This breed derives its name from the town where it was developed, Barneveld, in the Netherlands. Most farmers in the surrounding area of Barneveld kept poultry as early as the 12th and 13th centuries. In the 14th century, the first egg exports took place from the Duke of Gelre to the Emperor Robrecht of Aachen in Germany. Around 1850 something happened to the Barnevelder poultry of the day, although they had not yet been given this official name, namely the value of selection for utility was discovered. By crossing the Barnevelder poultry with imported stock such as Cochins, Malays, Brahmas, and Langshans, the egg production was improved tremendously. Even Buff Orpingtons were used in the development of the breed. In those days, brown eggs were preferred to white ones, so the "new" breed's eggs had to be brown. The eventual result at the beginning of this century became the Barnevelder with an egg production of around 180 - 200 eggs a year. The inhabitants of Barneveld always claimed that their chickens laid 313 eggs if the year had 365 days. Being a very religious community, traditionally no work was done on Sundays (365 minus 52 Sundays = ) Get it? This is not statistically proved, however! One of its characteristics, the double lacing, was not introduced by crossing them out to Indian Game as sometime is stated but was found by coincidence in certain strains in the early development of this breed. The French breed, the Marans, was used to improve the brown egg colour. Barnevelders were shown for the first time at the big agricultural show in The Hague in the Netherlands in 1911, but they did not possess today's colour and markings. Their great break came, however, in 1921 when they were exhibited at the first World Poultry Congress of the World Poultry Science Association WPSA and exhibition in The Hague, the Netherlands. Since then, they have been bred not only for production, but also for their exterior qualities. The Barnevelder is, without any doubt, the most famous poultry breed of the Netherlands, where the word Barnevelder is almost synonymous to chicken. The real Barnevelder is world famous and is present all over the world. Recently, Barnevelders were exported again to Germany, Canada, America, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark to improve existing strains. Barnevelder fowl have certainly helped the development of their native town, Barneveld. Poultry, eggs and associated products still form the major source of income in the area. The largest egg auction of Western Europe is at Barneveld with an average of 1,000,000,000 eggs being auctioned a year. There also is an egg market where 500,000,000 eggs are sold a year. The International Barneveld College is one of the largest educational poultry institutes which has several branches around the world. The Dutch Poultry Museum has its seat in Barneveld too. The modern, typical laying breeds have outclassed the Barnevelder but many residents of Barneveld still keep their true Barnevelders for pleasure. **Article written for educational purposes on The Gab Sites Only By Rog. For any other use please contact author or Gab management.**