5b799cca_900x900px-LL-bc829b6f_IMG_0092.jpeg
5b799cca_900x900px-LL-bc829b6f_IMG_0092.jpeg

Bielefelder

The Bielefelder is a relatively new breed, development beginning in the 1970’s by Gerd Roth in the area of Bielefeld, Germany, hence the breed's name.
Overview Reviews (16) Gallery
Leave a rating

General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Occasional
Climate Tolerance
Cold tolerant
Egg Productivity
Good
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Brown
Breed Temperament
Friendly, gentle, mild tempered, handles well
Breed Colors/Varieties
A cuckoo red partridge pattern
Breed Size
Large fowl
APA/ABA Class
Not recognised
Color
A cuckoo red partridge pattern
700o.jpg

The Bielefelder is a relatively new breed, development beginning in the 1970’s by Gerd Roth in the area of Bielefeld, Germany, hence the breed's name. They were successful in creating a large fast maturing dual purpose breed with a kind calm temperament and excellent cold tolerance. The hens are friendly, gentle birds, excellent layers for a duel purpose breed, laying about 200 large dark brown eggs a year, and they are good winter layers. They will go broody occasionally. The roosters are said to have exceptionally nice temperaments. The breed has the added benefit of being auto-sexing by colour at hatch.

A number of breeds were used in the creation of the Bielefelder including Malines, New Hampshire Reds and Welsummers. They are a colorful attractive bird, in a cuckoo red partridge pattern reminiscent of the Legbars.

They are not APA recognised.

chicks.jpg
Bielefelder chicks

juvie.jpg
Bielefelder juveniles

7006.jpg
Bielefelder hens

700.jpg
Bielefelder rooster

For more information on this breed and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-bielefelder.1069851/
  • Love
Reactions: 4LuvOfChxs

Latest reviews

NorthwoodsChick
Good dual purpose, friendly. Eats a lot, sliw to mature
Pros: Super friendly in either sex, autosexing at hatch, cold hardy, gets along in mixed flock. large eggs by 7-8 months. Great foragers.
Rooster is gentle with mating but mates often so needs at a minimum 6 hens. I have 9 which is perfect.
Cons: Quite slow to attain weight for meat production.
Eats a LOT of food unless able to forage.
Stunning roosters, beautiful hens. Too slow growing for broilers. At 7 months my roo is only 5 lbs soaking wet!
I love my bielefelders though and will keep the roo but choose another breed for meat birds.
88C0E530-2E8C-413D-8CC2-5D9A364D3869.jpeg

66B86862-6AA8-42E4-A14D-F9E5729C8874.jpeg
Purchase Price
$6 male. $8.50 female chicks. McMurrays
Purchase Date
Dec 2021
NorthwoodsChick
NorthwoodsChick
Prone to disease. Can go broody. My broody killed a total of 5 chicks over two clutches. Trust me, break the broody and use an incubator for this breed.
GermanKennhuhn
Pros: friendly, decent layers, dual purpose, auto sex
Cons: eat a lot
All of you out there that are looking for a good dual purpose chicken, look no further!!! the Bielefelder, a magnificent breed originated in Bielefeld, Germany. Worth a pretty penny over here in America, these birds give me an average of 5 large eggs a week. The roosers are super docile but protective!
  • Like
Reactions: Edgoeckel2 and Mtn Homestead
NJClucker
Pros: Friendly, Cold Hardy, Good Egg Production, Auto Sex Chicks
Cons: Feed Hogs, Slow To Mature, Susceptible To Sickness
I have had two flocks of Bielefelders, I was mostly drawn to them because of the chicks being able to be auto sexed at hatch. As I grew out the chick to pullets then hens they ate lots and lots and lots of feed, way more than the other breeds I had at the farm. They are a very heavy bird and due to their large size they did not start laying till close to 10 months old. Not a very cost effective breed to start out with as Bielefelder chicks prices are in the mid to hi end range, add in the amount of feed you will put into them before you see your first egg in 9-10 months.

