Barnevelder Chicken

Facts about Barnevelder chickens. The Barnevelder chicken is a chicken breed that originated from Holland at around 200 years ago. It was derived from mixing the local Dutch chickens with the imported Asian fowl. The main aim for the Barnevelder chicken to be developed was to come up with a hardy breed that would produce brown eggs. The Barnevelder chicken is a dual-purpose chicken breed that has recently been adapted for display rather than the farm use

Physical Description of Barnevelder chicken

One of the most striking appearances of the Barnevelder chicken is its double laced feather pattern it’s an intricate arrangement that is precise and quite beautiful just like an exquisite hand-sewn lace. The color of a Barnevelder chicken varies from double laced, to silver, to black, and partridge. All the varieties do have a distinct yet prominent orange eyes, and yellow legs. The average size of Barnevelder chicken is 6 to 7 pounds (2.7 to 3.2 kg).

The Barnevelder chicken head is held high with a very neat skull and has a full short beak. The Barnevelder chicken has a single upright comb that is medium in size and well serrated the base of the comb is firm and heel to follow its neck. The neck is fairly long and is erect.

The body is medium in size, with a dip and broad shoulders and its saddle is highly set. The Barnevelder chicken breed has short wings with a full tail that has a graceful uniform sweep.

Characteristics of Barnevelder chicken

Nowadays, Barnevelder chickens are being bred as both a show breed and a utility breed. Generally, it is a heavy dual-purpose chicken that can lay a good number of eggs and will also yield a reasonable amount of meat. The Barnevelder chickens are a hardy breed and are also good foragers.

The Barnevelder chicken are considered to be a lazy breed, and for this particular reason it is advised that they should be kept free range to encourage exercise. The Barnevelder chicken produce chicks that are yellow in color and have a very slow growth rate. The hens go broody often but this usually makes them very docile and hence they are good mothers.

The hens of the Barnevelder chickens typically lay an average of 190 eggs in a year, while the carcasses are full and meaty.

The Barnevelder chickens are considered to have a calm and friendly character.