A Bielefelder Thread !

[ljcygnet]

Desertchic, a swamp cooler should be sufficient to keep them alive, but if they are still struggling, you can try giving them water to stand in (I like black masonry tubs for this -- easy to dump and rinse out daily) and select a lower protein food or even consider restricting food -- two or three meals a day rather than free choice, with the biggest meal in the evening. You don't want them at all obese in the summer. You can feed chickens to death in hot weather.

Do any of your chickens make whistling/bubbling noises when they breathe? Listen closely. Upper respiratory crud is common in the summer, and it kills, because they can't shed heat as easily when they have the snots.

If you're selecting for heat tolerance, pick birds with larger combs/wattles and longer legs. Surprisingly, big bodied birds seem to do well overall, however -- I think it's because they have a large thermal mass and they overheat slower than little birds. I lost a lot more leghorn types than marans when I was breeding, and some of my marans were as big as bieles. (I selected for size because most of my customers wanted heritage meat birds. They didn't care about the eggs, but they absolute loved those big marans cockerals.)

If all else fails, I'm looking for bieles. ;-) ;-)

(I'm really not sure about the eggs I ordered. The seller sent them via air rather than ground, and some of the air sacs are in questionable condition. They're under a hen and so far, so good, I've only had one dud, but it'll be the last week where I lose them due to compromised air sacs. I've had hatched shipped eggs with bad air sacs before, but the hatch rate goes WAY down.)

 

[DesertChic]

Desertchic, a swamp cooler should be sufficient to keep them alive, but if they are still struggling, you can try giving them water to stand in (I like black masonry tubs for this -- easy to dump and rinse out daily) and select a lower protein food or even consider restricting food -- two or three meals a day rather than free choice, with the biggest meal in the evening. You don't want them at all obese in the summer. You can feed chickens to death in hot weather.

Do any of your chickens make whistling/bubbling noises when they breathe? Listen closely. Upper respiratory crud is common in the summer, and it kills, because they can't shed heat as easily when they have the snots.

If you're selecting for heat tolerance, pick birds with larger combs/wattles and longer legs. Surprisingly, big bodied birds seem to do well overall, however -- I think it's because they have a large thermal mass and they overheat slower than little birds. I lost a lot more leghorn types than marans when I was breeding, and some of my marans were as big as bieles. (I selected for size because most of my customers wanted heritage meat birds. They didn't care about the eggs, but they absolute loved those big marans cockerals.)

If all else fails, I'm looking for bieles. ;-) ;-)

(I'm really not sure about the eggs I ordered. The seller sent them via air rather than ground, and some of the air sacs are in questionable condition. They're under a hen and so far, so good, I've only had one dud, but it'll be the last week where I lose them due to compromised air sacs. I've had hatched shipped eggs with bad air sacs before, but the hatch rate goes WAY down.)

Thanks for the tips. I'd no idea about the connection between large combs/wattles and the ability to stay cool.

I actually do have a masonry tub of cool water for them, but my Biels hate it...and I mean HATE it. When they get too hot I still put them in for a brief dunk of even just their feet, but they want no part of it and protest vehemently. They'll drink from the darn thing, but won't voluntarily wade into it.

So far I haven't had to restrict their feed as they do that themselves, but they are on a lower protein feed and I never feed any of my chickens corn, which I know has a thermogenic effect on them. They love to forage in the early morning and the evening when it's cool, so their feed consumption has dropped by nearly half these past few week.

Luckily none of my Biels appear to have any respiratory problems, and I do check daily. I handle each of my birds, Biels and other breeds, multiple times per day to make sure they remain accustomed to it. I like friendly, manageable birds.

 

[ljcygnet]

Thanks for the tips. I'd no idea about the connection between large combs/wattles and the ability to stay cool.

I actually do have a masonry tub of cool water for them, but my Biels hate it...and I mean HATE it. When they get too hot I still put them in for a brief dunk of even just their feet, but they want no part of it and protest vehemently. They'll drink from the darn thing, but won't voluntarily wade into it.

So far I haven't had to restrict their feed as they do that themselves, but they are on a lower protein feed and I never feed any of my chickens corn, which I know has a thermogenic effect on them. They love to forage in the early morning and the evening when it's cool, so their feed consumption has dropped by nearly half these past few week.

Luckily none of my Biels appear to have any respiratory problems, and I do check daily. I handle each of my birds, Biels and other breeds, multiple times per day to make sure they remain accustomed to it. I like friendly, manageable birds.

 

[Sylvester017]

I live in southern AZ and have been battling temps above 105 ºF, up to 111 ºF so far. I must admit that my Biels are struggling with the heat the most. I bought a portable swamp cooler to help keep their portion of my cabin cooler, place frozen 2-liter bottles of water in their pen for them to lay against, give them ice water to drink, and keep a section of shady ground moist for them to dig around in. When we hit our peak heat a couple of my cockerels seemed to be really struggling, but a quick partial dunk in some cool water did the trick in restoring their comfort. I leave my chickens free to range around in my 1/2+ acre back yard, and keep their pen cooler so they always have a respite from the high afternoon sun. They seem to do okay up to about 100 ºF with low humidity here, though are obviously uncomfortable, but struggle quite a bit more with each degree increase.

