Barred Holland breed of chickens

[jmcdan]

I lost all of my hens to a racoon, possum, something this past weekend. So, I have one lonely rooster I need to get rid of. Anyone in Central Texas looking for a Barred Holland rooster? He's free and I'd be willing to meet up with anyone between Austin and Houston.

 

[araminta37]

I am too far away, but I have never heard of a barred Holland, do you have any pics?

 

[rc50]

bing.... search.... barred Holland chicken.... puff....

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=barred+holland+chickens&qpvt=barred+holland+chickens&FORM=IGRE


Keith
SC
USA

 

[Cheralee]

I just received a call from the man I split my Sandhill order with last fall. He is getting rid of his entire flock - 2 roosters and 7 hens. He wants $200 for the whole flock, and they need to be both picked up as well as go together. He said he gets an occasional tan egg, but the rest are white. I don't know why he's getting out of them, but he wants to move them within a week. Otherwise they get put in the local paper and will be "gone in a week". I would hate to lose white egg layers, but those terms don't work for me. Anyone interested, I will pass on his number via PM.

 

[CC Lefty]

Advice, please, as I'm in a moment of crisis.

I believe I've posted on this thread before, but if not, hello to you all. I live in the Central Valley of California and I've been interested in Barred Hollands for about a year. My primary purpose with poultry, in general, is raising real dual purpose birds that will thrive in our arid climate. Currently I'm working with Barred Hollands, Buff Catalanas, and trying to break into the Black Penedesencas.

As for the Barred Hollands, I started with the breed last fall with an order from Sandhill. In short, there were some pluses and minuses. I liked that the SH birds matured early and were good foragers. Although the Sandhill birds are generally smaller, as compared to type, my cull cockerels did present a respectable, tender, and meaty carcass at 16-18 weeks (2.5-3.5lbs, dressed). I like that the hens lay well (currently 4 eggs a week/bird in our hot, hot July) and most of the birds lay nice white eggs, although again, smaller than they should be (note: did finally get a "large" egg yesterday). Minuses, the birds and eggs are smaller than they should be and a number of the hens have a "yellow/brown" patina (the best way I can describe it). Also, of the hens that I received, their combs and wattles are a mess. Cockerels are also a bit aggressive, although nothing that a little bit of "schooling" hasn't been able to take care of.

I kept two good looking, meaty cockerels for breeding. Of the fifteen BH I received from Sandhill, only four were pullets, so I kept them all. As fate and coyotes would have it, I lost my two biggest hens and my secondary rooster a few months back. What I am left with is a good looking rooster and two ratty looking, but white egg laying, hens.

This spring I purchased hatching eggs from a BYC member on this thread, and was gifted hatching eggs from a breeder in South Carolina (SC) from my brother. Both groups of birds are roughly 15 weeks old and I'm at a point of making some decision about which birds to keep, and which to cull. In a perfect world I would have unlimited space to keep them all for a few more months, alas, this is not a perfect world.

PLEASE NOTE, I MEAN NO OFFENSE TO ANYONE WHO IS RAISING THESE BIRDS AND HAS BEEN KIND ENOUGH TO SHARE THEIR GENETICS WITH ME. I ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS BREED IS FAR FROM PERFECT, AND THAT ALL OF US ARE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE TO IMPROVE THE BREED.

The eggs I received from BYC member were very impressive in size (large/extra large), but many were slightly tinted. Not as dark as I've seen in many pictures, but definitely a tint. Good hatch rate, and the birds have been quick out of the gate. Active and alert, fair foragers, rapid growth (the best I've had), big frames that seem to be filling out (especially impressive pullets), nice yellow legs on the cockerels - though the pullets have a good deal of black in their legs. Gentler birds than Sandhill, for sure. Cockerel combs are somewhat irregular, most with only five points or other odd irregularities.

The eggs I received from SC were less impressive in size (medium, maybe a large or two), but most - if not all - were white. Good hatch rate, and the birds have been maturing well. Active and alert, good foragers, good growth, nice size frames - though not as big as BYC member birds, nice yellow legs on cockerels - pretty good yellow on the pullets, very friendly birds. The real highlight of this group is how impressive they look. Beautiful barring on both cockerels and pullets (cockerels seems to be a little "lighter" than the others I've had), and extremely uniform from one bird to the next. With both the Sandhill and BYC member birds, I've been able to tell "who is who" as I look around the pen. With the SC birds, it like they're identical twins (or triplets, or quadruplets, or etc.)

So herein lies my problem. What do I keep for the next generation? Currently, I've selected two impressive pullets from both BYC member and SC as well as two impressive cockerels from SC. I love the size (egg and frame) that is coming from BYC member, and appearance (egg and conformation) that is coming from SC. Is there any reason to even keep the rooster from Sandhill? Am I making a mistake by not keeping a cockerel from BYC member? I want to do what is best for the breed, but my experience in genetics is limited, at best. I have a wonderful BYC member who is walking me step by step through my Buff Catalana project (and we've a lot of work to do there!), but I feel a bit lost with my BH. I plan on showing some of these birds next spring and summer and hitting a few county fairs in the fall, but until then I would love to hear some feedback from some of you who are much further along in your understanding of the breed than I.

Sorry for such a long post, and thanks in advance to any of you willing to offer some friendly advice.

Cheers,

Seth

 

[CC Lefty]

Yikes! I feel like I kinda shut down the thread with my last post. I realize I get a bit verbose at times, sorry. I was really just hoping to glean a bit if insight from those who know more about this breed than I, and sometimes my thinking gets a bit convoluted. Any advice is welcomed. I'm not looking for an expert, just a bit of objectivity. Thanks!!

Seth

 

[mhollow]

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but here goes with my two cents. In my mind, there are two issues at play here. First, producing the best barred hollands you can. By that I mean working toward the APA standard for Barred Hollands. If you don't have a copy of the standard, do yourself a favor a get one. It is the best investment you can make. Secondly, preserving the genetic integrity of your two lines of BH birds. I would not be as concerned about the genetics of your SH line but a little research on the SC line might be in order. You may discover that preserving the genetics present in your SC birds may be worth doing. If that turns out to be the case, I would recommend maintaining the integrity of the SC flock and at the same time cull all but your best birds in both flocks (provided you have enough in each flock to do so). I also recommend the ALBC website. It contains loads of information on breeding poultry. I have found the ALBC to be a wealth of information. Good luck with your project.

 

[CC Lefty]

Thanks, mhollow,
I'll look into both of those resources and report back it a while. As an educator, I know that extensive research is always the answer. Shame on me for trying to cut corners!

Cheers,

Seth

 

[barbsgarb]

I lost all of my hens to a racoon, possum, something this past weekend.  So, I have one lonely rooster I need to get rid of.  Anyone in Central Texas looking for a Barred Holland rooster?  He's free and I'd be willing to meet up with anyone between Austin and Houston.

I live a little further north in the Fort Worth area and am just getting my flock of Barred Hollands going. I'd be interested in picking him up.

Barbara Lee

 

[jmcdan]

Just say when and I'll have him packaged up for you. I work in La Grange and live in Carmine. You can e-mail me at j_l_mcdaniel at yahoo dot com.