A Bielefelder Thread !

[RWD]

Well I replied to the "For Sale" 1day to 8 weeks ad you have, but never received a reply. And have sent 2 PM's that have gone unanswered.

 

[treefarmer42]

Hello Plumcreek,
In regards to selling your Bielefelders I would consider this. If you can get good $ I would hatch out a new batch and make sure you get the amount of chicks you want and sell off the mature birds. You will save $ by feeding the young through Winter when egg production is less. This new batch can be kept in your enclosed coop were no sitter is needed. By the time Spring time comes your new hatch will be mature and producing for you. .
My personal feeling in regards to $ for a 1.5 year old flock that average 8 hens and 2 roosters $1,000.00. I would pay that in a second if it was not for the fact of winter coming so soon and me not getting the egg production. I'm aware of artificial lights but the cold comes into play as well and my coops are not heated. If they are similar to wyandottes in regards to egg production per live span, you can count on 3 full mature years before they regress. I do not know if that is true for Biels but I would take that guess.
I was about to pay $450 for 8 chicks / 6 hens and 2 roosters until I found eggs for $5.00 from Coastline Poultry. I purchased 18 eggs for $90 and had a good hatch of 7 hens and 6 roosters. If I could have purchased your flock 2 months ago for $1,000.00 I would be close to braking even and better yet could have hatched from your flock to begin fine tuning their traits. Plus sell unwanted chicks. Now at this point I'm making $ hatching selling eggs and still have 1.5 years of life with your flock. Now $1,000.00 is sounding rather cheap.
The extra roosters that you may keep I feel maybe a mistake. What will you keep them for ? Maybe 2 for your 2 favorite hens but other then that include them in the deal and add some $ to the final price. The roosters have value to fly fisherman. I'm new to the breed and feel in love with them the first time I saw and read about them. Here in Berks county PA no one that I know has them. Nothing at the Auctions/Craigslist. If we want them to hold their value and be desired for years to come then we must ask for what they are worth. Above stated is just my feelings and thoughts hope it helps with your decision.

 

[speedy2020]

Hello Plumcreek,
In regards to selling your Bielefelders I would consider this. If you can get good $ I would hatch out a new batch and make sure you get the amount of chicks you want and sell off the mature birds. You will save $ by feeding the young through Winter when egg production is less. This new batch can be kept in your enclosed coop were no sitter is needed. By the time Spring time comes your new hatch will be mature and producing for you. .
My personal feeling in regards to $ for a 1.5 year old flock that average 8 hens and 2 roosters $1,000.00. I would pay that in a second if it was not for the fact of winter coming so soon and me not getting the egg production. I'm aware of artificial lights but the cold comes into play as well and my coops are not heated. If they are similar to wyandottes in regards to egg production per live span, you can count on 3 full mature years before they regress. I do not know if that is true for Biels but I would take that guess.
I was about to pay $450 for 8 chicks / 6 hens and 2 roosters until I found eggs for $5.00 from Coastline Poultry. I purchased 18 eggs for $90 and had a good hatch of 7 hens and 6 roosters. If I could have purchased your flock 2 months ago for $1,000.00 I would be close to braking even and better yet could have hatched from your flock to begin fine tuning their traits. Plus sell unwanted chicks. Now at this point I'm making $ hatching selling eggs and still have 1.5 years of life with your flock. Now $1,000.00 is sounding rather cheap.
The extra roosters that you may keep I feel maybe a mistake. What will you keep them for ? Maybe 2 for your 2 favorite hens but other then that include them in the deal and add some $ to the final price. The roosters have value to fly fisherman. I'm new to the breed and feel in love with them the first time I saw and read about them. Here in Berks county PA no one that I know has them. Nothing at the Auctions/Craigslist. If we want them to hold their value and be desired for years to come then we must ask for what they are worth. Above stated is just my feelings and thoughts hope it helps with your decision.

WoW! I wish I can sale 8 birds for $1000. I paid $25 for 2 female chicks 1-3 weeks old. The owner also gave me 5 cockerels. I just can't wait go get some eggs in spring.

