A Bielefelder Thread !

[otakalhasas]

That is so freaking funny cute! We happen to think all those qualities you want are already in the Blue Breda - can't vouch for the other varieties as we've only had the Blue. We got her at 4-mo-old and have had our girl for a year now.

(1) She is a quiet bird who lays an egg without a song -- however the silly Silkies will loudly sing her prowess to our chagrin!
(2) She is so super pesty/friendly, funny, outgoing, curious, unafraid, people and/or dog-oriented, and easily handled as a family/children's pet.
(3) She started laying last November and still is cranking out eggs 4 up to 6x/week even in our heatwave with no complaints.
(4) Her eggs are 1.75-oz her pullet year with the breeder telling us they get to 2-oz as the bird gets older - pretty bright white eggs.
(5) Can't get any more cold hardy than a Breda that has feathered legs/feet, vulture hocks, & no comb whatsoever on her head to get frostbite.
(6) The Breda is smallish/lighter-weight than a Leghorn, is an extremely busy forager, and very easy on the feed bill for us.
(7) Some added pluses: She doesn't go broody and her feathers aren't so exceedingly fluffy like Faverolles or Ameraucana so vent feathers stay cleaner. The breed is a peaceable flockmate. Demeanor is alert/predator savvy. Not camera shy like some other breeds -- I swear she poses for pics! Such a pleasant experience that we have ordered another one.

Our girl's origins are from GFF stock!

Beautiful! I'll have to check this breed out (like I need another breed!)!

 

[DesertChic]

That is so freaking funny cute! We happen to think all those qualities you want are already in the Blue Breda - can't vouch for the other varieties as we've only had the Blue. We got her at 4-mo-old and have had our girl for a year now.

(1) She is a quiet bird who lays an egg without a song -- however the silly Silkies will loudly sing her prowess to our chagrin!
(2) She is so super pesty/friendly, funny, outgoing, curious, unafraid, people and/or dog-oriented, and easily handled as a family/children's pet.
(3) She started laying last November and still is cranking out eggs 4 up to 6x/week even in our heatwave with no complaints.
(4) Her eggs are 1.75-oz her pullet year with the breeder telling us they get to 2-oz as the bird gets older - pretty bright white eggs.
(5) Can't get any more cold hardy than a Breda that has feathered legs/feet, vulture hocks, & no comb whatsoever on her head to get frostbite.
(6) The Breda is smallish/lighter-weight than a Leghorn, is an extremely busy forager, and very easy on the feed bill for us.
(7) Some added pluses: She doesn't go broody and her feathers aren't so exceedingly fluffy like Faverolles or Ameraucana so vent feathers stay cleaner. The breed is a peaceable flockmate. Demeanor is alert/predator savvy. Not camera shy like some other breeds -- I swear she poses for pics! Such a pleasant experience that we have ordered another one.

Our girl's origins are from GFF stock!

LOL! What a poser! She's gorgeous and she knows it.

Work it, girl!

 

[DesertChic]

Hi folks! A quick update on our “San Francisco Super Breed“ project

Recap: We want to create a breed that is:
-super quiet (neighbors!),
-super friendly,
-good layers, laying often, all year round, and good sized eggs
-cold hardy (aka fog resistant)
-small-ish

Here's what we decided to go with in the end:
Faverolles (bantam)
Bielefelder (got a dozen directly from Greenfire, allocated one to this breeding program)
Swedish Flower Hens (got a dozen directly from Greenfire, allocated one to this breeding program)

We're hoping to cross these three breeds over several generations to benefit from hybrid vigor in addition to each breed's advantages.

First hatch due next week; we're really excited to see what comes out!!!

I'm really excited to see photos of your birds throughout your project. I LOVE your choice of birds to breed with. Good luck!

 

[Faraday40]

Beautiful! I'll have to check this breed out (like I need another breed!)!

x2
She sounds like a great chicken!

 

[Sylvester017]

Beautiful! I'll have to check this breed out (like I need another breed!)!

LOL! What a poser! She's gorgeous and she knows it.

Work it, girl!

x2
She sounds like a great chicken!

