A Bielefelder Thread !

[kittydoc]

Hi everyone! So I won an auction from Greenfire Farms for 12 random chicks and ended up getting: 7 Swedish Flower Hens, 5 Cream Legbars, 2 Svart Hona's, and 2 Bielefelders.

The problem is, I have no idea which one's are the Bielefelders! Google didn't show many pictures, so if you don't mind, would you guys mind posting some female Bielefelder pictures?!

Thank you!

May I say if that photo in your avatar is you, you surely do not look like the typical "chicken chick," and I mean that in the most complimentary way as an overweight, middle aged, married woman who does, LOL!

Here is a photo from a British group of Bielefelder chicks. I like it because it shows a little of the variation that you see with them. Basically, the girls are darker brown with chipmunk stripes.

The boys are lighter but range in color from light to medium-light, no chipmunk stripes, and the majority have a white or lighter spot on their heads.

Mine are 7 months old. I like them so far. Sounds like you got a very nice assortment! Hope you enjoy them.

 

[Exotica]

Her are my 1 week old girls. They are much larger than my other chics.

[/URL]

May I say if that photo in your avatar is you, you surely do not look like the typical "chicken chick," and I mean that in the most complimentary way as an overweight, middle aged, married woman who does, LOL!

Here is a photo from a British group of Bielefelder chicks. I like it because it shows a little of the variation that you see with them. Basically, the girls are darker brown with chipmunk stripes.

The boys are lighter but range in color from light to medium-light, no chipmunk stripes, and the majority have a white or lighter spot on their heads.

Mine are 7 months old. I like them so far. Sounds like you got a very nice assortment! Hope you enjoy them.

Haha, yes that is me! I am a 23 year old college student that is completely obsessed with poultry! I will take that as a compliment and thank you profusely! Definitely gave me a smile!

I don't believe I have any males, but they look like my Cream Legbars! My Swedish Flower Hens all have yellow bellies.. so I am totally lost!
Guess I'll just have to take pictures tomorrow and if you all don't mind, I'll post it here! Hopefully I can get some advice, since I'm selling 3-4 Swedish Flower Hens this weekend and really do not want to end up selling a Bielefelder.

Are they sweet chickens? Also, how large are their eggs and do you know what month they lay at?


Thank you to the both of you!!

 

[Bine]

They are very sweet. Mr. Engelmann, the chairman of the German Bielefelder Club, confirmed what I had heard from other owners, that even the roosters are sweet and he never heard of a Bielefelder that attacked someone. Depending on the surrounding the hens and roosters can get very pet-like,
They are not early starters when it comes to laying and they need much protein to develop.

I told him about the problems with often long waiting periodes for the first egg. And he thinks that, besides medical conditions, it could be due to the development of the birds. He told me that most birds first gain hight and than develop a rounder form. Many people that had that problem switched to layer feed or mixed flock feed when the hens stopped gaining hight, b/c they thought the bird was already done with growing. So the birds needed more time for the last step of the development from pullet to hen.
On the other hand it could be that the breeder(s) that worked with GFF selected for a late start. If a hen is at her laying hight when shown to the jugdes, she may get less point b/c some points like the bright yellow feet begin to fade a little while laying everyday. Most shows here are between October and Dezember, so if you hatch the birds in early spring, you rely on a late start to earn ribbons.

I also asked about if he knows why some roosters seam not that interrested in the girls and the only time he sees something like it, is in winter. While the hens don't need a light programm - o/c they are thankful for some light in winter- the boys are not that active in winter. They somehow seam to think that chicks in winter are not a good idea. And this is a big problem for many breeders here who cater to the (small) backyard chicken market. Most hatching eggs are sold in late winter, so that chicks/ young pullets are ready to go outside around Easter. If Easter is early in spring they have problems with the fertility rate.
In Germany you will have problems to find a carrier that is willing to ship living animals and as far as I know it is illigal to ship day-old-chicks. So if you are interessted in new bloodlines or rare breeds hatching eggs are often the only way here.

more later....

