Improving Barnevelder Egg Color

[mrjoltcola]

I am wondering if it is practical to use Black Copper Marans to darken the egg of my Barnevelders. If so, how would I approach and how many generations and what kind of hatch sizes would it take? I have a flock of both, with several roosters each.

 

[eggbert420]

I'm no expert and I've never had barnevelders, but I would try my darkest laying barnevelder hens x best looking bcm rooster. I do know that a bcm rooster will darken olive eggs .

 

[CoosaChick]

I just added some Barnevelders (and some welsummers) to my flock (they are still just chicks right now) and was thinking about maybe next year putting them with my Blue Copper Marans roo. I was thinking it may help with egg color but also add in some beautiful feather variations.
I would love to know if anyone has done this or if you end up adding a bcm roo over yours. Please update with pics if you do!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I am wondering if it is practical to use Black Copper Marans to darken the egg of my Barnevelders. If so, how would I approach and how many generations and what kind of hatch sizes would it take? I have a flock of both, with several roosters each.

I don't believe it's practical. It's possible but the generations and multiple issues you'd be working out to get back to Barnevelder would be counter productive. The easier solution void getting hold of a dark egg laying Barnie would be to breed the darkest layer you now have that still fits the standard of breed and tag the offspring. Egg color coming from both parents you now know which males to use for future breeding. It's a juggling act when working on various issues as a bird with one strong trait you want can be lacking in so many others you need and so forth but the real saviour in it all is the tags you put on the birds and records you keep.

You've several males now to start with. Find the best hens for what your looking for and breed to each male in turn. Tag all offspring to parentage and wait for the ladies to start laying. Those that lay the darkest eggs are from your best current male, you may want to keep him for future breeding and of course choose other breeders from his offspring only as dark eggs is one of your main goals. It takes a good three weeks for the hens to not produce fertile eggs. They'd stay in the breeding pen, the cock bird only for few days then collect eggs as they run out of his sperm awaiting the next male to inseminate.

Finding your darker egg male and having his with darkest hens offspring tagged is going to jump you forward in short time. It's the other issues you may be working toward that will slow it down. As stated, you could have a heck of a dark egg laying hen but she has far too many other faults to use as a breeder. Things like that will slow down your darker egg goal.

 

[mrjoltcola]

Ok, thanks, @Egghead_Jr . The reason I got the idea is I saw discussion of someone recreating the Silver Laced Barnevelder using Barnie Rooster + Cuckoo Marans Hen as a start, apparently the reasoning was due to the Cuckoo Marans egg color.

 

[mrjoltcola]

1) Does anyone know any particular Barnevelder breeder with a line with good dark egg color? I'd like to maintain a line for dark egg color, with conformance as secondary.

2) What tags do you recommend? I tried the plastic leg bands (the kind that are coil around) and those fall off too easy.

 

[CoosaChick]

On my juvys & adults I used colored zip ties