TY all for your kind words! Wish I had the climate conditions to raise Bielies in a comfortable environment for them - they sound so incredible. I've had so many breeds over the last 5 yrs trying to find just one breed that possessed all or most of the qualities I wanted in a chicken -- a froo-froo looking chicken but with outgoing personality yet useful utility for our climate and weather conditions. Living in the heat and humidity of SoCal my fluffy or heavier breeds like Ameraucana and Marans didn't fare well although they love the colder and rainy days -- additionally they were heavy eaters and lazy foragers. Our Leghorns were laying machines but displayed aloofness toward humans and possessed the meanness of cannibals toward their flockmates, our heavy Marans had bully tendencies, our Silkies are adorable and though productive when not broody they are unreliable for eggs year-round. I've also had RIR, BR, NHR, Calif Gray, and did my best to make family-friendly pets out of them -- nice birds for utility but either not the friendliest nor the best economical birds we were seeking. I liked the slightly smaller Doms for their outgoing curious friendly-pesty unafraid temperament but lost ours before POL.

In frustration I looked for another light-weight breed I hadn't tried before and after watching GFF's website about Breda for a couple years decided to inquire. I talked with only 3 available Breda breeders and 1 owner at the time exhausting those nice people with questions to find all the pros and cons of the bird. Finally took the plunge to try one and have been pleased beyond expectations - the Blue Breda of ours at 4-mo-old came out of the shipping box ready to naturally follow us around the house with no coaxing whatsoever. One Breda breeder sent us a cockerel in error but we found him a home quickly -- the new owners have made a house-pet out of him he was so friendly and he took over the dog's bed to roost! There were a couple cons like not being a broody breed and the feathered feet are not good for mucking around in mud but then I don't let our feather-footed Silkies muck in mud either. I can only vouch for the qualities of the Blue Breda. We have a Cuckoo pullet on order and hear they are probably the shy-est of the Bredas and lay tinted rather than white eggs so we'll see how that variety fares for us.

THIS BLUE 4-MO-OLD COCKEREL WAS SHIPPED TO US IN ERROR - THIS BREED LOVES TO FOLLOW YOU AROUND!


THIS BREED SEEMS TO BE FASCINATED WITH CAMERAS AND POSES WELL - THEY LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE CAMERA.


"ICHABOD" THE COCKEREL AT HOME WITH HIS NEW OWNERS - HE HAS SINCE GROWN HIS BEAUTIFUL FULL TAIL!


TY again for your nice comments and letting me share on your thread!

 

[eyralis]

That is so freaking funny cute! We happen to think all those qualities you want are already in the Blue Breda - can't vouch for the other varieties as we've only had the Blue. We got her at 4-mo-old and have had our girl for a year now. (1) She is a quiet bird who lays an egg without a song -- however the silly Silkies will loudly sing her prowess to our chagrin! (2) She is so super pesty/friendly, funny, outgoing, curious, unafraid, people and/or dog-oriented, and easily handled as a family/children's pet. (3) She started laying last November and still is cranking out eggs 4 up to 6x/week even in our heatwave with no complaints. (4) Her eggs are 1.75-oz her pullet year with the breeder telling us they get to 2-oz as the bird gets older - pretty bright white eggs. (5) Can't get any more cold hardy than a Breda that has feathered legs/feet, vulture hocks, & no comb whatsoever on her head to get frostbite. (6) The Breda is smallish/lighter-weight than a Leghorn, is an extremely busy forager, and very easy on the feed bill for us. (7) Some added pluses: She doesn't go broody and her feathers aren't so exceedingly fluffy like Faverolles or Ameraucana so vent feathers stay cleaner. The breed is a peaceable flockmate. Demeanor is alert/predator savvy. Not camera shy like some other breeds -- I swear she poses for pics! Such a pleasant experience that we have ordered another one. Our girl's origins are from GFF stock!

She sounds amazing!!!!!' We might have to get one! Where did you get her?

 

[Outpost JWB]

My friend went through the trouble of shipping me a chicken from several states away. The chicken is beautiful and has a great temperment. It was suppose to be a CCL cockerel. I am thinking that this is a bielefelder pullet. What are you opinions? Either way, I'm keeping it and it has been a great addition.

 

[otakalhasas]

My friend went through the trouble of shipping me a chicken from several states away. The chicken is beautiful and has a great temperment. It was suppose to be a CCL cockerel. I am thinking that this is a bielefelder pullet. What are you opinions? Either way, I'm keeping it and it has been a great addition.

Surely does look like a Biels pullet to me! How old?

 

[Outpost JWB]

4-5 months.

 

[otakalhasas]

4-5 months.

I'd say that she's a she, but that's just me (it rhymes!)!