A Bielefelder Thread !

[maverick123]

I live in kemp texas

 

[RainMom]

The age difference, and one group is laying and the other one is not. Plus group B is on grass.

I've noted very strongly- that Bielefelders prefer to free range, and their egg size will go down if they are combined in minimum-size pens without greens. I feed very high quality non-GMO, corn and soy free feed, but if I have to lock my Bielefelders up, they begin producing smaller eggs after a few days. They do not cope with the "4 sq feet of space per bird" rule- they require 6-8 feet, due to their size. They don't like to be crowded. When mine have to be penned up for some reason, I pull weeds and grass and give them a pile to sort thru. I've never lost one to owls, hawks or eagles- (maybe because they are bigger than birds of prey?) but I have lost a few leghorns to hawks.

Mine are nice calm birds- I would not call them dumb, just calm. I might have a smarter group than Chickie Lady's ?

My rooster is a great flock protector, but calm enough that I can pick him up anytime. I've never had any problems with my birds and they are most definitely my all-around favorite for egg production/personality. I think the leghorns and production reds are more likely feed economical, and sex links are great producers, but I sure love my Bielefelders.

 

[estamets]

Hold on now, all is not perfect with these monster eggs.
I clipped cushion feathers on my girls a while back to get better fertility, and discovered 2 had the beginnings of prolaspe.
One of the girls lays a shell less egg at least once a week at night, but then in the afternoon, she lays another perfect monster egg, perfect size, color & bloom.

The other issue is how dim they are,(eating anything) and 2 more girls had bad pendulous crops, turned out to be impacted with pink fiberglass insulation they found that no other breed has ever been interested in.
A 2" by 3" opening in the interior siding & these 2 girls pigged out.
It was under the poop tray (roosts) so I did not see it til I did the first necropsy & went hunting...and there it was.....fiberglass pulled out of this little crack.

All in all, I am wondering if they were not bred to lay monster eggs & that can tear up their innards.
And ovulating 2 ova a day can make their lives significantly shorter than other breeds....at least their lay lives.
I cannot imagine what German Engineering went into these to make them behave in this manner ?
IDK....the Legbars sound pretty good.....................

That's weird... I've actually heard people describe Bieles as their smartest birds. I've got a pullet and few roos in the breeder- so far their very calm, inquisitive, and have a thoughtful look to them. The Rhodebars, by contrast, are NUTS.

 

[Chickielady]

I've noted very strongly- that Bielefelders prefer to free range, and their egg size will go down if they are combined in minimum-size pens without greens. I feed very high quality non-GMO, corn and soy free feed, but if I have to lock my Bielefelders up, they begin producing smaller eggs after a few days. They do not cope with the "4 sq feet of space per bird" rule- they require 6-8 feet, due to their size. They don't like to be crowded. When mine have to be penned up for some reason, I pull weeds and grass and give them a pile to sort thru. I've never lost one to owls, hawks or eagles- (maybe because they are bigger than birds of prey?) but I have lost a few leghorns to hawks.

Mine are nice calm birds- I would not call them dumb, just calm. I might have a smarter group than Chickie Lady's ?

My rooster is a great flock protector, but calm enough that I can pick him up anytime. I've never had any problems with my birds and they are most definitely my all-around favorite for egg production/personality. I think the leghorns and production reds are more likely feed economical, and sex links are great producers, but I sure love my Bielefelders.

Never have I seen a breed's egg size go smaller if they are kept from free ranging, as if they are withholding ?
None of my breeds do any such thing, none in my entire life.
That is a long long time, long long long.

The birds may be happier free ranging, or not, but never has it effected the size of the egg.
The ova of the bird is the same, regardless of how happy the bird is.
This is especially evident in battery lay birds...they eat & lay, in egg farms.

Mine are not free ranging, and you saw their egg size, heaven forbid is gets bigger !
As far as the dimwits are concerned, mine are not the only ones that have been found to be dim.
That said, it may be you have nothing else to compare their wits to ?
This is the dimwitted breed I have ever had.
Huge eggs, not free ranging, and dumb as a box of rocks.

Edited to add: I am not trying to be mean here...just sayin'~

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: Mine were in a smaller pen and still laying HUGE eggs. I now have them in a pen 2 times as big and they stopped laying LOL. But if those egg get much bigger I don't think they will be viable for hatching.... I just have not seen HUGE eggs hatch well.

 

[estamets]

Never have I seen a breed's egg size go smaller if they are kept from free ranging, as if they are withholding ?
None of my breeds do any such thing, none in my entire life.
That is a long long time, long long long.

The birds may be happier free ranging, or not, but never has it effected the size of the egg.
The ova of the bird is the same, regardless of how happy the bird is.
This is especially evident in battery lay birds...they eat & lay, in egg farms.

Mine are not free ranging, and you saw their egg size, heaven forbid is gets bigger !
As far as the dimwits are concerned, mine are not the only ones that have been found to be dim.
That said, it may be you have nothing else to compare their wits to ?
This is the dimwitted breed I have ever had.
Huge eggs, not free ranging, and dumb as a box of rocks.

My Marans' egg changes size based on her feed and environment. Not specific to breed, necessarily; I just know because I've been futzing with this bird for a month to heal a prolapsed vent. Her eggs got smaller with less protein and confinement.

 

[kittydoc]

Question for the peanut gallery:

I just hatched out 11 Bieles last week, and got 7 F and 4 M (yay!). I'm going to keep 2 of the boys, but can't decide which ones.

They vary in color. Two are predominantly gray with some brown tones, while two are much lighter and more golden brown. In terms of how they will look as adults, can anyone give me some guidance? I want pretty roos.

My females vary slightly in how dark brown they are, but they are much more similar looking to each other than the boys. I can only tell a few of the girls apart based on size, or on the presence or absence of a head spot (yes, I have a girl with a yellowish head spot, but unless boys can be chipmunk striped, it's definitely female).

Thanks!

 

[speedy2020]

I live in kemp texas

I have young bielefelder rooster just start to mate, but no bielefelder hen. Wish you live closer so we can do an exchange rooster for hatching eggs.

 

[DMRippy]

Question for the peanut gallery:

I just hatched out 11 Bieles last week, and got 7 F and 4 M (yay!). I'm going to keep 2 of the boys, but can't decide which ones.

They vary in color. Two are predominantly gray with some brown tones, while two are much lighter and more golden brown. In terms of how they will look as adults, can anyone give me some guidance? I want pretty roos.

My females vary slightly in how dark brown they are, but they are much more similar looking to each other than the boys. I can only tell a few of the girls apart based on size, or on the presence or absence of a head spot (yes, I have a girl with a yellowish head spot, but unless boys can be chipmunk striped, it's definitely female).

Thanks!

I don't know if this applies to bieles or not but with my other autosexing breeds you want the ones that are marked the best for autosexing. Like Rhodebars for example. Sometimes they will hatch almost yellow but you can see the spot. Then there are the ones that are as dark as RIR with a head spot.... the dark ones are the ones you want to keep.... same with pullets the better the marking the better chicks they will make when grown. I would tag the ones that were CLEARLY cockerels at hatch with the best markings.

 

[maverick123]

where are you