 

[FeelsRightFarm]

Hello everybody.

I have owned Bielefelders since 2013 and they are the best breed we have ever had. We currently have 6 laying hens and two roos (our oldest) that are just awesome. We have 7 pullets who are between 5-6 months as well, but they are not laying yet. We got all of ours directly from Greenfire farms.

I am not sure how much help I can be as we are still only a couple years into this, but I'd love to have people to chat with!

I am not sure how to post photos on this site yet as I've only ever lurked around and not actually posted on here. They are the sweetest birds.

I will say, like others, our roosters have never attacked us once, not so much as a shuffle. Our roos are so gentle despite their huge size, even my 6 year old goes out with them (with red shoelaces!) and has never had a problem, picks them up and they are very calm. When we first started out we had a pretty 50/50 mix and we got rid of several roos, but not a single one had ever come at us or been aggressive. Our roos seem to get along well with all the others as well and it seems our other breeds just totally respect them. Maybe because they look big and tough even though they are total softies


Anyway, I could type all day about them. We are located in North Florida and sell chicks as we hatch, if anyone is in the area and looking to get into them! I truly think this is one breed everyone should own!


OH one last thing, I see a lot of people commenting about laying age. Our girls were between 7 and 8 months when they started but have been great layers ever since and very consistent. I will say, after they hit about 18 months they have dropped down quite a bit, but I have heard that is typical. They lay beautiful brown eggs, I will post photos of everything as soon as I get it figured out

 

[otakalhasas]

Hi everyone! So I won an auction from Greenfire Farms for 12 random chicks and ended up getting: 7 Swedish Flower Hens, 5 Cream Legbars, 2 Svart Hona's, and 2 Bielefelders.

The problem is, I have no idea which one's are the Bielefelders! Google didn't show many pictures, so if you don't mind, would you guys mind posting some female Bielefelder pictures?!

Thank you!

Okay, here's my naivety showing! How does one get involved in the auctions? I've seen others refer to them and I'd love to know how to bid. But maybe I'm better off not knowing as I'll haveto get a bigger coop!!!!!

 

[mrosspitt]

Okay, here's my naivety showing! How does one get involved in the auctions? I've seen others refer to them and I'd love to know how to bid. But maybe I'm better off not knowing as I'll haveto get a bigger coop!!!!!

http://www.rarebreedauctions.com/

I presume it's that site, which I think is owned by Greenfire, and there's at least a few complaints about it if you search online..but then again there are complaints about everything!

 

[otakalhasas]

http://www.rarebreedauctions.com/

I presume it's that site, which I think is owned by Greenfire, and there's at least a few complaints about it if you search online..but then again there are complaints about everything!

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind when I check it out!

 

[DesertChic]

Hello everybody.

I have owned Bielefelders since 2013 and they are the best breed we have ever had. We currently have 6 laying hens and two roos (our oldest) that are just awesome. We have 7 pullets who are between 5-6 months as well, but they are not laying yet. We got all of ours directly from Greenfire farms.

I am not sure how much help I can be as we are still only a couple years into this, but I'd love to have people to chat with!

I am not sure how to post photos on this site yet as I've only ever lurked around and not actually posted on here. They are the sweetest birds.

I will say, like others, our roosters have never attacked us once, not so much as a shuffle. Our roos are so gentle despite their huge size, even my 6 year old goes out with them (with red shoelaces!) and has never had a problem, picks them up and they are very calm. When we first started out we had a pretty 50/50 mix and we got rid of several roos, but not a single one had ever come at us or been aggressive. Our roos seem to get along well with all the others as well and it seems our other breeds just totally respect them. Maybe because they look big and tough even though they are total softies


Anyway, I could type all day about them. We are located in North Florida and sell chicks as we hatch, if anyone is in the area and looking to get into them! I truly think this is one breed everyone should own!


