A Bielefelder Thread !

[RWD]

They are not super good egg layers like Leghorn and Stars but nice looking yard birds.


Bielfelder

Mine are super good dual purpose layers, I am guessing with one post under their belt they probably are just mistaken.........

 

[RWD]

At what age would you put a young roo in with 3-4 older hens? What would signal that he is of breeding age? The Biel pullets take longer to mature, so I am wondering if the roos do too.

 

[RFR of CA]

I put two four month olds in with my group so that the rooster could get used to them before they mature. All is well. Only had to separate in a wire kennel for one day.

 

[Talonstorm]

Could be the eggs were old.
Eggs should not be over 6 days old on set.
High temps while they are being held can be responsible for early quitters.
It is almost as if the embryo has a timer, and as soon as it gets close to 70 degrees...the timer starts.
After a while of struggling, the embryo gives up.
So it probably is not your fault the eggs quit.
Hatching eggs should be held, and turned daily, under 60 degrees, with 50 being optimal.
So you can see how temps can be raised during shipping.

It was a very warm week in CA when they were shipped, so I would bet money that they went well above 60 before they reached me.

 

[johnderosa1]

Mine lay HUGE eggs, so much so I worry about the girls sometimes..and so far, they lay everyday.
Bigger than XL eggs.
I guess it depends on the line you have.

Just wondering how many pure bielefelders are really out there ? I read accounts of people mixing in other breeds early on to increase the number of eggs/chicks they could sell. I just bought two batches of eggs this spring to hatch and there is a lot of variability in the chicks... Would love to hear from the experts on this. I had one cockerel that was beautiful, growing fast, perfect markings but he just fell over dead one day.. Had 2 pullets die unexpectedly as well. I've never really lost chicks like this before... Maybe lucky up to now. Anyone else see this with their chicks? Anyway, i hope my chicks are reasonably pure and hope they produce as advertised...

 

[Odelia]

Just wondering how many pure bielefelders are really out there ? I read accounts of people mixing in other breeds early on to increase the number of eggs/chicks they could sell. I just bought two batches of eggs this spring to hatch and there is a lot of variability in the chicks... Would love to hear from the experts on this. I had one cockerel that was beautiful, growing fast, perfect markings but he just fell over dead one day.. Had 2 pullets die unexpectedly as well. I've never really lost chicks like this before... Maybe lucky up to now. Anyone else see this with their chicks? Anyway, i hope my chicks are reasonably pure and hope they produce as advertised...

I don't know about anybody else but I got my chicks directly from GFF. I know that the few chicks I have hatched are pure. I don't think anyone on here is going to openly admit that they crossed them and are charging for pure bred Bielefelders.

 

[jbkirk]

I don't know about anybody else but I got my chicks directly from GFF. I know that the few chicks I have hatched are pure. I don't think anyone on here is going to openly admit that they crossed them and are charging for pure bred Bielefelders.

If those people sell it should show up pretty quickly in inconsistent chicks.

 

[johnderosa1]

I don't know about anybody else but I got my chicks directly from GFF.  I know that the few chicks I have hatched are pure.  I don't think anyone on here is going to openly admit that they crossed them and are charging for pure bred Bielefelders. 

Not so worried about the people on here... I got mine from ebay (I know, I know) since I didnt see any for sale here. My biggest concern is not that current breeders are doing that but that their breeder stock may be compromised. Can you tell that I am a little bit of a skeptic when it comes to chickens?? My experience in breeding is around ameraucanas and black copper marans and as anyone familiar with these breeds knows you dont always get what you pay for with them! Anyway, looking forward to keeping only those that strictly adhere to what they are supposed to look like!

 

[RWD]

Not so worried about the people on here... I got mine from ebay (I know, I know) since I didnt see any for sale here. My biggest concern is not that current breeders are doing that but that their breeder stock may be compromised. Can you tell that I am a little bit of a skeptic when it comes to chickens?? My experience in breeding is around ameraucanas and black copper marans and as anyone familiar with these breeds knows you dont always get what you pay for with them! Anyway, looking forward to keeping only those that strictly adhere to what they are supposed to look like!

Without "Breed Standards" it could be done in any animals, not just chickens. Are there written breed standards for Bielefelders?

 

[johnderosa1]

Without "Breed Standards" it could be done in any animals, not just chickens. Are there written breed standards for Bielefelders?

Right now I am most interested in reliable auto sexing AND lots of x-large to jumbo eggs... not sure if a standard exists in Germany but would be surprise if they have gotten close to that point in the US. There are a lot of more experienced breeders on here so I would expect someone knows the answer and will comment.