A Bielefelder Thread !

[Sylvester017]

I know my girl is a mix but she is beautiful! Mom was white with a few black spots and dad was a full blooded Bielefelder. She's about 22wks and no eggs yet.

Wonderful that she inherited her dad's good looks! The mom with a few black flecks on white sounds like a hybrid California White -- good production layers! Sounds iike your mix will inherit the best of both parents.

I went out to the coop to take some pics of the spring/summer hatches - all grown up.
Here's "Hen Solo"
She's our only Bielefelder & one of the few that are laying. (Many are molting & 2 of the orps haven't started laying yet.) It's about 12'F outside (feels like -7'F), so I must attempt to collect eggs often. I'm only getting 1-4 eggs per day, so I'd hate to lose one b/c it froze. Temps are going to drop in the next few days. Sunday's high will be -5'F..... and you don't want to know the low !

Thankfully, the Biele's comb is not as tall as my orps. She should be fine.

On the Wellie thread someone said their roos' huge combs/wattles are getting frostbite from when their comb/wattles dip into drinking water or dribbles from nipple valves onto their wattles and freezes. I don't get freezing temps so it's not something I ever thought of before. Someone suggested using vaseline to keep the water off the combs/wattles when the chickens drank water. Living in a warm mild SoCal climate I don't use vaseline since it greases up and stains/mattes the feathers down but if I lived in freezing weather I would re-think and probably go for vaseline or at the very least vitamin E, A, or coconut oil to protect the combs/wattles, face, beaks, legs, toes, of my chickens.

 

[Faraday40]

Yes, the temps are not pleasant here. Of course, our summers are not as stressful to the Bieles. Our chickens do not get climate control, but they do have a heated water bucket & an insulated coop. We just have to carefully pick breeds that can stand the cold. (No Leghorns here.)

Our Biele shares a coop with an Appenzeller Spitzhauben (breed from the Alps of Switzerland)


and multiple English Orpingtons (another large breed that can stand the cold)







and a pretty CCL

and a lovable mutt.





Of course, I'll admit I'm a little nervous about the comb & wattles of our Orp roo.
Shake those wattles!!!

 

[Faraday40]

Wonderful that she inherited her dad's good looks! The mom with a few black flecks on white sounds like a hybrid California White -- good production layers! Sounds iike your mix will inherit the best of both parents.


On the Wellie thread someone said their roos' huge combs/wattles are getting frostbite from when their comb/wattles dip into drinking water or dribbles from nipple valves onto their wattles and freezes. I don't get freezing temps so it's not something I ever thought of before. Someone suggested using vaseline to keep the water off the combs/wattles when the chickens drank water. Living in a warm mild SoCal climate I don't use vaseline since it greases up and stains/mattes the feathers down but if I lived in freezing weather I would re-think and probably go for vaseline or at the very least vitamin E, A, or coconut oil to protect the combs/wattles, face, beaks, legs, toes, of my chickens.

Yes, we use either Vaseline or Bag Balm when temps go below zero. (Only on the roos & an occasional hen with a large comb.) We also use horiz chicken nipples for their water. The standard chicken fountains get put away when we get to 30's. It's actually a build up of humidity from poor ventilation that causes most cases of frostbite. A few nights below zero is not a big deal. However, I do get issues when the temps drop to -40'F. There's just not much that can help during an arctic blast of that magnitude. Thankfully, we're usually OK until Jan & Feb.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes, we use either Vaseline or Bag Balm when temps go below zero. (Only on the roos & an occasional hen with a large comb.) We also use horiz chicken nipples for their water. The standard chicken fountains get put away when we get to 30's. It's actually a build up of humidity from poor ventilation that causes most cases of frostbite. A few nights below zero is not a big deal. However, I do get issues when the temps drop to -40'F. There's just not much that can help during an arctic blast of that magnitude. Thankfully, we're usually OK until Jan & Feb.

Guess it goes to show why Northeasterners bred chickens with pea combs, muffs/beards, and heavy feathering, instead of big combs and dangling wattles to avoid frostbite issues! I got pea combed, crested, muffed, or bearded breeds of chickens to avoid the hassle of greasing my Leghorns and Marans in winter and instead lost 2 pea-comb/no-comb hens to heat-related issues in our brutal hot SoCal climate. Can't win! I mean, we USED to have warm summers but this past year was brutal continuous 100oF temps for solid months instead of the occasional week or two heatwave.

 

[Faraday40]

 

[Honora]

So cute! Merry Christmas to you too.

 

[ruriksson]

Hi, I'm planning to try Bielefelders this spring. I'm fixing up and expanding my coop and wanted to get some measurements and info.

1) How tall are the fully mature roosters and hens? (I wanted to know how high to position the nipple waterers.)
2) Being that they are quite large, how high can they jump? (This is so I can position the height of the nest boxes and determine how many steps and how far apart to get to their roosts.)
3) Do they/can they fly and how high? (I don't want to section off my yard with more than a 3 ft fence for aesthetics; I'm giving them about 1000 sq ft of unsupervised free range. I don't want them destroying the lawn and pooping in my patio, on the furniture and on my dogs.)
4) I've read in posts that they aren't heat tolerant. I live in Southern CA, we have gotten up to 110 deg F some days this past summer. Will they just stop laying or will they die? I read that some posters have even provided AC for them.

Thanks for your help with these logistical matters that aren't provided with breed info.

 

[tcobbs]

Hen Solo is so lovely! But those temperatures.....