OH one last thing, I see a lot of people commenting about laying age. Our girls were between 7 and 8 months when they started but have been great layers ever since and very consistent. I will say, after they hit about 18 months they have dropped down quite a bit, but I have heard that is typical. They lay beautiful brown eggs, I will post photos of everything as soon as I get it figured out

Hello and welcome! I'm grateful for the comments you made in regards to their POL age. I absolutely love my Biels, but I'm getting a little impatient for eggs from them.

 

[TNBielefelder]

Hello everybody.

I have owned Bielefelders since 2013 and they are the best breed we have ever had. We currently have 6 laying hens and two roos (our oldest) that are just awesome. We have 7 pullets who are between 5-6 months as well, but they are not laying yet. We got all of ours directly from Greenfire farms.

I am not sure how much help I can be as we are still only a couple years into this, but I'd love to have people to chat with!

I am not sure how to post photos on this site yet as I've only ever lurked around and not actually posted on here. They are the sweetest birds.

I will say, like others, our roosters have never attacked us once, not so much as a shuffle. Our roos are so gentle despite their huge size, even my 6 year old goes out with them (with red shoelaces!) and has never had a problem, picks them up and they are very calm. When we first started out we had a pretty 50/50 mix and we got rid of several roos, but not a single one had ever come at us or been aggressive. Our roos seem to get along well with all the others as well and it seems our other breeds just totally respect them. Maybe because they look big and tough even though they are total softies


Anyway, I could type all day about them. We are located in North Florida and sell chicks as we hatch, if anyone is in the area and looking to get into them! I truly think this is one breed everyone should own!


OH one last thing, I see a lot of people commenting about laying age. Our girls were between 7 and 8 months when they started but have been great layers ever since and very consistent. I will say, after they hit about 18 months they have dropped down quite a bit, but I have heard that is typical. They lay beautiful brown eggs, I will post photos of everything as soon as I get it figured out

Hello and welcome to the thread! I hope you enjoy it and post often. I love my Bielefelders as well and hope to work with everyone to improve this breed in America.

 

[FeelsRightFarm]

Okay, here's my naivety showing! How does one get involved in the auctions? I've seen others refer to them and I'd love to know how to bid. But maybe I'm better off not knowing as I'll haveto get a bigger coop!!!!!

If you're talking about Rarebreedauctions.com, we sell there from time to time. We started selling early this year but during the summer it was too hot and we chose to take time off and not ship any chicks until the weather cooled off.

It is a pretty user friendly site, easy to navigate. You do have to create an account to place bids, but it is not too difficult. I have only ever purchased through Greenfire on the site, so I cannot speak for any other sellers, but that isn't to say that they are bad, just that I have no experience with them.

My best advice for auction sites if you are new to them is to really research. The site does a pretty good job with keeping scammers away, but always check the feedback from the person listing the auctions you are interested in. Greenfire has great feedback because they've sold so many and they are very professional/good at handling things. However, there are some people who don't know how to use the site correctly and can post auctions that aren't accurate, which can be tricky. ( For example when posting I have seen people list "quantity" as 3 for an auction of 6 chicks, what this does is allows multiple people to bid thinking they have 3 separate 6 chick auctions and then they find out there is only one set of 6 and it becomes a big mess)

The option to bid doesn't become visible until you are logged in with your created account. It is really an easy site to use and it is amazing the deals you can get vs. buying directly from Greenfire farms. That is the site we used to bid on both our Ayam Cemani and Swedish Black Hen breeding pairs, we got them for around $700 when at the time Greenfire was selling them for much, much more. When we ordered our Bielefelders we ended up paying around $14 a chick through rarebreedauctions. I see a lot of people post orpingtons and some other breeds that have awesome reviews, it just depends on what you are looking for!

Definitely just make sure you read the feedback. If someone is listing an Ayam Cemani pair and they have no feed back, as they've just created the account, it would be right to be suspicious. They can be a great way to get chicks at a much more affordable price, it just requires a little research to make sure you can trust the buyer.


phew. That was long, I am going to try posting pictures of my bielefelders in a separate post after this one.