I've been advised to ditch the breed for something that better tolerates the heat, but I honestly can't see giving up this breed. Mine are 16-17 weeks old and I love them. Six of my nine Biels are cockerels and are simply the easiest boys to have around. I may cross-bread them with some NN Turkens to create my own "desert-friendly" breed, but I'll also be breeding pure lines of Biels and working with them in hopes of selecting not only the best growers, layers, and personalities, but also those who display the greatest heat tolerance.

This is a Bielie thread but since you mentioned the NNs are they ok not getting sunburned on their exposed skin areas? I've seen pics of NNs with REALLY red necks and wondered if that was sunburn?

 

[DesertChic]

This is a Bielie thread but since you mentioned the NNs are they ok not getting sunburned on their exposed skin areas? I've seen pics of NNs with REALLY red necks and wondered if that was sunburn?

The red necks are simply a part of the breed pigmentation and have nothing to do with sunburn. My cockerels' necks are always red now that they're sexually mature, and the pullets get redder or paler depending upon their moods. I've not had problems with sunburns but my birds have lots of shade, but I've red reports from others who indicate that the sunburn appears as dry, white, ashy skin.

Here's a photo of my favorite cockerel, Heisenberg:



And a shot of part of my NN flock:



The pullets near Heisenberg have red combs, wattles, and ears, but due to their contentment their necks are quite pale. I've only seen the females turn really red when they're highly emotional.

 

[ljcygnet]

I'm not sure if I'll get any chicks hatch out of the batch of biele eggs I ordered. Out of ten eggs, five are duds. The other five all have bad air sacs. If I get ONE chick out of this I'll be pleased, and with my luck, it'll be a rooster.

Sigh.

Doesn't anyone ship via ground anymore? It's been several years since I did shipped eggs, but when I did, nearly everyone used UPS ground. Everyone wants to send via Priority Mail (air) now, and that's not good. The eggs can (probably will) end up in an unpressurized cargo hold, which damages the air sacs.

 

[DMRippy]

I'm not sure if I'll get any chicks hatch out of the batch of biele eggs I ordered. Out of ten eggs, five are duds. The other five all have bad air sacs. If I get ONE chick out of this I'll be pleased, and with my luck, it'll be a rooster.

Sigh.

Doesn't anyone ship via ground anymore? It's been several years since I did shipped eggs, but when I did, nearly everyone used UPS ground. Everyone wants to send via Priority Mail (air) now, and that's not good. The eggs can (probably will) end up in an unpressurized cargo hold, which damages the air sacs.

USP will not ship birds or eggs. USPS is the only option. The VAST majority of mail goes on a truck. Express mail might be the only exception. The biggest enemy of the mail is the sorting.

 

[ljcygnet]

I ship stuff every single day as part of my business, though not, usually, eggs. Not anymore. I'm generally very aware of shipping regulations and procedures, though.

UPS won't ship live chicks but where is the regulations that say they won't ship eggs? It's been several years, so something might have changed, but it didn't use to be an issue.

And a fair amount of Priority Mail is shipped via air. It's how they get stuff from one side of the country to the other in two days.

 

[DMRippy]

I ship stuff every single day as part of my business, though not, usually, eggs. Not anymore. I'm generally very aware of shipping regulations and procedures, though.

UPS won't ship live chicks but where is the regulations that say they won't ship eggs? It's been several years, so something might have changed, but it didn't use to be an issue.

And a fair amount of Priority Mail is shipped via air. It's how they get stuff from one side of the country to the other in two days.

I did ask the lady at the post office it goes by trucks across country that is why priority takes 2 to 4 days or long to some places. Mail going to Alaska and Hawaii and express this go air.

 

[Sylvester017]

I ship stuff every single day as part of my business, though not, usually, eggs. Not anymore. I'm generally very aware of shipping regulations and procedures, though.

UPS won't ship live chicks but where is the regulations that say they won't ship eggs? It's been several years, so something might have changed, but it didn't use to be an issue.

And a fair amount of Priority Mail is shipped via air. It's how they get stuff from one side of the country to the other in two days.

I don't order eggs or chicks where any kind of shipping is involved - JMHO that I don't want to lose any littles from the stress of shipping. For air shipping the USPS uses FedExAir exclusively (via exclusive contract and no other carrier for cross-country). Because of all this possible air shipping we only order juveniles with a bit more hardiness to survive the flight conditions. Pressurized cargo areas are supposed to be used for live animal shipment - puppies, dogs, cats, poultry, etc. and one can only hope freight shipments follow those policies. USPS policy is to call customer for pickup of live birds yet our first order the postal carrier was driving around with our two pullets in his hot mail truck! It's a good thing I was on top of it to demand they deliver the birds at once - unfortunately not every person on this planet has a brain to think or read the rules/policies of their own job! Currently only USPS delivers poultry to my knowledge and FedEx is their air carrier. Maybe after the contract expires USPS might contract with UPS as their exclusive air carrier? Our only current option is USPS as our poultry shipper with whatever rules they have in place. The only option I know for shipping to your specifications is a private trucker/carrier and that would be way-over-the-top expensive.