A Bielefelder Thread !

[Sylvester017]

I definitely agree with the Leghorns. They're not my thing. My 1st loves were my curious & playful Easter Eggers. Each one has such a unique personality. Then I found Orpingtons - my beautiful lap chickens. They are so easy to train because of their love for food, but the amount of feed consumed does not equal more eggs. They would never even think about hopping the fence. The Bieles are big & docile like the orps, but they don't seem to be at the very bottom. They also reached maturity a lot faster & seem to give more eggs. So far I like them, but when I lost my Biele boy, I decided to sell all but one biele pullet. If she's still a fav in the spring, then I'd like to try hatching them again in 2016. I suppose I have all docile breeds.

I have 2 bantams, but because they are so fast (& the big hens are so slow) I haven't seen much bullying. In fact, the bantams sleep ABOVE the highest hens in the summer. (They're the only ones that can fit in the window sil & hog all the cool summer night breezes.) In the winter, they roost under a big fat orp to stay warm. The bantams were hatched & raised with full sized breeds, so they don't seem to know they're smaller. They have big attitudes to make up for it. Perhaps they are the bullies.

That is a cute story. What are your bantams? Mine are Silkies so perch roosting is not their thing. They pile in nestboxes for their evening roost. My flock has been built around the Silkies - if a breed doesn't play nice with the Silkies they're re-homed. My DH loves his Silkies and can't imagine the backyard without them and so far only a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana and a Blue Breda has made the cut.

 

[Sylvester017]

For what it's worth, both my Biel cockerels and pullets are VERY gentle with my little Silkie hen and actually somewhat protective of her. Heck, one of my Biel cockerels mated with her after they'd spent so much time together and they gave me some lovely little hybrid chicks that are 8 weeks old now. (New photos are coming soon.) And even though I put her in her own pen with some smaller Frizzled Easter Eggers that were getting feather-picked by some of the others, my Biels still visit her every day through the fencing that separates them.

Ahhh! Sounds like true love!

My oldest Silkie has had some terrorizing moments with LF so I could never expose her to that again or have a heavy 9-lb roo mount her little 2-lb body.

A 7-lb Marans was eating our little 2-lb Partridge Silkie alive and I thought the Silkie was just molting until we caught and rid the heavy aggressive offender.


The comb, crest, beard, toe, tail, and body feathers were disappearing leading us to think she was only molting. Having to re-grow all her fluff again delayed her egg-laying and brooding for several months - I felt like such a dumb-bell not realizing what was going on with the bullying LF!



Here is the same Silkie fully feathered at 6 months before the Marans was introduced to the flock. I won't have any heavy dual purpose or layer breed LF again. We have only 5-lb-&-under docile-breed hens now. Some owners go for showing, some for unique or pretty breeds in their flock, some for table meat, some for a colorful or jumbo egg basket. For ourselves, having a peaceful flock that negotiates their pecking order without killing each other is all we want. Eggs is a secondary bonus and gentle breeds give just as tasty eggs as the assertive dual purpose layers do

 

[Faraday40]

That is a cute story. What are your bantams? Mine are Silkies so perch roosting is not their thing. They pile in nestboxes for their evening roost. My flock has been built around the Silkies - if a breed doesn't play nice with the Silkies they're re-homed. My DH loves his Silkies and can't imagine the backyard without them and so far only a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana and a Blue Breda has made the cut.

My 1st bantam was an English Bantam Orpington. She's large for a bantam but it's mostly fluff. My EEs look about the same size but of course weigh more. Her name is Cookie but her nickname is the "Bantam Menace" Beside the Star Wars pun we having going in our flock, she was the only bantam egg that hatched. I never expected to keep her, but with her big attitude, she ended up in the middle of the pecking order. She's also our only broody. During one of Cookie's incubation trials, we set some assorted eggs under her. My DD fell in love with a cute little Sebright.

