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A rare beautiful Barnevelder - a breed of chicken meat and egg direction. It is known for certain that these birds appeared in Holland. Further information begins to diverge. On foreign sites, you can find three options for the breeding time of the breed. According to one version, chickens were bred 200 years ago. According to the other, 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 the breed takes more than one year.
There are also two versions of the origin of the name: from the town of Barneveld in Holland; Barnevelder is synonymous with chicken. But the breed was born really in a town with that name.
And even the very origin of Barnevelder chickens also has two versions. One by one, it is a "mixture" of Cochinchins with local chickens. According to the other, instead of the Cochin, there were Langshani. Outwardly and genetically, these Asian breeds are very similar, so today it will hardly be possible to establish the truth.
The English-language sources themselves even point to the origin of the Barnevelds from the American Wyandots. At the beginning of the twentieth century, crossing with British Orpington... The Langshanis, after all, had the greatest influence on the Barnevelders. It was they who gave the Barnevelders brown egg shells and high winter egg production.
These chickens owe their appearance to the fashion for beautiful brown eggs, which were carried by many Asian chickens. In the process of breeding, the description of the Barnevelder chicken breed contained a requirement for the color of the shell up to the coffee brown shell. But this result was not achieved. The color of the eggs is rather dark, but not coffee-colored.
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.
In the process of hatching, the chickens developed a very beautiful two-tone color, thanks to which they did not stay long in the ranks of the productive bird. Already in the middle of the 20th century, these chickens began to be kept more as decorative. Up to the point that the dwarf form of the Barnevelders was bred.
Description
Barnevelder chickens are a heavy type of universal direction. 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. Egg production in chickens of this breed is 180-200 pieces per year. The weight of one egg at the peak of egg production is 60-65 g. The breed is late maturing. Pullets begin to rush at 7-8 months. They cover this disadvantage with good winter egg production.
Standard and differences in different countries
General impression: a stocky large bird with a powerful bone.
Large head with a short black and yellow beak. The crest is leaf-shaped, small in size. Earrings, lobes, face and scallop are red. The eyes are red-orange.
The neck is short, set vertically on a compact, horizontal body. The back and loin are wide and straight. The tail is set high, fluffy. Roosters have short black braids in their tails. The top line resembles the letter U.
The shoulders are broad. The wings are small, tightly attached to the body. The chest is wide and full. Well-developed belly in layers. Legs are short, powerful. The size of the ring in roosters is 2 cm in diameter. Metatarsus are yellow. The fingers are widely spaced, yellow, with light claws.
The main differences in the standards of different countries are in the varieties of colors for this breed.The number of recognized colors varies from country to country.
Colors
In the homeland of the breed, in the Netherlands, the original "classic" color is recognized - red-black, lavender bicolor, white and black.
In Holland, bentamoks are bred with several variants of a silver color. So far, these varieties have not 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 does not differ from the white color of a chicken of any other breed. It is a solid white feather.
Black color also does not need a special introduction. One can only note the beautiful blue tint of the feather.
With "colored" colors, everything is somewhat more complicated. These varieties obey strict rules: rings of two colors alternate. In a color with black pigment, each feather ends with a black stripe. In breeds lacking pigment (white) - a white stripe. Description and photos of "colored" colors of Barnevelder chickens are just below.
The "classic" black and red color was one of the first to appear in the breed. In the United States, only chickens of this color are officially recognized. With the presence of black pigment and the tendency of chickens to mutate into lavender color, the appearance of lavender-red Barnevelders was natural. This color can be discarded, but it will appear over and over again until the breeders accept it.
Description and photo of color in 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 color palette is obtained.
The chicken would be the classic black and red if not for the mutation.
The listed four color options in the Netherlands are accepted for large varieties and bantams. The additional silver color of the bantams will look like this.
With a double color, chickens can 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 & white color, not recognized in the Netherlands, but officially approved in the UK.
In addition, partridge color is recognized in England. For the rest of the varieties, most countries have not yet come to a consensus. Barnevelder chickens can be found in partridge and dark brown colors.
There is a variant of autosex color, but in most countries this color is prohibited in the breed standard. Pictured are 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 in the weight of the birds, which does not exceed 1.5 kg and the weight of the egg, which is 37-40 g. In the photo, the eggs of the Bentham Barnevelders, for the scale put on a bill of one dollar.
Unacceptable vices
Barnevelder, like any breed, has flaws, in the presence of which the bird is excluded from breeding:
- thin skeleton;
- narrow chest;
- short or narrow back;
- "Skinny" tail;
- irregularities in the color of the plumage;
- feathered metatarsus;
- narrow tail;
- whitish bloom on the lobes.
Laying hens may have a grayish tinge of the metatarsus. This is an undesirable symptom, but not a vice.
Features of the breed
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 brood hens, but the rest are good brood hens.
The claim that they are good foragers does not fit with the adjacent claim that chickens are somewhat lazy. The video confirms the latter. They offer their owners to dig a 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 good at using wings.
Reviews of the Barnevelder chicken breed generally confirm the description. Although there are statements about the aggressiveness of these chickens in relation to the comrades. All owners are unanimous about the owners: the chickens are very friendly and tame.
Of the shortcomings, very high prices for these birds are also unanimously noted.
Testimonials
Conclusion
Although considered a rare and expensive breed even in the West, Barnevelders appeared in Russia and began to gain popularity. Considering that Russia is not yet constrained by the breed standards for color, we can expect not only autosex Barnevelders, but also the appearance of new colors in these chickens.