Over the years of having them I have experienced a few times Bielefelder hens and roosters being fine in health the night before and the next morning I find one dead. The first few times I shrugged it off and figured it was just a weak bird that died however over the months and years I kept randomly happening. Out of a flock of 10 I have one lone hen left, she is now in our personal family flock and is still a good egg producer and one of our most friendly girls. In the end the Bielefelder breed was disappointing for us.
IMG_9157.JPG
Purchase Price
$25/chick
Purchase Date
May 2015
  • Like
  • Sad
Reactions: HowIsItDone, EggSighted4Life and onvirginiasoil
J
jfporter1120
I purchased 5 hens & 2 roos chicks. They are free ranged and have food in coup at night. This has saved large feed intake. They apparently take longer to lay but these birds are just awesome and worth the extra money to purchase, feed and wait for their large brown eggs. There are creative ways to cut down on feed usage by using herbs and greens etc. if you don't free range your birds. I have had many breeds and these Bielefelders overall beat them all hands down for me. They are the sweetest, calmest and most gorgeous of birds to me. Hope this helps.



.
Read more…

Comments

Jack Speese
Being Pennsylvania Dutch, I am naturally intrigued by this breed. I've heard great things about legbars but my wife just doesn't like blue-shelled eggs, says they remind her of songbird eggs. When it comes time to replace my current flock (NH Reds and Delawares), which I am fond of, but eventually the egg production will inevitably decline in a few years, I'm seriously thinking about Bielefelders. Hopefully they'll catch on and become more common, as legbars are starting to do. I'm not surprised that some folks say they don't particularly like hot weather. After all, Germany (where they were developed) has pretty miserable weather. Like the idea of the autosexing chicks and gentle roosters. One of the NH Red "pullets" was a sexing mistake and turned out to be a rooster, and once he got over a year old he turned mean as the devil. Never had a rooster like that before. The last time he flew into me and drew blood, I decided I had had enough and sold him. He'd probably make a great rooster for a free-range flock, as aggressive as he is. But I don't free range my gals because there are too many hawks around.
 
Rainbow Acres
The Bielefelders are my favorite breed hands down! I highly recommend them. They are so friendly, curious, big and docile. They all come running to great me and I can pick up any one of them. I've kept four roosters together without problems and when mixed with a flock of other roosters, they intervene in squabbles and keep the peace. They lay reliably through the winter months and last summer I was shocked to get a beautiful big, terracotta colored egg a day from each one for several weeks. They do well in our cold, northern Canadian winters and never go broody. My only complaint as a breeder, is that it seems the roosters are too docile and don't do a great job of fertilizing my eggs, which is why I keep four, but perhaps it is just my flock. Oh and did I mention the chicks are the cutest? Easily sexed at hatching, the girls look like little chipmunks.
 
SeanGavinTracey
Cackle hatchery has them available. I'm going to bite the bullet at 27$ per pullet chick 18$ for a roo there's an option for straight run at 12$ per but I don't want a bunch of Roos. Hatching eggs through the mail seems like a huge waste of time...
 
bobhoke
SeanGavinTracey said:
Cackle hatchery has them available. I'm going to bite the bullet at 27$ per pullet chick 18$ for a roo there's an option for straight run at 12$ per but I don't want a bunch of Roos. Hatching eggs through the mail seems like a huge waste of time...
Click to expand...
You can get this breed cheaper then that other places.
 
J
I am intrigued by this breed, as it seems to be an ideal dual purpose chicken. Plus I like the autosexing feature and the fact that it is of German origin (I'm Pennsylvania Dutch). The only reservation I have about getting some as that our South Carolina-Georgia summers may be too much for them. I've lived in Germany, which, although a beautiful country, has some of the most gosh-awful, cold wet weather year round that I've ever experienced. So to me it's understandable that this breed might not like our hot, humid southern summers. I have raised other large breeds like Rhode Island and New Hampshire Reds, Barred Rocks, Cochins, and Buff Orpingtons in this climate with no problem, but I'd hesitate to invest in a breed that is specifically adapted to a cold climate. If there are any folks who've tried them in climates like that of Augusta Georgia - North Augusta South Carolina, I'd be curious to hear how you made out with them.
 
