Barnevelder Temperament

[comish83]

I have 10 birds and all of them but my 2 Barnevelders (pullet and cockerel) will eat from my hand. The Barnevelders seem to be incredibly skittish. So many people on forums reviewed Barnevelders to be very friendly with a few skittish comments here and there. My question is, do even the most friendly breeds like a barred rock produce such a wide variety of temperaments or is this what I should expect from a Barnevelder?

 

[rocking chickens]

All breeds have a variety of personaltiys within the breed and some breeds are just more skittish than others. I do not have any Barnevelders (One day I will have space for evey wish list breed one day) so I can't help past that.

 

[Clarity1210]

My barnevelders are pretty skittish too, and also won't eat from my hand. Interested to read what others say.

 

[Robert G]

I have 3 barred rocks, 3 easter eggers, 3 welsummers, and 3 barnevelders. The barnevelders are the lowest in the pecking order of the group and because of that they seem more skittish. If I had all barnevelders, I bet it would be different. Each time I feed them they want to come up to me but it never fails that a barred rock or welsummer comes and scares them away. The weird thing is that they were all raised together as chicks from IDEAL. When they free range in the evening they tend to hang out alone.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My barnevelder prefer to keep their distance. I like them because they are beautiful. They are also a more quiet breed, and they don't often go too far away from my shed.

 

[comish83]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. It confirmed my suspicion!