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A rare, beautiful Barnevelder is a breed of chickens producing meat and eggs. It is reliably known about these birds that they appeared in Holland. Then the information begins to diverge. On foreign websites you can find three options for the breeding time of the breed. According to one version, chickens were bred 200 years ago. According to another - at the end of the 19th century. According to the third - at the beginning of the 20th century. The last two versions are close enough to each other to be considered one. After all, breeding a breed takes more than one year.
There are also two versions about the origin of the name: from the town of Barneveld in Holland; Barnevelder is a synonym for chicken. But the breed actually originated in a town with that name.
And even the very origin of Barnevelder chickens also has two versions. According to one, it is a “mixture” of Cochins with local chickens. According to another, instead of Cochin there were Langshani. Externally and genetically, these Asian breeds are very similar, so today it is unlikely that the truth will be established.
The English-language sources themselves even indicate the origin of the Barnevelds from the American Wyandots. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was possible to cross with British Orpington. The Langshani, after all, had the greatest influence on the Barnevelders. It was they who gave the Barnevelders brown shell eggs and high winter egg production.
These chickens owe their appearance to the fashion for beautiful brown eggs that many Asian chickens laid. During the breeding process, the description of the Barnevelder chicken breed contained a requirement for the color of the shell, up to a coffee-brown shell. But this result was not achieved. The color of the eggs is quite dark, but not coffee.
In 1916, the first attempt was made to register a new breed, but it turned out that the birds were still too diverse. In 1921, an association of breed lovers was created and the first standard was drawn up. The breed was officially recognized in 1923.
During the breeding process, the chickens developed a very beautiful two-color coloration, thanks to which they did not stay long in the ranks of productive poultry. Already in the middle of the 20th century, these chickens began to be kept more as ornamental ones. To the point that a dwarf form of Barnevelder was bred.
Description
Barnevelder chickens are a heavy type of universal breed. For meat and egg breeds they have a fairly large body weight and high egg production. An adult rooster weighs 3.5 kg, a chicken - 2.8 kg. The egg production of chickens of this breed is 180-200 eggs per year. The weight of one egg at the peak of egg production is 60-65 g. The breed is late-ripening. The pullets begin to lay eggs at 7-8 months. They compensate for this disadvantage with good winter egg production.
Standard and differences in different countries
General impression: squat, large bird with strong bones.
Large head with a short black and yellow beak. The comb is leaf-shaped, small in size. The earrings, earlobes, face and comb are red. The eyes are red-orange.
The neck is short, set vertically on a compact, horizontal body. The back and lower back are wide and straight. The tail is set high and bushy.Roosters have short black braids in their tails. The top line resembles the letter U.
Shoulders are broad. The wings are small, tightly pressed to the body. The chest is wide and full. Laying hens have a well-developed belly. Legs are short and powerful. The ring size for roosters is 2 cm in diameter. Metatarsus yellow. The toes are widely spaced, yellow, with light claws.
The main differences in the standards of different countries are the varieties of colors for this breed. The number of recognized colors varies depending on the country.
Colors
In the homeland of the breed, in the Netherlands, the original “classic” color is recognized - red and black, lavender bicolor, white and black.
In Holland, bantams are bred with several variants of silver color. These varieties have not yet been officially adopted, but work is underway on them.
The white color of Barnevelder chickens does not need a description, it is in the photo. It is no different from the white chicken of any other breed. It's a solid white feather.
The black color also does not need any special introduction. One can only note the beautiful blue tint of the feather.
With “colored” colors everything is somewhat more complicated. These varieties follow strict rules: rings of two colors alternate on the feather. In the color with black pigment, each feather ends in a black stripe. Breeds with no pigment (white color) have a white stripe. A description and photo of the “colored” colors of Barnevelder chickens is below.
The “classic” black and red color was one of the first to appear in the breed. In the USA, only chickens of this color are officially recognized.Given the presence of black pigment and the tendency of chickens to mutate into lavender, the appearance of lavender-red Barnevelders was natural. This color can be culled, but it will appear again and again until the breeders come to terms with it.
Description and photo of the color of the Barnevelder chicken breed differs only in color. This is what a “classic” chicken looks like.
The red color can be more intense, and then the chicken looks very exotic.
The order of the stripes can be seen in detail on the feathers of a silver-black chicken.
When the black pigment is mutated into lavender, a different palette of colors is obtained.
The chicken would be a classic black and red if not for the mutation.
The four color options listed are accepted in the Netherlands for large varieties and bantams. The additional silver color on bantams will look like this.
With double color, the chickens may be lighter or darker, but the principle remains the same.
In the absence of black pigment, Barnevelder chickens look like in the photo. This is a red and white color, not recognized in the Netherlands, but officially approved in the UK.
In addition, the partridge color is also recognized in England. For other varieties, most countries have not yet reached a consensus. You can find Barnevelder chickens of partridge and dark brown colors.
There is an option for autosex coloring, but in most countries this color is prohibited in the breed standard. The photo shows autosex Barnevelder chickens.
Apparently, the same autosex chickens are in the video.
Barnevelder roosters are often much more modestly colored.
The description of Barnevelder dwarf chickens does not differ from the standard of the large version of this breed.The difference is in the weight of the birds, which does not exceed 1.5 kg, and the mass of the egg, which is 37-40 g. In the photo, the eggs of Barnevelder bantams are placed on a one dollar bill for scale.
Inadmissible vices
The Barnevelder, like any breed, has defects, in the presence of which the bird is excluded from breeding:
- thin bones;
- narrow-chested;
- short or narrow back;
- “skinny” tail;
- irregularities in the color of plumage;
- feathered metatarsals;
- narrow tail;
- whitish coating on the earlobes.
Laying hens may have metatarsus with a grayish coating. This is an undesirable sign, but not a vice.
Breed Features
The advantages of the breed include its frost resistance and friendly character. Their incubation instinct is developed at an average level. Not all Barnevelder hens will be good hens, but the rest will be good hens.
The statement that they are good foragers does not fit with the adjacent statement that chickens are somewhat lazy. The video confirms the latter. They offer their owners to dig the garden to get worms. Small wings do not allow Barnevelders to fly well, but a meter-high fence is also not enough. Some owners claim that these chickens are quite good at using their wings.
Reviews of the Barnevelder chicken breed generally confirm the description. Although there are allegations about the aggressiveness of these chickens towards their companions. All owners are unanimous about their owners: the chickens are very friendly and tame.
Among the disadvantages, the very high prices for these birds are also unanimously noted.
Reviews
Conclusion
Although even in the West Barnevelders are considered a rare and expensive breed, they appeared in Russia and began to gain popularity. Considering that Russia is not yet constrained by breed standards for color, we can expect not only autosex Barnevelders, but also the appearance of new colors in these chickens.