BeckyOB
I have 2 bantam Bielefelder chickens. Both are 11 months old now. 1 pullet,1 cockerel. My pullet is Perch and my cockerel is Coop. I love them! I have a mixed flock of standards and bantams of assorted breeds. These 2 are the friendliest though! Coop will let you know he's a cockerel, but he wants human interaction for sure!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210210_092120149_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20210210_092120149_HDR.jpg
    432.4 KB · Views: 37
  • IMG_20210210_091758623_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20210210_091758623_HDR.jpg
    564.2 KB · Views: 40
  • IMG_20210210_091735286.jpg
    IMG_20210210_091735286.jpg
    710 KB · Views: 44
  • IMG_20210108_133401657.jpg
    IMG_20210108_133401657.jpg
    587 KB · Views: 46
J
kittydoc said:
I'm getting a dozen hatching eggs soon and can't wait to add these to our layer flock. I will probably cull most of the cockerels (some may think that cruel, but it's easier on me to let them go on Day 1 than to feed them for 3-4 months until I'm 100% sure of their gender, and by then I'm attached to them).
Click to expand...
You will know the Bielefelder gender as soon ss you get them because they are an autosexed breed. Read an article about this. I dont know where your chicks are coming from but you can control what you order by asking for the sex you want in a Bielefelder since they don't have to actually sex this breed. If you ordered a straight run then you just might end up with a bunch of roos and a few hens. One of the reasons I personally chose the Bielefelders was because I knew what I was gettng. It would certainly help you not to have to cull upon getting what you wanted to begin with. Hope this helps.
 
J
jspeese said:
I am intrigued by this breed, as it seems to be an ideal dual purpose chicken. Plus I like the autosexing feature and the fact that it is of German origin (I'm Pennsylvania Dutch). The only reservation I have about getting some as that our South Carolina-Georgia summers may be too much for them. I've lived in Germany, which, although a beautiful country, has some of the most gosh-awful, cold wet weather year round that I've ever experienced. So to me it's understandable that this breed might not like our hot, humid southern summers. I have raised other large breeds like Rhode Island and New Hampshire Reds, Barred Rocks, Cochins, and Buff Orpingtons in this climate with no problem, but I'd hesitate to invest in a breed that is specifically adapted to a cold climate. If there are any folks who've tried them in climates like that of Augusta Georgia - North Augusta South Carolina, I'd be curious to hear how you made out with them.
Click to expand...
 
J
I got my Bielefelder chicks in June 10, 2021. They have been free ranged since they were old enough in the hot high humidity of Northeast Georgia! This summer was especially high hot humidity and my birds did fine. I believe it is all how they are acclimatized. Hope this helps.
 
A
I purchased my Bielefelders in August of 2021. I also purchased Dominiques, Black Australorps, Black Americaunas so my 4H kids could have choices. My faves ate the Bielefelders but they aren't recognized by the APA yet - too bad because they'd be excellent for 4H.
 
Ninaamaya
treefarmer42 said:
I have owned 2 flocks of Beils and neither have produced the amount of eggs as I have read to expect. Other then that they are great birds but taking into consider how much they eat in relationship to the amount of eggs I would have to rate them as fair-poor egg layers. Believe me they are fed the best foods, egg layer 16 %, black sunflower seeds, mealworms,black soldier fly larva, as treats and cracked corn in cold months with other foods. They live in a ventilated house with outside run. I have tried something that I have just began a new post on. I have bred a male Beil with RR hens and believe they are sexlinked chicks. Hoping to mix the 2 great birds to create the best brown egg layer with a colorful, large chicken.
Has anyone else done this and if so please let me know your findings.
Thank you
Click to expand...
How did it go? I am about to get my first Bielefelders this spring, and I was wondering about crosses... curious about crossing with Leghorns and RIRs and other great layers....
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
Chaneys Ranch
Views
107,727
Watchers
10
Comments
31
Reviews
16
Last update
Rating
4.35 star(s) 17 ratings

More in Chicken Breeds

  • talkinboutchickens
    White plymouth rock
    With a super kind temperament and 4-6 eggs per week, you really can't go wrong with this breed!
  • Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies
    Showgirl Silkies
    A showgirl silkie is a silkie with no feathers on their neck.
  • shelbyw
    Olandsk Dwarf
    Bright, social birds. Beautiful Plumage with speckles covering the body. Roosters rarely fight...
  • ChickenWhisperer101
    Wyandottes
    These birds are usually overall friendly, are good layers, and are very pretty.
  • Capto Veritas
    Australorp
    The Australorp is a docile, friendly, and easy going chicken. Several people find them great for...

Share this item

Back
Top Bottom