I wanted to keep a Dominique chick who hatched at the same time, so we allowed the Sebright to stay as her buddy during the tough transition period. My DD argues that a Sebright is so tiny it shouldn't be counted in the chicken number. (a very good point) Although Cookie was the Sebright's mama, they don't really interact any more. I think in general, a bantam orp would get along with a silkie. We just happen to have an usually strong willed hen who grew up with big hens. The sebright is an excellent flyer, always alert, & filled with attitude. In her case, she flies to us instead of away, but I wouldn't call her a docile breed. She demands attention, makes a lot of little squeaky noises (like "talking"), & steals treats from the other hens. However, the Dominque may make your cut. She's at the bottom of the pecking order & not as big or aggressive as a Barred Rock.

 

[gotro17]

You are right, they DO!!!!  It will be so interesting to see what their eggs look like...

And I have an update of my own - my Bieldefelder chicks should be arriving next Wednesday and I am SOOOOOOO excited!  They will be a week old when shipped and I ordered 3 pullets and 1 cockerel.  The breeder said she would be adding another cockerel or two so I'll have my hands busy for the next few months!

I've hand raised (bottle fed - the dam died after C-section) puppies, I've hand raised finches and linnies, but I've never raised chicks and I'm scared and excited at the same time.  But excited is winning out!!!!!!!  I just hope I can do them justice and raise them well...

I'll post photos next week when they arrive and we will all see how it goes!

P.S.  I'm planning on trying a cross of BCM (English, not French, lays a HUGE egg) and the Bieldefelders next year.  Trying to get a major jumbo dark brown egg!

Where did you get yours from?

 

[Zinniah]

Does anyone else get cream colored eggs from their bieles as well? They're pretty but I think they are supposed to lay brown eggs, and I would like them to be brown. I am wondering if a pullet from a dark egg would lay dark eggs. I do not think it will, but I am not an expert. Do you think it makes a difference? I know two pullets are laying brown eggs and two are laying cream eggs. I get 4 eggs a day, and its always 2 brown and 2 cream colored.

 

[Sylvester017]

My 1st bantam was an English Bantam Orpington. She's large for a bantam but it's mostly fluff. My EEs look about the same size but of course weigh more. Her name is Cookie but her nickname is the "Bantam Menace" Beside the Star Wars pun we having going in our flock, she was the only bantam egg that hatched. I never expected to keep her, but with her big attitude, she ended up in the middle of the pecking order. She's also our only broody. During one of Cookie's incubation trials, we set some assorted eggs under her. My DD fell in love with a cute little Sebright.

I wanted to keep a Dominique chick who hatched at the same time, so we allowed the Sebright to stay as her buddy during the tough transition period. My DD argues that a Sebright is so tiny it shouldn't be counted in the chicken number. (a very good point) Although Cookie was the Sebright's mama, they don't really interact any more. I think in general, a bantam orp would get along with a silkie. We just happen to have an usually strong willed hen who grew up with big hens. The sebright is an excellent flyer, always alert, & filled with attitude. In her case, she flies to us instead of away, but I wouldn't call her a docile breed. She demands attention, makes a lot of little squeaky noises (like "talking"), & steals treats from the other hens. However, the Dominque may make your cut. She's at the bottom of the pecking order & not as big or aggressive as a Barred Rock.

That is so interesting to hear how owners have breeds that interact so amazingly. It's funny how some bantams have attitude just like a LF but they can also get throttled if they cross the wrong assertive breeds which we found out the hard way.
We started with Silkies and only meant to have a couple as pets instead of a dog/cat. Then we mistakenly added some LF and had to re-home them as some became too mean and we didn't want the lousy behavior to be contagious with the other gentler breeds.
Unfortunately we lost 2 out of 3 gentle pure Ameraucanas from different breeders (sweet but not really a hardy or good layer breed for us) and we lost our only Dominique which we adored - she had a sudden seizure before adulthood. I've had Legs, Marans, RIR, NHR, Calif Grey, and BR before and these are all too assertive, heavy, or aggressive and I agree the Dom is a better and gentler choice for us over the heavier BR. We also had to re-home a couple cockerels sold to us as "pullets."
We added a Blue Breda this year and she is similarly curious and outgoing and lightweight like our Dominique was so we feel blessed to have her and so far she's not a combative breed. Fingers-crossed our remaining little bunch of 4 hens will stay amiable with each other. They certainly fill our day with entertainment - we haven't needed a TV in 5 yrs!
If my current girls don't outlive me then I'd like to try larger gentle giants in the future like the Bielie, Favie, Brahma, 'Lorp, Sussex, etc. But I may never get the chance to have gentle giants because my DH loves his little Silkies too much LOL!

