A Bielefelder Thread !

[DesertChic]

DesertChic I thought you would get a good laugh at the Biels waiting at the gate. Please, Mom, let us sleep on the porch. They still wait every night. Finally, when it is just too dark to wait any longer they go to their coop. I have 40 birds out in the yard. The seven Biels are always together, they stay together wherever they go. They still eat like there is no tomorrow! Now at 4 months.

That's hilarious!

I have a hen (Gretel) and a rooster (Bosch) who stand on the patio outside of my bedroom and stare at my chair out there until I come out to let them sit on my lap to be pet. And the rooster "serenades" me while I shower, standing outside and crowing as soon as the bathroom light and the shower come on.

 

[bluejean55girl]

The main differences in my hens have to do with size (Gretel is huge with a very fast growth rate early on, while my other girls are more stream-lined) and sprigs on the combs, which I want to breed out...but the girls are much, much harder for me to distinguish from one another. The biggest tells I have from them are their personalities. Gretel talks to me as soon as she sees me, while Zoey looks hard at me before scurrying away lest I pick her up or something. 

Then it would be highly advisable for me to put leg bands on them to tell them apart. Grins. What size do i need to start with?

 

[jbkirk]

Then it would be highly advisable for me to put leg bands on them to tell them apart. Grins. What size do i need to start with?

I would use wing bands. You only have apply them once, they are cheaper than most leg bands, and less bother than leg bands. I get mine from strombergs $.08 each.

 

[DesertChic]

Then it would be highly advisable for me to put leg bands on them to tell them apart. Grins. What size do i need to start with?

I actually used little colored rubber bands to start with...sizes 4-8 purchased on eBay very cheaply, or the small rubber hair ties you can buy at nearly any Walmart, pharmacy, etc. As they get older I use very inexpensive colored zip ties that I bought from Harbor Freight and also available on eBay. They're very easy to size and replace as the chicks grow.

 

[bluejean55girl]

I would use wing bands.  You only have apply them once, they are cheaper than most leg bands, and less bother than leg bands. I get mine from strombergs $.08 each.

Many thanks jbkirk!

 

[bluejean55girl]

I actually used little colored rubber bands to start with...sizes 4-8 purchased on eBay very cheaply, or the small rubber hair ties you can buy at nearly any Walmart, pharmacy, etc. As they get older I use very inexpensive colored zip ties that I bought from Harbor Freight and also available on eBay. They're very easy to size and replace as the chicks grow. 

Many thanks, this is good also. I'll start this way and after i figure out what I'm doing can switch over with the next generation to wing bands as needed.

 

[Faraday40]

Doing my happy dance over here.

I got in touch with a family to whom we sold some extra biele chicks last summer. They were more than excited to share some eggs, show off their coop, & let the kids have a mini playdate together. (Chicken people are awesome!) All of the bieles we sold them looked great. The bieles quickly became their favorite breed and they couldn't say enough great things about their rooster. As some may know, we lost our biele roo in Oct. That's when I decided to sell off my hens & hatch bieles again this spring. Now I am armed with some fertile eggs and hope to have some chicks in about 3 weeks. Even better, I also have a home for the extra chicks. (We only want to keep a couple.)

 

[Saris]

silver bielefelders, nobody has imported any.. you were talking about saving up for imports.. just trying to help your dream along.. grins

Oh she is pretty.

Okay, I try to get answers to the question of how to import birds to the US for a while now. You can find a carrier for transport that will charge the same as or less than a passenger ticket with a regular airline. But before that you need to find a breeder that is okay with a very detailed examination of his/hers compleed flock by a national government veterinarian of the exporting country ie Germany. Certificate must be in English or have the English translation.
This point have to be included in the health certificat:

• The flock(s) of origin were found upon inspection to be free from evidence of communicable diseases of poultry;
• No exotic Newcastle disease has occurred on the premises of origin or on adjoining premises during the 90 days immediately preceding the date of movement of the eggs from such region; and
• As far as it has been possible to determine, such flock(s) were not exposed to such disease during the preceding 90 days.
• At least 5 percent (%) or a minimum of 150 birds from the flock of origin were negative for egg drop syndrome (EDS 76). This statement does not apply to hatching eggs or poults of turkeys.
• The flock of origin was tested negative for Salmonella enteritidis (SE) within 30 days by environmental culture, and there is no evidence or knowledge of SE present in the flock
• The flock(s) of origin for the hatching eggs were not vaccinated against any H5 or H7 subtype of avian influenza. The shipment will not transit through any regions where APHIS considers highly pathogenic avian influenza to exist, as listed here.
• The flocks of origin have been vaccinated against Newcastle disease (avian paramyxovirus) at least 21 days prior to export, using vaccines that do not contain any velogenic strains of Newcastle disease virus.

One problem you will run in, is that show breeders vaccinate against salmonella to prevent a infection at shows. This birds will never test negativ for salmonella again. And most vaccines contain "living" strains of a virus. So you have to find a vaccine that is allowed to be used for your flock in Germany and in the US.
Than find a breeder that will open up to the officials after all the horror stories I heard about quick-tests that showed wrong results and caused the culling of healthy flocks with in hours after the inspector showed up.
True or not, I am happy that my district vet is a poultry guy and loves this racing pigions and crowers.

All birds must be quarantined for a minimum of 30 days at a USDA Animal Import Center. I think you only have three Animal Import Centers for all the US, find a breeder that is okay to sell you a bird that is his pride and joy, knowing that it will sit 30 days in a small cage in a maybe crowded lab-like building, handled and fed by someone staffer that may not even care about if it and has no interessed in it surviving the quarantine.
Uhm.... yeah....

So money is not the biggest problem here.

That is a lot to go through, but for the right bird it seems fairly reasonable except for the possibility of have crappy people in charge of testing and people at the Animal import Center maybe sucking. Would importing hatching eggs be subject to a similar quarantine once the chicks hatch?

I suddenly have a very CLEAR picture as to why the chicks from GF can be as much as $99 each! Um, yeah!!!

x2

 

[Red Banks]

Doing my happy dance over here.

I got in touch with a family to whom we sold some extra biele chicks last summer. They were more than excited to share some eggs, show off their coop, & let the kids have a mini playdate together. (Chicken people are awesome!) All of the bieles we sold them looked great. The bieles quickly became their favorite breed and they couldn't say enough great things about their rooster. As some may know, we lost our biele roo in Oct. That's when I decided to sell off my hens & hatch bieles again this spring. Now I am armed with some fertile eggs and hope to have some chicks in about 3 weeks. Even better, I also have a home for the extra chicks. (We only want to keep a couple.)

I do remember this very well. I felt bad when you got rid of your Biels. I am so happy that eveything worked out and you will have Biels again. I can't wait to see the chicks!

 

[DesertChic]

Doing my happy dance over here.

I got in touch with a family to whom we sold some extra biele chicks last summer. They were more than excited to share some eggs, show off their coop, & let the kids have a mini playdate together. (Chicken people are awesome!) All of the bieles we sold them looked great. The bieles quickly became their favorite breed and they couldn't say enough great things about their rooster. As some may know, we lost our biele roo in Oct. That's when I decided to sell off my hens & hatch bieles again this spring. Now I am armed with some fertile eggs and hope to have some chicks in about 3 weeks. Even better, I also have a home for the extra chicks. (We only want to keep a couple.)

That's awesome! I'm so glad it all worked out and you can re-establish a Biel flock again! Woohoo!