Breed of chickens Barnevelder: description, main characteristics and features of care

Recently, farmers are increasingly paying attention to the universal chicken meat and egg direction. These include chickens of the Barnevelder breed, which are still quite rare in Russia. They are undemanding to the conditions of keeping and feed, highly productive, have a decorative appearance, therefore they are quickly gaining popularity among private poultry farmers.

Origin story

The breed was bred in Holland, in the city of Barneveld. In 1893, breeders decided to get chickens that would lay chocolate-colored eggs.

To create a new breed, native Dutch, Indian fighting chickens, representatives of the Brahma, Langshan, Rhode Island and Cochinchin breeds were used. From the latter, the Barnevelders inherited the unusual color of the eggshell.

In 1910 a standard was developed, and in 1923 the breed was officially recognized.

Description and characteristics of the breed

Barnevelders are large birds, the mass of roosters is 3-3.5 kg, chickens are slightly smaller. They are strong, neat and compactly built, with a medium-sized head, feather cover of medium length and wings adjacent to the body.

Standard and country differences

The ratio of Barnevelder hull depth to length is 2:3. The line of the back is raised up. The chest and shoulders of chickens are wide, rounded. The thighs are powerful. Legs are yellow, females may have a smoky tint.

The neck is of medium length, with dense plumage. The front part of the head is unfeathered. The beard is short, rounded. The comb is medium-sized, leaf-shaped, has 4-6 teeth, scarlet shade. The beak is short, yellow. The eyes are reddish orange.

The tail of the rooster is richly feathered, medium, medium high or high in length. The tail of the chicken is wide.

Dwarf chickens of Barneveldera have been bred. Roosters have a mass of 1-1.2 kg, chickens - 0.8-0.9 kg. Otherwise, there are no differences from the standard size Barnevelders.

Colors

Feathers of Barnevelder chickens have a characteristic double edging: one strip borders the edge of the feather, and the other runs parallel to the first in the form of a ring.

Chicken feathers are usually dyed red-brown with a black outline. In the light they shimmer blue-green. The tails of the roosters are black, the tails of the hens are laced.

The shade of plumage of chickens can be from coffee-chocolate to rich red with a golden sheen. There are Barnevelders of light colors - from pure white to cream and silver with dark edging, as well as completely black individuals with light patches.

Red and white chickens were bred in the UK; in the Netherlands this color is not recognized. There are birds with lavender feather edging due to a lack of melanin. There is an autosex color in the breed that is not recognized by most countries.

Barnevelder chickens are black, brown or reddish in color with golden spots on the body and a yellow breast.

Inadmissible vices

Chickens are not allowed to be bred if they have the following vices:

constricted chest;
thin skeleton;
weak physique;
short or tapered back;
low or high torso fit;
poorly feathered tail;
invalid color;
feathered legs;
whitish coating on the earlobes.

Chicken productivity

Puberty in pullets occurs at 6-7 months, and physiological maturity at 12 months. The set of muscle mass is fast, by the year the Barnevelder chickens reach their maximum weight.

A year from one laying hen you can get up to 200 eggs, which the hen lays continuously, including in winter. Weight of 1 egg - 60-80 g, shell color - from terracotta to dark brown.

Barnevelder dwarf chickens lay eggs weighing 35 g. You can get 110-130 eggs per year from a chicken.

Maternal Instinct

Maternal instinct is well expressed in 90% of laying hens. The hens incubate the eggs throughout the incubation period and take care of the chicks.

Character of Barnevelder chickens

Barnevelders are distinguished by a calm, docile nature. They peacefully coexist in the same chicken coop with other birds, they are friendly to humans.Roosters of this breed rarely fight, preferring to resolve conflicts with the power of their voices. Barnevelders do not like being alone and tend to stay in packs.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of the breed include:

versatility;
decorative appearance;
calm peace-loving character;
good maternal instinct of hens;
high egg and meat productivity;
undemanding to the conditions of detention, feeding.

Disadvantages of chickens of this breed:

frost intolerance;
need for large areas for physical activity;
the ability to take off to great heights.

Content Features

Barnevelder chickens quickly adapt to a new place, easily adapt to new conditions and unusual feed.

Chicken coop

A spacious dry room is used as a chicken coop. The ceiling height is small - up to 2 m.

It is important to organize good ventilation without drafts. Air humidity - within 60-70%.

To protect against cold northern winds, the chicken coop is located on the south side of other buildings. The building is placed on a hill so that during the rains, melting snow, water does not accumulate in it.

You can't keep Barnevelders in cages. Chickens should have enough space for physical activity. 3-5 heads are placed on 1 m^{2 floor area.}

The floor is made of clay, this material warms up better. A deep litter of straw, sawdust or peat is placed on it, to which slaked lime or wood ash is added.It will protect chickens from the cold in winter. In this case, it is not required to heat a room built of wood. Litter consumption rates - 15 kg per head per year.