 

[otakalhasas]

Where did you get yours from?

From a breeder up in Roanoke VA. They advertise on Craigslist and have been very communicative. I elected to have them shipped ($60) even through Roanoke is within driving distance. I'm so excited!

 

[DesertChic]

That is so interesting to hear how owners have breeds that interact so amazingly. It's funny how some bantams have attitude just like a LF but they can also get throttled if they cross the wrong assertive breeds which we found out the hard way.
We started with Silkies and only meant to have a couple as pets instead of a dog/cat. Then we mistakenly added some LF and had to re-home them as some became too mean and we didn't want the lousy behavior to be contagious with the other gentler breeds.
Unfortunately we lost 2 out of 3 gentle pure Ameraucanas from different breeders (sweet but not really a hardy or good layer breed for us) and we lost our only Dominique which we adored - she had a sudden seizure before adulthood. I've had Legs, Marans, RIR, NHR, Calif Grey, and BR before and these are all too assertive, heavy, or aggressive and I agree the Dom is a better and gentler choice for us over the heavier BR. We also had to re-home a couple cockerels sold to us as "pullets."
We added a Blue Breda this year and she is similarly curious and outgoing and lightweight like our Dominique was so we feel blessed to have her and so far she's not a combative breed. Fingers-crossed our remaining little bunch of 4 hens will stay amiable with each other. They certainly fill our day with entertainment - we haven't needed a TV in 5 yrs!
If my current girls don't outlive me then I'd like to try larger gentle giants in the future like the Bielie, Favie, Brahma, 'Lorp, Sussex, etc. But I may never get the chance to have gentle giants because my DH loves his little Silkies too much LOL!

I love the gentle breeds too and hope to one day try out some Brahmas and Salmon Faverolles, but I do so with caution. Living in the hot desert really limits my chicken choices for fear of subjecting them to life-threatening heat. My Biels really struggled this past summer to the point that we actually purchased portable A/C units to keep the chicken cabin cool. Right now, the five Biels I currently own may very well be the only ones I ever own. Luckily, my Naked Neck Turkens are also very docile and friendly, wonderful birds who are exceptionally heat tolerant. They're my primary meat breed, whereas my Biels were supposed to be part of my egg flock. Now if only my Biel hens would be more cooperative about supplying me with eggs...


This is the cabin that houses my Bielefelders....and others:



This photo also show the Turken condo and run leading up to the cabin.

 

[gotro17]

Good luck to you!!! Have fun!

 

[Faraday40]

I love the gentle breeds too and hope to one day try out some Brahmas and Salmon Faverolles, but I do so with caution. Living in the hot desert really limits my chicken choices for fear of subjecting them to life-threatening heat. My Biels really struggled this past summer to the point that we actually purchased portable A/C units to keep the chicken cabin cool. Right now, the five Biels I currently own may very well be the only ones I ever own. Luckily, my Naked Neck Turkens are also very docile and friendly, wonderful birds who are exceptionally heat tolerant. They're my primary meat breed, whereas my Biels were supposed to be part of my egg flock. Now if only my Biel hens would be more cooperative about supplying me with eggs...


This is the cabin that houses my Bielefelders....and others:



This photo also show the Turken condo and run leading up to the cabin.

Very nice!... and AC too! You have some very pampered poultry. LOL

We have the opposite problem here. Many breeds can't take the cold and/or get frostbite too easily. We have heated water & an insulated coop, but when we get those few nights with -40'F wind chills, there's nothing you can do to protect those giant combs. (Vaseline only works OK from freezing down to zero.)