A Bielefelder Thread !

[maverick123]

how do they do in the texas heat

 

[Chickielady]

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.

I treat this breed the same as any other.
When the cockerel is exhibiting 'maleness' he is ready.
I say this especially as I have not seen any Biel pullets being fussy about the males.
They are pretty easy going.

The young cockerel should exhibit crowing, strutting or dancing for the girls...and even cooing & attracting the pullets to food.
I think he'll be just fine.

 

[Chickielady]

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.

Curious where Herald is ?
All this time I thought your ava said Healdsburg....

 

[Chickielady]

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.

Unfornutely !
When it gets hot I ship eggs with a gel ice pack.
You can get them at Walmart for like $1 each.
They are not really large, sometimes 2 is needed.
It is cheap insurance for a decent hatch.

Especially when the freight sits in a hot truck ..........................

 

[Chickielady]

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...

To be truthful, I have lost 2 youngsters (4 mo old) due to trying to fly & breaking their necks............for some

reason they do not understand they are heavy birds, not tweety birds.

Then I lost 2 pullets @ age 6 mo (laying like crazy) due to impacted crops...they had discovered a 2" slit between wall & stud UNDER the poop trays where no one could see...and in this 5 year old coop, that has housed hundreds of birds...these pullets dug out & ate a big ball of pink fiberglass insulation.

Necropsy on the first , and so I knew...and had to hunt hard to find where they were dinning.

2 days later I went out to open coops in the morning & here was another cockerel dying, twitching...............tried to fly again.
There is no predators, there is no excuse.
These birds seem to be the most bird brained I have ever seen.
Beautiful, but not bright at all.
We'll have to work on that.
How do you improve a breed's brains ??????????????????????????????????

Yep............I lost 6 birds, aged 4 to 6 mo old, all in a month's time.
I got to the point where I dreaded opening the coop in the morning.

 

[johnderosa1]

To be truthful, I have lost 2 youngsters (4 mo old) due to trying to fly & breaking their necks............for some

reason they do not understand they are heavy birds, not tweety birds.

Then I lost 2 pullets @ age 6 mo (laying like crazy) due to impacted crops...they had discovered a 2" slit between wall & stud UNDER the poop trays where no one could see...and in this 5 year old coop, that has housed hundreds of birds...these pullets dug out & ate a big ball of pink fiberglass insulation.

Necropsy on the first , and so I knew...and had to hunt hard to find where they were dinning.

2 days later I went out to open coops in the morning & here was another cockerel dying, twitching...............tried to fly again.
There is no predators, there is no excuse.
These birds seem to be the most bird brained I have ever seen.
Beautiful, but not bright at all.
We'll have to work on that.
How do you improve a breed's brains ??????????????????????????????????     

Yep............I lost 6 birds, aged 4 to 6 mo old, all in a month's time.
I got to the point where I dreaded opening the coop in the morning.

Sorry to hear that... Its tough to lose any birds but especially when they are that old. Hopefully your spate of bad luck is over!

 

[maverick123]

would anyone be interested in buying my hens? or maybe trading for some legbars?

 

[woody743]

I could be interested. Where do you live?

 

[woody743]

I have 7 hens and 3 cocks. I love them. I have not lost one.

 

[RFR of CA]

Herald is just below Sacramento Ca.