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Double Laced

Characteristics

Colour: Double-laced mahogany/black feathers; the male’s have iridescent shades of green. Also Black, Partridge and Silver varieties.

Developed during the nineteenth century in Barneveld in Holland, the breed was originally created to produce beautiful dark brown eggs. The breeds used were chosen with great care. A Dutch hen was crossed with a Langshan, producing darkcoloured eggs; further crosses with the Buff Orpington, Brahma and Cochin were introduced to improve the quality and colour of the eggs. From 1910 steps were taken to introduce uniformity to the Barnevelder. In 1921 the Dutch Association of Barnevelder Breeders was formed and the breed standard fixed. In the same year the breed was imported into the British Isles, and the British Barnevelder Club formed.

The breed became famous, leading to worldwide exports. This good, hardy, dual-purpose hen is capable of laying an average of two hundred dark brown goodflavoured eggs each year. The Barnevelder is a lazy chicken and must be kept free range to ensure it receives plenty of exercise; overweight Barnevelder do not lay eggs. The chicks are born yellow, and the brown feathers develop as the bird matures.

From its origins in Holland the breed is now found worldwide.