Double Silver Laced Barnevelders

[Skibum]

Yep, I have two from Blue House Farm in NC. I got them as eggs (shipped) and am very happy with the experience. They weren't any more expensive than other breeders I was looking at at the time. The lady was great to work with, eggs were very well packaged, hatch rate was around 60ish % which is to be expected for shipped eggs. All the chicks that hatched were healthy and grew into healthy adults. I kept 2 females. They are 2.5 years old now, I haven't had any issues with them so far. They are sweet lap chickens (but I hatched them in my house and socialized them extensively - breeder says hers are very skittish). They don't like to be touched, but they'll come on their own, sit in my lap and talk to me One of them goes broody a lot, and makes an excellent mother. She's my go to broody for my yearly hatching. Their eggs are small, yeah, and they don't lay as reliably as other heritage breeds. Maybe 3-4 eggs per week, and mine lay nothing in the winter. They also wrap up for the year very early - in August to do a prolonged slow molt, then go straight into winter break until February. So, I wouldn't get them for the eggs, but they are SO pretty! My two aren't consistent with each other in terms of the pattern - one has a denser pattern with finer penciling, while the other one has thicker pencil lines but they are crisper and cleaner. I like both. I don't breed them and they are pets, so I'm not demanding with the looks or eggs. I love that they are friendly and nice to look at, so I'm happy

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Interesting that yours aren’t consistent layers… mine lay at least 5 eggs a day even still and are still laying now in below freezing weather at 7,000 plus ft elevation! Sounds like I got some keepers and maybe I’ll just hatch their eggs this year!

 

[K0k0shka]

Interesting that yours aren’t consistent layers… mine lay at least 5 eggs a day even still and are still laying now in below freezing weather at 7,000 plus ft elevation! Sounds like I got some keepers and maybe I’ll just hatch their eggs this year!

Yeah, I guess bloodlines can vary a lot! If people are breeding for certain characteristics specifically, like looks, it makes sense that other things would fall by the wayside, like laying, and end up varying a lot. Also, my sample size is very small and that's from several years ago... Can't speak for this breeder's birds in general, or what they are like now... You could message her and ask her how well they are laying. She responds promptly and is very nice. I don't want to downplay her barnies just because my two are slackers

 

[miche1138]

Does anyone breed Double Silver Laced Barnevelders? I have two full-breed hens and one cross breed hen. I have a Roo so I could hatch my own I was just wondering if anyone is breeding them as it would probably be wise to have a larger genetic pool if I was to breed. I got mine from feather lover farms I had an ok experience with them but I’m not sure I want to buy chicks from them again. One of my hens has more gray feathers around the head than purely black so I’m not really sure if those are genetics I want to pass on. Anyways I’ve found them to be really lovely and their winter egg laying abilities seem phenomenal at least so far!

Downside is their eggs are quite small. Is this typical for Barnevelders?View attachment 3325698View attachment 3325700View attachment 3325701

What state are you in??

 

[Skibum]

What state are you in??

Colorado

 

[Stephoney]

I know this thread is a little old, but I thought I’d throw another farm into the mix. I received 9 healthy chicks from Stumphouse Farms in North Carolina. I kept 2 and sold the rest. The two are twelve weeks old and looking gorgeous already. The owners were very helpful and answered all of my questions. When my original order came without a single live chick, they resent with better quality shipping material and heating pads. Every chick was energetic and lively. The owner called me personally to talk about the problem and offered a full refund or another shipment at their cost. I would definitely work with them again!