A Bielefelder Thread !

[Chickielady]

Oh, I saw- I've got 2 pullets. period. and 2 cockerels a month older. LOL
My Mistake.

I didn't say a word !...........rare for me !

 

[Chickielady]

Do Yall think this could be a bielfelder x. And also do Yall it is a boy or girl. I would say it is a Biele, but it has a pea comb.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, it does look like a cross, an is a pullet, and are you sure it has a pea comb ?
Maybe you will have to go see which pea comb Daddy visited !

 

[Chickielady]

You'll want to select only nonwhite feathered offspring from him as that trait is not desirable in this color of bird.

But on a different note here are some pics of the first 2 chicks to hatch( 7m/1f = 8 total)

Great job !!

 

[Chickielady]

So cute!!!!

I just moved my 9-week old Biels to the new housing I built for them:

Awesome digs for the birds !
You'll have to build a bigger roost, I have mine on top of the nest boxes with a sand tray underneath (poop tray) which catches all the poops all night, easy to clean with a cat pan spoon.











It is super easy to clean the droppings up.
I do it maybe 2X a week....and carry the cat pan spoon, and a bucket, and dump it in the compost.
So now any shavings from the coop floor (changed 2 x a year at least, and the droppings collected from the poop trays (which are coated in sand) and it gets composted...and makes the best compost ever !
It is also so easy to clean with out bending over & scrunching under a traditional roost, and no poop goes on the floor this way.
Try it out, you'll like it, just remember heavy breeds need to be 1 nest box off the floor, medium breeds (like marans) no more than 2 nest boxes high.
The reason why is that these birds get up there to roost just fine, but have trouble landing with their weight, and inso doing can injure their feet & get bumblefoot, or crash land & get a broken leg or wing.
Or neck.
I have found if you have the roosting area close facing another wall, all with heavies will be fine.
They hop straight down to the floor, and do not try to fly across the coop.

But if they roost & have a clear huge fly/landing area, they do try to fly, like they think they are birds !
Awesome project you have !
I love designing & building !

 

[Chickielady]

Oh, and had a hatch yesterday of 12 eggs set, 7 pullets & 3 cockerels........awesome hatch !!!

And 10 more Sulmtalers~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is just a few more Silver barnies & I am done for 6 mo, then I have to rebreed some for various breeding projects...YAWN~~~~~~~~

 

[DesertChic]

Awesome digs for the birds !
You'll have to build a bigger roost, I have mine on top of the nest boxes with a sand tray underneath (poop tray) which catches all the poops all night, easy to clean with a cat pan spoon.











It is super easy to clean the droppings up.
I do it maybe 2X a week....and carry the cat pan spoon, and a bucket, and dump it in the compost.
So now any shavings from the coop floor (changed 2 x a year at least, and the droppings collected from the poop trays (which are coated in sand) and it gets composted...and makes the best compost ever !
It is also so easy to clean with out bending over & scrunching under a traditional roost, and no poop goes on the floor this way.
Try it out, you'll like it, just remember heavy breeds need to be 1 nest box off the floor, medium breeds (like marans) no more than 2 nest boxes high.
The reason why is that these birds get up there to roost just fine, but have trouble landing with their weight, and inso doing can injure their feet & get bumblefoot, or crash land & get a broken leg or wing.
Or neck.
I have found if you have the roosting area close facing another wall, all with heavies will be fine.
They hop straight down to the floor, and do not try to fly across the coop.

But if they roost & have a clear huge fly/landing area, they do try to fly, like they think they are birds !
Awesome project you have !
I love designing & building !

And I most definitely need to get one of those cat pan spoons!

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[speedy2020]

I just wonder if anyone know there is a way to tell 2011 vs. 2013 GFF Bielefelder bloodline.

 

[elizmartin]

Oh, and had a hatch yesterday of 12 eggs set, 7 pullets & 3 cockerels........awesome hatch !!!

And 10 more Sulmtalers~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is just a few more Silver barnies & I am done for 6 mo, then I have to rebreed some for various breeding projects...YAWN~~~~~~~~

Congratulations !!!! Do ya think you'll be doing more Beils in the fall??? Would love to get some from You, should be ready for something new by then…

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:

Awesome digs for the birds !
You'll have to build a bigger roost, I have mine on top of the nest boxes with a sand tray underneath (poop tray) which catches all the poops all night, easy to clean with a cat pan spoon.











It is super easy to clean the droppings up.
I do it maybe 2X a week....and carry the cat pan spoon, and a bucket, and dump it in the compost.
So now any shavings from the coop floor (changed 2 x a year at least, and the droppings collected from the poop trays (which are coated in sand) and it gets composted...and makes the best compost ever !
It is also so easy to clean with out bending over & scrunching under a traditional roost, and no poop goes on the floor this way.
Try it out, you'll like it, just remember heavy breeds need to be 1 nest box off the floor, medium breeds (like marans) no more than 2 nest boxes high.
The reason why is that these birds get up there to roost just fine, but have trouble landing with their weight, and inso doing can injure their feet & get bumblefoot, or crash land & get a broken leg or wing.
Or neck.
I have found if you have the roosting area close facing another wall, all with heavies will be fine.
They hop straight down to the floor, and do not try to fly across the coop.

But if they roost & have a clear huge fly/landing area, they do try to fly, like they think they are birds !
Awesome project you have !
I love designing & building !

Mine is not set up just like that but my coops are about 3 feet off the ground and I have 2 roosting poles in the coop. I have a wooden pallet with a thin layer of wood for the floor of the coop. If I don'[t protect the wood it just rots away as it gets wet. I line mine with some plastic (some leftover roofing that came on a roll) then I cut a feed bag and put that under the roost poles and put sand over the top of that. the sand just makes it easier to remove. I put it on top of my nest boxes too as some like to roost on top of the nest boxes. Clean up is pretty easy. I can clean 10 4x4 coops in about an hour if I don't have to replace the plastic. (thinner plastic they will cut it when they scratch but it still last for over 6 months)

If you want to see my breeding pens there is a link in my siggy.

 

[DesertChic]

Mine is not set up just like that but my coops are about 3 feet off the ground and I have 2 roosting poles in the coop. I have a wooden pallet with a thin layer of wood for the floor of the coop. If I don'[t protect the wood it just rots away as it gets wet. I line mine with some plastic (some leftover roofing that came on a roll) then I cut a feed bag and put that under the roost poles and put sand over the top of that. the sand just makes it easier to remove. I put it on top of my nest boxes too as some like to roost on top of the nest boxes. Clean up is pretty easy. I can clean 10 4x4 coops in about an hour if I don't have to replace the plastic. (thinner plastic they will cut it when they scratch but it still last for over 6 months)

If you want to see my breeding pens there is a link in my siggy.

The floor of my chicken cabin is all plywood, so I coated it with the 10x textured Rustoleum deck coating tinting the color of dirt.

That stuff works great! It's highly durable and so far appears to be chicken proof, and since it's textured it's completely non-slip. I threw about 6 inches of pine chips atop the flooring and set them loose to scratch and peck. After looking at what you guys have done I'm thinking of trying sand in my broody hen area. Granted, I don't have a broody hen yet, but I like to remain optimistic.