A Bielefelder Thread !

[Coop de Grass]

Quote:
Could you give us details on the kind of mister you use?

 

[Coop de Grass]

Quote:
Did you get a Misty Mate?

 

[otakalhasas]

Got the Orbit. I think this is the link - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P0KSXO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[DesertChic]

I talked with @GaryDean26 who stated that his smaller birds tolerated TX heat better than his heavier breeds that were dropping dead in 112o temps. I had mentioned that large combed chickens supposedly tolerated heat better than pea or rose-combed breeds but he seemed to think the lighter-weight of the chicken being able to tolerate heat was more evident than anything to do with comb size. Seems like creating heat-tolerant Bielies would do better if they went on a diet or were in a breeding program to raise smaller birds? NN's are so cute. Good luck with your breeding project! I love following your posts.

I have to agree with him about lighter weight chickens being more heat tolerant, but there's still a little more too it. I've butchered a lot of my birds now and have paid careful attention to not only size, but also fat distribution, which correlates to how the birds use the food they consume. Nearly every Biel and Biel cross that I've butchered has shown a very high amount of fat, including between organs. The two Biel roosters I still have, Hansel and Bosch, will never be confused with meat birds even in spite of the fact that Hansel is huge and weighs roughly 11 lbs. His frame is quite lean compared to most of the Biel cockerels I had processed, and he is the most heat tolerant of my Biels. The hen I lost this year was very meaty, heavy, and well-packed with fat.

The bird that proved the most surprising to me at processing was my gorgeous Ameraucana boy, Copper. He was BIG and quite heavy and did suffer quite a bit in the heat. When I processed him I was shocked by the amount of fat he carried. It was packed so tightly around his organs that I really struggled to gut him.



I crossed Copper with one of my White Rock hens and got what I hope is an ideal meat breeder from the pairing, a huge, heavy, meaty boy I named Monty:

Monty is front and center, but you can also see one of my Biel/Ameraucana crosses on the right side of the photo. Monty is the one bird in this particular hatch that struggles mightily with the heat. I suspect that the combination of the meatier frame he inherited from mom and the fatty-hoarding tendencies he inherited from dad are to blame, as he definitely struggles more than most.

 

[gracefarm]

With any luck I will soon have some new additions added into my poultry yard. I am in the process of acquiring some German Bielefelder eggs to hatch. I really like what I have heard on the German Bielefelders & love their color pattern, very much looking forward to getting my start of German Bielefelders!

 

[Sylvester017]

I have to agree with him about lighter weight chickens being more heat tolerant, but there's still a little more too it. I've butchered a lot of my birds now and have paid careful attention to not only size, but also fat distribution, which correlates to how the birds use the food they consume. Nearly every Biel and Biel cross that I've butchered has shown a very high amount of fat, including between organs. The two Biel roosters I still have, Hansel and Bosch, will never be confused with meat birds even in spite of the fact that Hansel is huge and weighs roughly 11 lbs. His frame is quite lean compared to most of the Biel cockerels I had processed, and he is the most heat tolerant of my Biels. The hen I lost this year was very meaty, heavy, and well-packed with fat.

The bird that proved the most surprising to me at processing was my gorgeous Ameraucana boy, Copper. He was BIG and quite heavy and did suffer quite a bit in the heat. When I processed him I was shocked by the amount of fat he carried. It was packed so tightly around his organs that I really struggled to gut him.



I crossed Copper with one of my White Rock hens and got what I hope is an ideal meat breeder from the pairing, a huge, heavy, meaty boy I named Monty:

Monty is front and center, but you can also see one of my Biel/Ameraucana crosses on the right side of the photo. Monty is the one bird in this particular hatch that struggles mightily with the heat. I suspect that the combination of the meatier frame he inherited from mom and the fatty-hoarding tendencies he inherited from dad are to blame, as he definitely struggles more than most.

Thank you for the info! I really love Ameraucanas but have not had luck with the total 3 we had from different breeders. One Blue Wheaten died as a juvenile while her sister survived and managed to reach age 3 before we had to put her down after the vet made attempts to keep her going -- she was so sweet we hated to lose her. A 3rd Blue Ameraucana juvenile from a different breeder got shipped to us infested with worms and cocci along with a Blue Breda cockerel -- the vet helped us save the Breda cockerel but the Blue Amer juvenile was so ill she was put down. I talked with a breeder in the Midwest who has a breeder friend that struggles keeping their Amer flock hardy. Your assessment about the fat that accumulated in your processed Amer's organs is a significant fact to their hardiness. Maybe the body fat that Amer's carry is their survival mechanism in colder climates as fat keeps them warm? I know our Blue Wheaten suffered terribly in our heatwaves but on cold rainy days she was the one happily bouncing around and foraging in the cold rain/sprinkles. The vet commented that she felt heavy. A leaner diet for breeds that have fat tendencies sounds like a helpful partial solution plus raising those breeds in cooler or less tropical climates or, as you are doing, cross-breeding a more adaptable, less-fatty Bielie cross. When humidity hits us in SoCal we might as well be in the jungle! Our small lightweight (almost skinny IMO) Silkies do very well during our heatwaves and the active lightweight Blue Breda hen does surprisingly well also -- she's laying like clockwork during our triple digit temps. The Breda hen was an experimental purchase and have been impressed enough with her docile flock temperament to order another - the eggs are MED to almost LG and we don't lose production time to broody tendencies. The Ameraucana, on the other hand, would lay around all day in mud spots, under the mister, or inside the coop with no interest in foraging like the others plus Amer's seem poor in production. I really adore Amer's but will not subject another one to our insufferable climate. Temperatures were not this long-lasting a couple decades ago here but the past 4 to 5 years have been escalating to longer bouts of heatwaves, humidity, and droughts. Our water district has curtailed lawn watering to one day a week and suggest no laundering or dishwasher use between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with Sunday as a free day. While all us home-owners are curtailed from water usage the City Hall, Parks, and School lawns have HUGE HUGE bright green grassy watered lawns - go figure??!! TY for sharing your finds!

 

[gracefarm]

A little information on the German Bielefelders out of one of my poultry books. Also very happy to be receiving 6 Bielefelder eggs in the mail next week. Not many eggs but with any luck I will soon have my start with the German Bielefelders!

 

[Saris]

With any luck I will soon have some new additions added into my poultry yard. I am in the process of acquiring some German Bielefelder eggs to hatch. I really like what I have heard on the German Bielefelders & love their color pattern, very much looking forward to getting my start of German Bielefelders!

A little information on the German Bielefelders out of one of my poultry books. Also very happy to be receiving 6 Bielefelder eggs in the mail next week. Not many eggs but with any luck I will soon have my start with the German Bielefelders!

They are great birds. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[gracefarm]

They are great birds. I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

I am very impressed with everything I have heard about the Bielefelders & very much looking forward to having them in my poultry yard. If all goes well I will soon be posting pictures of my German Bielefelder chicks!

 

[DesertChic]

I am very impressed with everything I have heard about the Bielefelders & very much looking forward to having them in my poultry yard. If all goes well I will soon be posting pictures of my German Bielefelder chicks!

Welcome! And I'm really looking forward to those baby pictures!!! They really are wonderful birds.