiped out by a disease, if I remember right, from bringing some birds home from a show and the other I'm not totally sure about. I know he said his original line of Welsummers was wiped out by coons. Not sure about the Barnevelders. I haven't talked with him as much about Barnies as I have Welsummers.

Also, I know that the UK/Netherland line breeders traded birds so their was some mixed blood between them and I know that the German line breeders also traded birds and there was mixed blood there. Plus the one UK/Netherlands line breeder (that I haven't gotten birds from yet) did introduce some Welsummers from one of the German breeders into his Welsummer flock. I can't remember the reason now. His said he now has one line that is his British line but it has ¼ German in it and he has another line that was ½ Dutch & ½ German. So it's likely that none of the original five strains are left totally pure.

Hope that helps.

God Bless,

 

[Krys109uk]

Sorry to ask a silly qustion....but what do you mean by "How well they handle the cold." ?
Do you mean "Do they drop dead if it is too cold?" or do you mean "Will their combs get frost bite if it gets too cold?"

I have not been to Netherlands in winter but I suspect it could have similar winter temps to UK. i.e. not much below -5C at night & daytime temps below freezing do not happen all the time & when they do it is rarely for more than a few days.

IMO Barnefelders are really nice chickens to own.

 

[Pampered Hen]

Thanks for all the answers. Sounds like the Barnies are friendly and hardy birds. Does anyone have had birds from Ideal? I believe, they might be my only source... unless someone know of a breeder in the Vermont area.

 

[Krys109uk]

If you want proper Barnefelders you might want to find a proper breeder. Hatchery stock tend to be generic birds which sometimes bear only a passing similarity to the actual breed stated.

 

[Tailfeathers]

I agree and if you really want to help the breed, going with a breeder is a much better way. Get the quality and then work to keep it or improve on it.

God Bless,

 

[catniip]

Hi R. E.

Thanks for all the information.

You mentioned something about, "the one UK/Netherlands line breeder (that I haven't gotten birds from yet)".
How hard is it to have birds shipped to the US from overseas? Is there a lot of red tape? expense? quarantine?

thanks again,

Catniip

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
I don't know. He's actually here in the USA.

God Bless,

 

[Anniebee]

Up until two days ago, I had a lovely Barnevelder hen - approx. 10 months of age. I will explain a little further on - what led up to her death. Is there some inherent weakness in the Barnevelder's constitution or metabolism by any chance ? My dear Barnie ( Milly ) ... laid daily until about 6 weeks ago which living in AUSTRALIA, makes sense - it's winter here now, and she stopped laying I presumed to have a small moult in late Autumn. They had all had a heavy moult in our horridly hot late summer, prior to laying very well.

She became quiet, reserved - did a lot of sun bathing with eyes closed etc., and I wondered about her. BUT she kept on eating, always had something in her crop and often a very full crop. There was little or no sign of moulting - although if she did, the others most likely ate her feathers. My two remaining standard sized chickens are STILL laying, which is surprising since it is mid-winter, and my bantam Araucana ( Aussie standard ) ... is in a heavy moult, and of course is not laying. Milly became quieter and quieter, except when there was daily food treats around, then she'd raise a good trot towards the food and eat enthusiastically. She mostly moved slowly, and kept herself apart from the others. Her comb paled right off to whitish pink, and seemed to reduce in size, which apparently is normal for a non-laying moult. I was assured in another thread, that odd behaviour can accompany the moult, so didn't worry too much. Two days ago, she came out of the coop ( had been intermittently scouring for a few days, would pass a bad poop and then a normal one ! ) .... looking very down, but ... continued eating anything that was offered. She scoured badly that morning. I let them free range in the main garden in the afternoon, but she then sat ( nesting position ) in the grass and did nothing. Her comb had bent right over. Two hours later she raised her hackles twice, rolled on her side and died. I was shocked, and of course very sad. She was beautifully marked with strong lacing all over.


One thing I had noticed was that she had been picking at her feet quite a lot in those 6 weeks. I am wondering if in fact a rat might have bitten her, but of course will never know. ( I totally fixed the rat situation once I discovered their faeces in the coop a few weeks back ) ... To the best of my knowledge she was not egg bound, I could feel nothing and I would imagine a soft egg that broke and remained in her body further up, would have killed her far quicker than 6 weeks. I only noticed after her death, that her breast bone had no muscle meat around it at all, and she had become a tiny bit smaller, so would think she most certainly had lost weight.

Two questions if you don't mind answering them ...

is it possible for a chicken to TRY to moult, and not be able to for some reason ?. If so, would that seriously deplete her health ?

is it possible that the crop fails in some way, to grind up food properly, thereby not nourishing her properly ?

I ask these questions, as many of you have had much experience with Barnevelders. If anyone has anything to advise I would be most appreciative. I know I am asking some impossible questions - as so many things can go wrong with chickens, but had to ask. Incidentally, they were wormed, and an appropriate powder spread around their coop. I specifically powdered Milly herself, just in case red mites and other nasties were targetting her.

Thanking you in anticipation,

Sincerely ... Anniebee.

 

[DutchChicky]

I've found the Barnevelders very cold hardy this cold cold winter , we've had -5 Fahrenheit here in NJ. The roosters got a little frostbite when it got to be 10 degrees and I put them in the garage, where it seldom dipped below freezing. The girls where fine though! My Welsumers got real bad frostbite and had to remove dead wattle and comb skin.
An indeed in the Netherlands it doesn't usually get cold like it can in the United States. Of course it is only a tiny country compared to the States. The weather in the United Kingdom is very comparable! If it does get really cold where you live and have no alternatives place for your chickens than a not insulated coop, you might want to go with a rosecomb chicken. My Ameraucana's did fine , ( no wattles and small comb )even in this bad winter

 

[DutchChicky]

www.Barnevelderclub.us