A Bielefelder Thread !

[RFR of CA]

Greenfire Farms regularly posts them on Rare Breed Auctions and you can usually win them for a fraction of their website cost...about 10-15 dollars a chick. Jenny is a good shipper and most all her birds arrive to me all the way in CA fat and happy. Also she has the cheapest shipping costs out there. Been buying from them for 3 years without issue.

 

[DMRippy]

I don't think Jenny is ther anymore.

You might also want to check the buy sell trade section here on byc. Personaly eBay would be my last choice to look.

 

[jbkirk]

Are you looking for hatching eggs or chicks? I have eggs now will have chicks in a month. Shipping from me to you would be high. I would try to find some closer to you if you want chicks. If you can't find anyone let me know. Pam

Definitely chicks!

 

[RFR of CA]

Sorry, I thought it was just her who sent me an email last week, but maybe it was another person there. Regardless, GFF still has almost weekly auctions of Bieles on Rare Breed Auction. Going to the source if you can is probably the best thing, but often I decide to just order eggs from other small hobbists like me who have second generations producing.

I think that, for eggs, Ebay can be fine with some research. All of us who are breeding Bieles still have pretty much the same birds genetically. I sell extra eggs in there for convenience when incubators are full as I personally find this site very user unfriendly for anything but chat. GFF does not sell eggs anymore, and they are hard to find elsewhere. When I get my website up and running ( it needs LOTS of work if you know someone with web building skills please send them my way), maybe I will just sell just from there, but EBay and my Facebook work okay for now.

All adult Bieles out there are pretty much GFF second (possibly third) generation right now, so they are all siblings and close cousins to a huge degree. No one has had enough breeding time with them to call them anything else other than what they are, GFF imports.


Christine
Rare Feathers Ranch

 

[Sylvester017]

I have never had those issues. My marans are fine with all my other breeds. they all grow up together..... Copper Marans, Lavender Coppers, Cuckoo, Birchen and solid marans and I don't have any issues. I think it comes from some lines. aggressiveness is a trait that can be breed into birds. My Leghorns are not aggressive either. The only mean birds I had were RED, all the red ones I have tried. My egg color is really good on the marans and egg production is good. When they are in full swing I get 5 eggs a week from each. I also read someone comment the eggs were ROUND.... that is a good trait in Marans.

I applaud your project. Marans are just not for me. My friend and I believe the Marans are great in their own flock but it gets "iffy" when they are in a mixed flock of breeds. Our Marans varieties came to us handled as chicks by 4-H home-schooled teens and the birds were great around humans. As soon as they reached maturity at about 18 mos to 2 y/o they became bullies. We had a lovely White Leg that was a gentle humane alpha in the flock for 3 yrs but ultimately her breed's aggression surfaced and it surprised the heck out of us because she was so nice for so long. A Buff Leg we hoped would be gentler decided to go ballistic at only 1 y/o. It took me some sad experience to realize not to mix known gentle breeds w/ more aggressive or dual-purpose heavier birds. I agree w/you that REDs seem to be aggressive types -- RIR, NHR, Red Sexlinks, etc. I found the Mediterranean class to be from stand-offish to aggressive breeds as well. These are generalities and it's not to say these breeds can't be tamed to a certain degree but certain characteristics of a breed seem to eventually surface no matter how much culling a breeder does. The Bielies on the other hand seem to characteristically be a gentle breed without having to be selectively handled.

As for egg color in brown layers. Apparently the time an egg spends in the oviduct to get pigmented (in addition to other circumstances) determines the depth of brown color or the amount of spotting that occurs on the outer shell -- that's why all the extreme variations occur w/ Marans or Welsummer shells and why some other brown-laying breeds can lay from light to medium shells (Bielies included). The following website reviews how eggs get their color/pigmentation: http://www.maranschickenclubusa.com/files/eggreview.pdf

It's good to know that a golf-ball round egg is not unusual in Marans -- shape just didn't make any difference in what shell color was layed by our Cuckoo. I heard the Cuckoos were cross-bred in some U.S. stock & that might've caused the problems breeders were having in getting the chocolate eggs. Don't know -- just things I picked up in research. I am glad there are breeders who have the determination and patience to work w/ dark layers.

Thanks for all the input and experience shared!

 

[Sylvester017]

I keep Australorp and I already will tell you I prefer the Beilies. My BA roosters have all been horrible. We are on the 4th one, all 4 have been human aggressive. All from different sources. My parents are in thir 80s, and thats a risk to them, so I have stopped breeding them this year. I have also stopped keeping GLW for the same reason. My RIR are nicer roosters than those breeds.
I'm glad to hear some honest input about Australorps. We found the Orps were a bit bossy & since Australorps have Orp history in their breeding we suspected the big 'Lorps would be a bit bossy as well. I've heard it's 50/50 with Wyans as far as temperament -- some people give them glowing reviews and others have had to re-home or cull aggressive ones. However, Bielies have been almost 100% consistently good reviews in every way.

I love to ferment, stopped for the winter this year due to the mess and huge amount for all the birds, hogs & etc. We are adding an area in the barn with moderate heat so I can do it all winter next year. 200 plus poultry and waterfowl feed won't fit in the laundry room for fermenting

and it is so messy. I was also seeing mice coming in, grrrr! I wanted it out of the house. I have fermented for a few years now, and its absolutely better for them, just not workable here right now. Am absolutely going back to it this spring.
Can fermenting be done in a fridge? We moved our old fridge into the garage when we got our new fridge and we keep all the chicken feed, seeds, and treats in it to keep it fresh longer and to discourage insects/rodents/vermin! We used 10-lb metal storage cans but the fridge works much better for deterring all kinds of pests especially during the warm summer months.

 

[DesertChic]

Can fermenting be done in a fridge? We moved our old fridge into the garage when we got our new fridge and we keep all the chicken feed, seeds, and treats in it to keep it fresh longer and to discourage insects/rodents/vermin! We used 10-lb metal storage cans but the fridge works much better for deterring all kinds of pests especially during the warm summer months

Can it be done in a fridge? Possibly, but the cooler temperature will definitely slow the fermentation process, which seems to progress better if the temps are a bit warmer. It may be better to begin the process at "room temperature" and after it's begun to ferment put the whole thing in the fridge??

 

[Sylvester017]

Can it be done in a fridge? Possibly, but the cooler temperature will definitely slow the fermentation process, which seems to progress better if the temps are a bit warmer. It may be better to begin the process at "room temperature" and after it's begun to ferment put the whole thing in the fridge??

I spoke w/a BYCer who shared how they fermented in the fridge but darned if I know who it was 2 years ago!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Oh yes. I wait a month before I hatch eggs from a breeding group to ensure they are pure.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: The concept of fermenting feed is involved with enough warmth to allow it to "work" hence a heat source. I chose to not do it this winter due to the issues with mice coming inside the house for the grain! We are brainstorming how to heat the ferment at a low cost. That's the issue, keep it from freezing. Yes, the mice is another issue. I keep my feed screened or covered so they stay out.

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If there is a warm supply of air, a heat source YES. I see temps in single or below zero. It has to be cost effective.

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