A Bielefelder Thread !

[DesertChic]

On a side note: I had a Red Ranger that was friendly as all get out after she had a neck injury as a chick and bonded with people. She was separated from the other birds for her own safety, and got at least one hour of bonding time with me or my family every day. She mostly watched tractor videos with my dad on Youtube... Anyway, I took her to Petco and also to our town's "beef days" celebration and she loved the attention. She was trained to a leash, and would sit/lay down on cue (if food was involved). I rehomed Buffy to my mom's friend who loved her (and would bring her treats in the nestbox, as Buffy would hide in there all the time). Buffy died of a heart attack 2 months ago, but she was a funny chicken.
My bieles are not quite scared of me, nor are they very aware of me getting close to them. The other chicks run, but the bielefelders, especially the boys, just sit there and watch me with a look of "What is she going to do?". I usually can grab them before they realize they don't want to be caught...

Yep! That's a very typical Biel attitude. They're very trusting of their humans.

 

[Faraday40]

Our chickens get played with a lot. We have a few that always seek out the children to play with them.





The Sebright comes when called & lands on my arm. (She'll also do this for my kids & neighbor.) Thankfully, our Biele never tried this trick!


Once in a while we'll see hens hanging out in the fort (looking for some spilled treats)


Our Biele is not very athletic. She does sometimes go for a slow bike ride, but she prefers the wagon


We

our Hen Solo!

 

[sroy]

My beilefelder girls. They don't have much barring on top. Does it come in later, say after their first molt? They are 6 months old now

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[Faraday40]

My beilefelder girls. They don't have much barring on top. Does it come in later, say after their first molt? They are 6 months old now

The barring should be there as soon as the feathers grow in. It's possible you have a mix, but I actually think she's prettier than my purebred. (

Just don't tell MY hen that.)

 

[sroy]

I saw both of the parents. They were definetly biels. They were the cutest little chipmunks you ever saw. And the little roos had the white spots on their heads.They are very barred underneath. They are big sweethearts that lay big ol eggs. I think they are pretty too, thank you.

 

[losttexan]

Need some fertility advice:
So, I have two mating pairs sequestered in breeding pens. The roos are 1 year, 10 weeks; the hens are 1 year, 18 weeks. All are in good condition, and the hens have been laying faithfully. Problem is - when incubating, I'm getting nothing but clear eggs. The roos seem to be regularly mating, but I guess one member of both pairs is infertile. I find this hard to believe. My other chickens are fertile as hell, and I can hatch everything else on my farm no problem. Is there a propensity with Biels I am not aware of? I do seem to remember someone posting that a trim around the cloaca can help because of the abundance of feathers, but I'm looking for some suggestions from those who have had this wonderful breed longer than I.

 

[otakalhasas]

Need some fertility advice:
So, I have two mating pairs sequestered in breeding pens. The roos are 1 year, 10 weeks; the hens are 1 year, 18 weeks. All are in good condition, and the hens have been laying faithfully. Problem is - when incubating, I'm getting nothing but clear eggs. The roos seem to be regularly mating, but I guess one member of both pairs is infertile. I find this hard to believe. My other chickens are fertile as hell, and I can hatch everything else on my farm no problem. Is there a propensity with Biels I am not aware of? I do seem to remember someone posting that a trim around the cloaca can help because of the abundance of feathers, but I'm looking for some suggestions from those who have had this wonderful breed longer than I.

First thing I would do is swap them around. Leave the boys in their respective pen and just switch hens and see what happens. Also, how long have you had them paired up? I find that if there is a change in their routine, my crew will take two or three weeks to "kick into gear" again. They could just need a bit more time.

Keep us posted and good luck!

 

[DesertChic]

Need some fertility advice:
So, I have two mating pairs sequestered in breeding pens. The roos are 1 year, 10 weeks; the hens are 1 year, 18 weeks. All are in good condition, and the hens have been laying faithfully. Problem is - when incubating, I'm getting nothing but clear eggs. The roos seem to be regularly mating, but I guess one member of both pairs is infertile. I find this hard to believe. My other chickens are fertile as hell, and I can hatch everything else on my farm no problem. Is there a propensity with Biels I am not aware of? I do seem to remember someone posting that a trim around the cloaca can help because of the abundance of feathers, but I'm looking for some suggestions from those who have had this wonderful breed longer than I.

First thing I would do is swap them around. Leave the boys in their respective pen and just switch hens and see what happens. Also, how long have you had them paired up? I find that if there is a change in their routine, my crew will take two or three weeks to "kick into gear" again. They could just need a bit more time.

Keep us posted and good luck!

And if that doesn't work, you can always try artificial insemination.

 

[otakalhasas]

And if that doesn't work, you can always try artificial insemination.

Wow, never thought abou that! Have done it with dogs but didn't even think about chickens - what an interesting idea!

 

[Rickw]

So I now know I have a while before I can tell earlobe color, what about plumage color? This is a photo of one of my 7 1/2 week roos. The view I usually get is chick butts as they hang out at one of the feeders.

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