A Bielefelder Thread !

[TNBielefelder]

Well I am not a judge but I think, that he is very promissing, too. All the right colors in all the right places, no single white/black/red feather clear cockoo strips and yellow beak and feet. He will hopfully put on some more weight and broaden/deepen his chest a little. With the wings I am not sure, since he is in motion on the pics. Maybe you can put him on a table and see if the wing line is parallel to the back line. His comb and his wattle will perhaps grow a little bigger, too. But that is not a problem as long as the comb does not lean to one side and the comb-base broadens, too.
A side note: We always look at the roosters but to find good hens with the right colors, a salmon colored chest, golden neck feathers with clear cockoo dots and a compact body with a large egg belly is as difficult to find and as important as a good rooster. If the coloring of the hen isn't good you risk the autosexing funktion and if her bodytyp is wrong you may have problems with the eggsize or health.

And o/c I am happy to hear that not all birds have problems with hot summers. Remember the breeders here can not select for heat tolerance. Hot summers are an exception.
But you can select for heat tolerance the same way you select for body type and color.

I have 3 hens that have everything! Size, color, cuckoo dots body shape, large egg belly etc. I also have 2 very young pullets out of those hens and my last Rooster Jackson that I have high hopes for. I need a NICE breeding rooster now to seal the deal for next spring. All I have is a little 5 day old Roo chick and it will be months before I will be able to tell anything about him. Where is a nice breeding Cock close to middle Tennessee?

 

[TNBielefelder]

Just for the record I'm ready for molt to be over! My Bielefelder girls are losing feathers a little at a time and this has been a long molt!

 

[crawford-3546]

One of mine looks like a turken from the back...lol

 

[kittydoc]

A couple of my 6 month old pullets are getting dark pink combs and growing larger wattles. Any guesses how much longer it will be until they lay? None are squatting for me yet. I'm used to interpreting all this for Orps. These are my first Bieles.

Btw, mine panted on the over 90 degree days with high humidity in Indiana. They prefer to go into the yard morning or evening, or stay under the shade. My English Orps, bigger and fluffier, don't care how hot it is. They are like that expression about Englishmen standing outside in the midday sun!

 

[otakalhasas]

Thanks for the tip about the heat - I LOVE the description of your English Orps!!!!

I have four breeds (Australorp, Red Comet, EE & BPR) and they all panted in our almost 100 heat and humidity this past summer but did just fine. Our coop is under major trees (in the woods, actually) so I'm sure that helped as it was a very hot summer in NC.

Dana

 

[DesertChic]

A couple of my 6 month old pullets are getting dark pink combs and growing larger wattles. Any guesses how much longer it will be until they lay? None are squatting for me yet. I'm used to interpreting all this for Orps. These are my first Bieles.

Btw, mine panted on the over 90 degree days with high humidity in Indiana. They prefer to go into the yard morning or evening, or stay under the shade. My English Orps, bigger and fluffier, don't care how hot it is. They are like that expression about Englishmen standing outside in the midday sun!

One of my three Biel pullets started laying almost precisely at 6 mos. The other two are now 30 weeks old and as far as I can tell, still aren't laying in spite of "pinking up". My cockerels aren't interested in mating with these two girls either. I'm also struggling to read this breed, but so far the best "tell" has been the behavior of the cockerels. Whenever they mate with one of my girls, she usually lays her first egg inside of a week and usually after just a couple days.

 

[Bine]

Just a thought

With a little luck October will be the Golden Month and Harvest Festivals are comming soon at last here .... so, maybe - as long as the APA doesn't recognize the Bielefelder - you have the chance to show the birds at your local Festivals and find some people how would support the breed.

 

[TNBielefelder]

Just a thought

With a little luck October will be the Golden Month and Harvest Festivals are comming soon at last here .... so, maybe - as long as the APA doesn't recognize the Bielefelder - you have the chance to show the birds at your local Festivals and find some people how would support the breed.

Ours have already came and gone. Here most of the poultry shows take place at our county fairs. There were huge entries this year for poultry but my girls were in molt and not presentable at all. I am hoping they will be conditioned and ready next year. This is an excellent idea to gain some breed support and show of their beauty.

 

[Candy442]

Just a thought

With a little luck October will be the Golden Month and Harvest Festivals are comming soon at last here .... so, maybe - as long as the APA doesn't recognize the Bielefelder - you have the chance to show the birds at your local Festivals and find some people how would support the breed.

Michigan closed all of its sanctioned poultry shows for the remainder of 2015 and maybe for the 2016 year too due to the Avian Influenza issue. We had one case reported here in the Canadian Geese population, I have not heard of any others. also, all the country fairs had NO live poultry this year exhibited. I sure hope our shows for the Michigan Poultry Fancier club (has one in spring and one in October each year) will not be closed down next year.

 

[otakalhasas]

Same here in North Carolina.