 

[treefarmer42]

Wow I wish you understood the difference between chicks and 1.5 year old birds. Let me help you. Your chicks will take approx. 5 months to lay it's first egg. 1.5 year old birds will lay approx every 24 hrs. So if we do the math you will have approx. 125-150 eggs from a 1.5 yr. old by the time your chicks lay their first egg. So if we sell eggs for only $5.00 each then each hen will be valued at approx. $500.00-$650 (feed cost deducted) So if my $1,000.00 worth of 8 hens do their job I'll make approx. $4,000 - $5,200. So now you know that you can "sale" 8 birds plus the 2 roosters for $1,000.00.

WoW! I wish I can sale 8 birds for $1000. I paid $25 for 2 female chicks 1-3 weeks old. The owner also gave me 5 cockerels. I just can't wait go get some eggs in spring.

 

[RWD]

It is always the guy that is not buying that can place a high value on things. If they are worth a $1000.00, why don't you go ahead and jump on the opportunity. Personally I would be in at about $275.00.

 

[texasmomma]

I am considering selling my bielefelder flock. Does anyone know how I should price them?


We are considering selling because we might be temporarily unable to enclose the roosters at night and we live in central Austin. It is hard to find a long term petsitter willing to come out every night and put the boys away after dark.

My flock came from yours and we really do love them. I have one roo and four hens. I think yours were the 2011 import?

Anyway, we do not put ours to bed. They have a run, but I often let them out around 5 p.m. until bedtime. When it starts to get dark, they go into the coop. We have an automatic door and it shuts around 8 or 9, I can't remember. We need to change the time it closes because they are often in long before it closes, due to the sun going down sooner as winter draws near.

I feel comfortable leaving the chickens for some time with this method. When we go away, we have friends collect eggs, and make sure they have feed, but they don't need to make sure they are in or out of the run during the day. HTH.

 

[plumcreek]

Hi RWD, I just found out you can't reply to the emails that are sent about private messages. Apparently they don't go anywhere. Sorry about that. I sold a few of those chicks locally and have a few left.

The value is way over $275. I can sell mix bred or big hatchery factory type layers for $35-40 per laying age hen here, so that would at least be $280 for common birds.

Add that mine are free range, organic, healthy... that makes them more valuable yet (also more expensive to maintain).

I used to sell Black Copper Marans for $50/ hen and they are not nearly as rare and don't lay as regularly.

Thanks for all the input. I love this breed and hate to part with them so I may keep a very young roo that won't crow till spring with my two ladies.

Also, I sell my Roos regularly for $20 per mature bird ready to butcher. There is a good market for them here, so I don't consider them free either. They are big meaty birds with a use. With my Marans I usually had to give them away.

 

[RWD]

That is fine, I purchased 12 pullets and a couple of roos yesterday. The $275.00 was a low ball, just like the $1000.00 was way high. Chickens are worth what people will pay for them, and not a penny more. Good luck, but in the future reply sooner rather than later to your inquiries.

 

[treefarmer42]

$1,000.00 sounds high in it's self but when you do the math on the life of 1.5 yr. olds and the egg production you will get from them it's not high at all. We must remember this a "new" breed that I believe will take the US by storm. Just look at the prices on Ebay for a dozen eggs. $35-$70 plus shipping fees. Proof is right before our eyes it's not my pipe dream. You better believe I would have paid $1,000 for the flock 2 months ago. I would have broke even by Winter and made crazy $ over the next 1.5 years. I had to settle for the $90 worth of eggs that did produce 7 hens and 6 roosters. Come Spring they will be laying. I search craigslist and auctions but up here in PA they can NOT to be found. That makes me excited and more with the Biels. Check the online poultries, I can not find mature birds for sale only chicks. Omega hills 1-2 week olds 9 female 3 males $425.00. Green fire farms, day old chicks, females $59 each males $29.00 each. I just hope people don't treat their Biels as a Chevy when they are a Porsche.
RWD did make a valid point. Chickens are only worth what people are willing to pay but we have many years to come before Biels are thought of as just another chicken.

 

[Camp Julsby]

My Bielefelder eggs started hatching early yesterday morning. 9 out of the 12 shipped eggs hatched. I am really happy with the hatch rate although this hatch was very cockerel heavy. 1 little pullet passed earlier today in her sleep she never really perked up much after she hatch, while she otherwise looked perfect. I am down to 2 females. I am not sure our last little cockerel will make it either. Sure had hoped for more pullets but oh well that's how it goes sometimes. Just hoping my two surviving pullets pull through.