Bielefelder thread!!!!

[BlueBaby]

My Bielee is almost 3 months old. She's HUGE! As big as my full grown Dominique. She lives at the feeder !
Although I sometimes wonder if their quick growth and enormous appetite is hard on their bodies. Thoughts?

She still enjoys sitting on my knee everyday

Mine seem to still be active enough in this heat now, so maybe that help's to work it all off. Even in this heat over here near Phoenix, AZ., I haven't lost even one to the heat. I do run out there several times a day to add ice to the water, and I have the misters out there in the far end of run set on a timer.

 

[My Three Chicks]

Mine seem to still be active enough in this heat now, so maybe that help's to work it all off. Even in this heat over here near Phoenix, AZ., I haven't lost even one to the heat. I do run out there several times a day to add ice to the water, and I have the misters out there in the far end of run set on a timer.

Wow I feel for you. I'm in Seattle so it's mild compared to elsewhere around the country. I'm so thankful because my Bielee starts panting when it's 75 degrees!

 

[BlueBaby]

Wow I feel for you. I'm in Seattle so it's mild compared to elsewhere around the country. I'm so thankful because my Bielee starts panting when it's 75 degrees!

According to my cell phone, the temp here yesterday reached 114-F. I'm waiting for rain, so if you have any please send some my way.

 

[ElimAcres]

Thank you.

Reasons I think Pip is a pullet:
Mt Healthy says the extra will be the same gender/breed as what you ordered. (Biel pullet) She certainly looked like the other three. This is the 4 together, at a few days old.
View attachment 3560362
Someone said she had skinny, girly legs, and they aren't any chunkier than the other three. They still aren't noticeably chunkier.

Reasons I fear Pip is a cockerel:
Comb size.
Tidbitting behavior recently.

Reasons I am on the fence:
I can't do anything about it!

I breed Bielefelders and those are all definitely pullets. Some of my pullets feather in redder than others. I even have one out there now that is more buff on her chest than red.

 

[Sally PB]

I breed Bielefelders and those are all definitely pullets.

I had faith they were all pullets until someone looked at a picture of Pip at 5 weeks and said, "Boy!" Pip was the "extra pullet," and I got a gut clench that she might NOT be a Biel, in which case... And someone else said Mt Healthy mis-sexed a lot of birds this spring. Sowing worry, reaping angst. Not worth it!

Her comb and wattles didn't seem to grow much in the last 5 weeks, and all the other girls have caught up in that department.

It was one of those gut clench moments, and nothing more. I'm confident that Pip is a Biel, and a girl. And, she's one of my lap chickens. She and Sunny are the ones most likely to get on my lap and sit for a bit.


So far, I am totally LOVING my Bielefelders!

 

[Awaytome]

My Biels are ten weeks old now and getting so big! I heard a couple ba-cuck (adult) sounds yesterday but mostly still peeps, trills and coos. They're free to explore the yard and are smart enough to stick to the trees, shrubs and large area that is covered with netting and shade cloth adjacent to their pen. They furiously chase off small songbirds and even my runner ducks vacate their pools when the chix approach. They have holes under the Oceanspray where they dust bathe and spend the day digging and staying cool in the shade. So much fun to watch!

 

[NuggetMama]

I have a question for all y'all who own Bielefelders.

Have you ever thought of recreating the breed here in the US to try and fix any of the genetic problems that could/ have crop up from the inbreeding we must have?


I have been thinking about this for a bit now. With there being only two maybe three known imports of the birds (I know it's been recent-ish) that doesn't really diversify the genes that much with how many people want the breed as they are amazing and wonderful birds.

 

[NewbieChickieMama]

I have a question for all y'all who own Bielefelders.

Have you ever thought of recreating the breed here in the US to try and fix any of the genetic problems that could/ have crop up from the inbreeding we must have?


I have been thinking about this for a bit now. With there being only two maybe three known imports of the birds (I know it's been recent-ish) that doesn't really diversify the genes that much with how many people want the breed as they are amazing and wonderful birds.

You know, I don't think you'd have to go so far as to recreate it, I think you could just breed in a chicken with similar traits and then cross the offspring together, or breed the offspring back to a different Bielefelder, etc. You'd have something that was a high percentage of Bielefelder blood pretty quickly, and it would look like a Bielefelder.

You'd just want to find something with a similar comb, similar egg color, similar body type, etc, in order to shorten the number of generations needed to achieve your goal. If that was done periodically you'd have a good selection of additional blood.

On the other hand, studies have shown that chickens can be inbred for a LOT of generations before ill effects are shown. So maybe that's why no one has done this?

 

[Sally PB]

My Biels are 11 weeks old, yesterday. They have started making a "honking" noise. It's adorable. Their voices are changing. My babies are growing up!

 

[NuggetMama]

You know, I don't think you'd have to go so far as to recreate it, I think you could just breed in a chicken with similar traits and then cross the offspring together, or breed the offspring back to a different Bielefelder, etc. You'd have something that was a high percentage of Bielefelder blood pretty quickly, and it would look like a Bielefelder.

You'd just want to find something with a similar comb, similar egg color, similar body type, etc, in order to shorten the number of generations needed to achieve your goal. If that was done periodically you'd have a good selection of additional blood.

On the other hand, studies have shown that chickens can be inbred for a LOT of generations before ill effects are shown. So maybe that's why no one has done this?

I have heard that a lot of generations of inbreeding can be done but I have a line of Bielefelder that has a genetic disorder already, all of their parents are bought from different states and so the flock these chicks came from is from different birds but same father.

It is where a tumor grows in the corner of the eye and forces the eye back towards the back of the socket. It doesn't seem to harm them unless the tumor grows for too long. Then that one eye goes almost blind. They can see as long as you use bright colors where they can differentiate the food from the floor/ground/bedding whatever.

When they hatch you don't see this tumor at all, but as they grow it grows. So I have a 6 week old chick right now who's eye is just showing signs of said tumor. I have her sister who is 16 weeks and the eye looks like the front of her eye is trying to pop out of her head where in a human would be the tear duct.

Yes I have had the tear duct rinsed and there is no blockage so it isn't a blockage problem and no she wasn't injured as a chick. It showed up in 5 out of my 20 chicks i have had.

I raised other breeds in the same exact manner as i have my Bielefelder and with my bielefelders and none of them have the eye problems so it isn't environmental or illness either.

So is this from a lack of genepool or is this from a genetic abnormality that can be bred out once I cull off the males and try to breed the females with another male? Or is this going to become an ongoing theme as we continue to breed with the thin lines we have as of now?