Brick chicken coops and cinder block rooms must be insulated and heated during the cold season. The air temperature should be maintained at 18-25 °C.

Chickens love the light, so the windows in the chicken coop are placed on the south side. For best egg production, laying hens should have 17 hours of daylight.

A manhole with a vestibule and doors is equipped in the wall of the chicken coop. It is placed at a height of 20 cm from the floor.

Perches with a diameter of 5 cm in increments of 30-35 cm are placed at a height of 1 m from the floor. Nests are placed in a dark place and filled with sawdust, straw and fluff.

Inside the chicken coop place a 50x50 cm box filled with wood flour or a mixture of sand and ash. Dry baths help hens get rid of ectoparasites and maintain feather he alth.

Place for walking

For Barnevelders, it is necessary to equip a walking area 3-4 times the size of the chicken coop.

Representatives of the breed are able to fly up to 1.5-2 m, so the place for walking should be enclosed with a fence or a net more than 2 m high. To protect from the sun, a canopy is equipped.

Barnevelders tolerate cold quite well, so in winter, if the temperature exceeds 0 ° C, they can be let out for a walk.

Drinkers and feeders

Drinkers and feeders are placed inside the chicken coop. They must have a closed top so that the chickens do not climb inside and scatter the contents. Separately equip a feeder with chalk and a container with gravel.

Moulting

Shedding in chickens takes place once a year in autumn and lasts 2-2.5 months. During this period, egg laying stops.

What to feed?

Barnevelders are picky and eat any food. They can be fed ready-made compound feed or make their own diet from natural products.

The diet should contain:

Cereals. Various easily digestible cereals should make up at least 60% of the diet. Barnevelders especially love corn.
Beans. Source of vegetable protein.
Greens. In winter, feed chickens with dried plants and grass meal pellets.
Vegetables, raw or boiled.
Cottage cheese, reverse, chopped boiled egg, meat and bone meal.
Yeast. The additive is prepared at the rate of 30 g of fresh yeast per 3 liters of water. The mixture is left in a warm place for 8 hours to ferment, after which it is fed to chickens in the amount of 15 g per day.
Sprouted cereals.
Mineral supplements. The body of laying hens often lacks calcium, along with food, chalk, shell rock, crushed eggshells or bone meal should be given.
Gravel. Essential for normal digestion.

Barnevelder hens require 75-150 g of feed per head per day. Birds are fed at the same time - in the morning from 8.00 to 9.00 and in the evening from 16.00 to 17.00.

Specific breeding

Breeding Barnevelders is not particularly difficult. Eggs are characterized by a high level of fertility (up to 95%), and the level of hatchability and survival of chickens of this breed reaches 94-95%.

Hatching eggs

Thanks to a well-developed maternal instinct, hens independently incubate eggs during the entire incubation period. However, during incubation, the chicken stops laying. If the farmer is faced with the task of getting the maximum number of eggs from the laying hen, the clutch must be moved to the incubator. Egg incubation lasts 3 weeks.

Chick care

After hatching and drying, the chicks are moved from the incubator to the brooder. Until 1.5 weeks of age, they are fed every 2 hours, and then gradually reduce the frequency of feedings to 5 times a day. Bedding changed daily.

In the first 2 days, the lights are not turned off at night. The temperature in the brooder must be at least 35 ° C. After the chicks reach a week of age, they begin to gradually lower it by 1-2 ° C per day, bringing it to standard parameters.

Chicken diet

On day 1 after hatching, Barnevelder chicks feed consists of chopped boiled eggs. The pieces are sprinkled with semolina to prevent them from sticking to fluff and paws. From the 2nd day of life, chickens begin to be fed steamed corn grits, chopped clover, quinoa and nettles, vegetables and cottage cheese with vitamin supplements. On the 4th day of life, gravel and mineral supplements are offered.

Whole grains and other "adult" feeds are introduced into the diet only after the chicks have reached the age of one month. At the same time, the birds are transferred to three meals a day.

Planned herd replacement

After 3-4 years, the laying rate of laying hens begins to decrease, so by this time it is necessary to prepare replacement young. If chickens are kept for meat, they are slaughtered no later than 2 years of age. With age, the taste of meat deteriorates.

Diseases of the breed

To protect against infectious diseases, chickens must be vaccinated in a timely manner. This is especially important for young animals obtained from other farms.

In order to prevent cannibalism and hypovitaminosis, a diet should be correctly composed taking into account all the nutritional needs of birds.

Timely administration of antiparasitic drugs to chickens will help prevent parasitic infestations.

Barnevelders often suffer from joint diseases and muscle atrophy due to a sedentary lifestyle. To prevent these diseases, it is necessary to avoid crowded and caged housing, as well as organize a walking area.