I love Arizona. It's supposed to reach 80* this afternoon. 

We were 86 this afternoon outside Houston, TX. Gotta love Christmas in Texas.

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi, I'm planning to try Bielefelders this spring. I'm fixing up and expanding my coop and wanted to get some measurements and info.

1) How tall are the fully mature roosters and hens? (I wanted to know how high to position the nipple waterers.)
2) Being that they are quite large, how high can they jump? (This is so I can position the height of the nest boxes and determine how many steps and how far apart to get to their roosts.)
3) Do they/can they fly and how high? (I don't want to section off my yard with more than a 3 ft fence for aesthetics; I'm giving them about 1000 sq ft of unsupervised free range. I don't want them destroying the lawn and pooping in my patio, on the furniture and on my dogs.)
4) I've read in posts that they aren't heat tolerant. I live in Southern CA, we have gotten up to 110 deg F some days this past summer. Will they just stop laying or will they die? I read that some posters have even provided AC for them.

Thanks for your help with these logistical matters that aren't provided with breed info.

Hi, I don't have Bielies so can't offer you much info about them personally except they certainly seem to be a popular new breed. But because I live in brutal hot SoCal (East SGV) I won't give Bielies a try because of their heavy underfluff and large size. Some owners have been crossing them with other breeds to make them a hardier bird for harsh climates. I've lost two other lovely hens over summer because of our brutal consistent 100o plus temps from June through Sept so I won't chance getting any more heavily underfluffed breeds for my yard. My fluffy airy fur Silkies did fine but my two large fowl were lost to heat-related issues. My vet insists on feeding supplemental vitamins to the flock so I've incorporated Rooster Booster vitamins as well as Rooster Booster Multi-worm crystals into regular organic layer feed -- plus adding Selenium, Brewer's Yeast, and Bee Pollen to their cooked organic brown rice (not white rice). Then we give one drop on the side of the beak to each chicken no-iron children's Poly-Vi-Sol vitamins or a squirt of vit E capsule into their wet food or on their beak. Regular layer feed is just not fortified enough for our hens to face our brutal SoCal summers and need all the supplementation we can give them.

I have a 28-inch high roll of rabbit fencing dividing my chickens from the "people" side of our garden and patio. Newer pullets will try to fly over the little rabbit fence but after gently ushering them back to their side of the yard without scaring them they catch on quickly to respecting the barrier. Unless the fence is opened up for them to wander on both sides, they will continue to respect the barrier. Here's a couple photos showing the short rabbit fencing we use to separate the yard.

 

[Faraday40]

Hi, I'm planning to try Bielefelders this spring. I'm fixing up and expanding my coop and wanted to get some measurements and info.

1) How tall are the fully mature roosters and hens? (I wanted to know how high to position the nipple waterers.)
2) Being that they are quite large, how high can they jump? (This is so I can position the height of the nest boxes and determine how many steps and how far apart to get to their roosts.)
3) Do they/can they fly and how high? (I don't want to section off my yard with more than a 3 ft fence for aesthetics; I'm giving them about 1000 sq ft of unsupervised free range. I don't want them destroying the lawn and pooping in my patio, on the furniture and on my dogs.)
4) I've read in posts that they aren't heat tolerant. I live in Southern CA, we have gotten up to 110 deg F some days this past summer. Will they just stop laying or will they die? I read that some posters have even provided AC for them.

Thanks for your help with these logistical matters that aren't provided with breed info.

Bieles are BIG - about 8-10 lbs. They're about the same size as my big English Orps, but the proportions are a bit different. Orps are more rounded & Bieles are kind of rectangular. I make my roosts & waterers adjustable because we always have different breeds / sizes. Every year we have to have various sizes for new chicks as they're growing out. (Stacking on paver bricks or hanging by a chain makes changing heights easy.) Both my Orps & Bieles must dunk in order to go through the doors. Neither like to fly, but they will sometimes jump up onto a low hanging tree branch. If they forget & jump down on the neighbors' side of the fence, the pullet freaks out as she tries to get back home. It usually only happens while they're young. Older, experienced hens never leave the yard. The type of fence matters. A nice chain link fence with a bar across the top or a wooden fence will not work well. Those fences have a place on top of which hens may sit. (Then jump down to the other side) A cheaper thin garden fence without a top rail works much better. No way for them to jump up & sit on them. They certainly cannot "fly" - only flap their wings as they run along the ground. They can jump up into your lap, but that's about all.

*Note: We had tried a gadget called a "scarecrow" = motion sensor sprinkler. It worked for a while to keep the flock out back without a fence; however, they learned how to outsmart it after 3 months. Once we put up a cheap 4' fence, my flower beds, herb gardens, & berries were safe. A 3' fence may be enough for a Biele, but we also have a Dominique & a RIR in the flock. We don't want them teaching the big birds how to jump a fence. Our bantam Sebright can fly very well, so we went the training route with her. (Basically, she's trained to come & land on our arms when called. She is welcomed & visits the neighbors when they call for her. Otherwise, she stays with the flock in our yard because she hates to be alone.)

I think your hardest challenge will be your temps. Each year, we experience about 2-8 summer days where it gets about 95'-100F The Bieles really struggle on those days. This past summer I tried to put out a mister under their fav shade tree..... but they avoided the scary water mist! Instead they spent the day far away from the coolest place in the yard. However, they did just fine last week when it was -20'F. Thankfully we're back up to 25-35'F now.