Stella's Social Club

[ronott1]

One of my Arkansas Blue pullets is now laying eggs at 5 months old. Gorgeous blue too. I might have to hang onto that splash cockerel long enough to get some babies out of them. He is separated in my temporary coop at the moment, but once the pullets are laying well and large enough eggs, I could add them to the coop with him. Offspring would be 100% blue.

He will likely calm down a bit too.

They lay a lot of eggs and the eggs are very pretty

 

[Happy Chooks]

He will likely calm down a bit too.

They lay a lot of eggs and the eggs are very pretty

I was thinking if I am able to keep him for a little while, I might be able to find someone that wants to breed them out here. We'll see. He is a nice male, just a bit overeager on mating.

 

[ronott1]

I was thinking if I am able to keep him for a little while, I might be able to find someone that wants to breed them out here. We'll see. He is a nice male, just a bit overeager on mating.

It would be nice to find someone that could breed them. They are a great breed for free ranging. They are very alert and boy can they fly!

 

[1muttsfan]

They lay the bluest eggs I have had, the equal of some very well-bred Ameraucanas I had once- they were nuts though. And the eggs are large to extra large once the pullets mature.

Some of my boys have been overactive breeders, others were less so or calmed down. They are worse if they have competition.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Ron - Yes, they can FLY! I was going to put them in my upper coop, but it's not covered and has my fruit trees. I'd like to keep my fruit. My lower coop is for my Barnevelders because it's set up for them as broodies and it's covered to keep my babies safe from hawks. If you hear of anyone that would be interested in breeding them, let me know.

Muttsfan - yes, he had competition as he was in with my Barnevelder males. I'm currently weeding through them to select my keepers for breeding. I spent a lot of time out there yesterday looking at them.

For the time being, I kept a blue Ameraucana male and he is in what is left of my welsummer flock from the bobcat attacks. They haven't had a male in the flock since the bobcat attacks and I've had hawks trying to get a meal, so I put him there. Figured I might as well get some olive/green layers out of it.

 

[1muttsfan]

It will be interesting seeing what they look like. I hatched one ABxDelaware cross pullet, she is a dove grey color with beige around the collar, very pretty.

 

[Happy Chooks]

The chicken calculator says blue and black offspring, but we will see. I can tell you a female light brahma to a male welsummer gives you a buff pullet with black markings. She was very pretty.

Before the bobcat attack last year, I was getting sex linked olive eggers from my EE's and my barnevelder males. Females were solid colored, and males looked like barnevelder chicks.

 

[Happy Chooks]

My Barnevelder pullets are nesting! Barnevelder eggs again! I've chosen my top 2 males, just have to get rid of the others. And decide if I'll keep the blue Barnevelder male.

 

[ronott1]

My Barnevelder pullets are nesting! Barnevelder eggs again! I've chosen my top 2 males, just have to get rid of the others. And decide if I'll keep the blue Barnevelder male.

It is good to read about you getting back into breeding mode with them!

 

[Happy Chooks]

It is good to read about you getting back into breeding mode with them!

It's nice to have a flock again. Only 1 of my Barnevelder hens survived. I did 2 hatches of Barnevelders last year, and I have 2 really nice males. I have a lot of females, and have to start making cuts. I have a beautifully marked female, but she has a bit of a cushion, so I'm torn on her. (Barnevelders aren't supposed to have a cushion) Her lacing is impeccable. A pullet that has been a runt since hatch is still really small, so she is a cull for sure, but I might move her to my other coop for just a layer.

You said you have never hatched Barnevelders.......want to give them a try when I get my breeding flock going? Test hatch? Warning.........they are excellent broodies. They have the best personality of any breed I have ever hatched. I've never had a mean male either. I had my Welsummer because they "almost" never go broody (I've had a few exceptions to the rule), but the Barnevelders because they are gorgeous with their lacing, but also excellent mothers. My Welsummer coop is not equipped for broodies, but my 2nd coop is.