Chicken Breed Focus - Bielefelder

[jeffsmith13]

That's a beautiful olive colored egg!

Thanks , they do make a lovely cross , Sometimes you get green speckles

 

[Red Banks]

Just got an email from Greenfire. They are giving 20% off chicks until the 16th.

 

[Seroma Sentinel]

Better make my purchases early

 

[morgan85]

Anyone near Cleveland Ohio raise these?

 

[wildchickenmom]

I am the new proud chicken mom to 16 three day old Bielefelder chicks and they are super sweet!! Twelve females and four males. It's my first foray into having chickens, so keep all your fingers crossed for me! lol

 

[altair]

I am the new proud chicken mom to 16 three day old Bielefelder chicks and they are super sweet!! Twelve females and four males. It's my first foray into having chickens, so keep all your fingers crossed for me! lol

Good luck! I'm confident you'll love them. We have a trio and the oldest at nearly 3 was in an assortment of chicks my new husband got me as a wedding present. She's a lap hen and the younger cockerel is all but a dog following us around and letting us pick him up without a fuss. We're incubating some of their eggs right now, I hope we're successful!

 

[Reyvaughn]

I think it's safe to say at this point Bielefelders have let me down majorly in the temperament department. I literally have the exact polar opposites of what Bieles are supposed to be. The cockerel in my avvie attacks us and another is scared to death of us.

 

[KayTee]

I think it's safe to say at this point Bielefelders have let me down majorly in the temperament department. I literally have the exact polar opposites of what Bieles are supposed to be. The cockerel in my avvie attacks us and another is scared to death of us.

I am surprised that one of your birds is that agressive. The birds at the breeder I got mine from were exceptionally gentle, as are the two that I now have in my flock.

However, although I describe them both as gentle, the cockerel was always nervous as a young bird (we were surprised that out of 3 cockerels he was the one that became the alpha male in the flock!) The hen has always been happy to eat out of our hands, and will allow herself to be picked up (although she doesn't like it, she only tolerates it), but he is as nervous as anything around people. He only started to eat out of our hands a couple of months ago, and I can only get near him in the night when he is on the roost, (but then he will allow me to do anything I want with him).

He is a wonderful cockerel though - fiercely protective of his 10 girls, and he looks after them fantastically - calling them when he finds food, never eating treats that I give them until he is certain that all the girls have had their fill, warning them when he senses danger... He also hates disputes in the flock, and goes running to see what is happening any time he hears flapping or squawking from his ladies!

I wonder if your agressive bird attacks you because he doesn't recognise you as the alpha in the flock. Even though he may the top cockerel, he still needs to respect you as the one who 'rules the roost'. If you search the forums here you will find lots of suggestions for dealing with agressive roosters and getting them to calm their behaviour towards people. Maybe you could try some of the techniques to see if you can reduce his agression.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I am surprised that one of your birds is that agressive. The birds at the breeder I got mine from were exceptionally gentle, as are the two that I now have in my flock.

However, although I describe them both as gentle, the cockerel was always nervous as a young bird (we were surprised that out of 3 cockerels he was the one that became the alpha male in the flock!) The hen has always been happy to eat out of our hands, and will allow herself to be picked up (although she doesn't like it, she only tolerates it), but he is as nervous as anything around people. He only started to eat out of our hands a couple of months ago, and I can only get near him in the night when he is on the roost, (but then he will allow me to do anything I want with him).

He is a wonderful cockerel though - fiercely protective of his 10 girls, and he looks after them fantastically - calling them when he finds food, never eating treats that I give them until he is certain that all the girls have had their fill, warning them when he senses danger... He also hates disputes in the flock, and goes running to see what is happening any time he hears flapping or squawking from his ladies!

I wonder if your agressive bird attacks you because he doesn't recognise you as the alpha in the flock. Even though he may the top cockerel, he still needs to respect you as the one who 'rules the roost'. If you search the forums here you will find lots of suggestions for dealing with agressive roosters and getting them to calm their behaviour towards people. Maybe you could try some of the techniques to see if you can reduce his agression.

I've carried him, held him down and all the normal things. I have bantam Cochins, and the boys are not particularly known to always be the nicest so I am used to dealing with their bull.

 

[KayTee]

If you've tried already then you must have a 'rogue' Bielefelder gene in there somewhere! A nervous cockerel I can easily believe, but an agressive one seems so unusual. Are they related, or from different sources?