A Bielefelder Thread !

[TNBielefelder]

Chicks should hatch on June 26th. I have a few spoken for so let me see how many pullets and roos I get and will send you a message to let you know.

 

[MissPoppit]

Chicks should hatch on June 26th. I have a few spoken for so let me see how many pullets and roos I get and will send you a message to let you know.

Wonderful! Thank you!

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi -- I'm new here, but I'm fairly experienced with poultry. (I got out of breeding for awhile due to illness.)

I'm seriously considering buying bielefelders. We only have room for one breed, so I'm trying to get something that is truly dual purpose AND mellow enough that I don't need to worry about visitors or our meter reader (!) being attacked by cranky roosters.

We currently have a flock of hatchery "orpingtons" with a bad tendency towards attitude, plus some other undesirable genetic traits and small size.

Is there anyone in Arizona with eggs? (Or S. Utah, E. New Mexico, etc.) I have two orp hens who have decided to go broody and I might as well put them to work. I'm about an hour NE of Payson, but I do not mind a long drive if I can get day old eggs. I'll pay a fair amount. I'm looking at this as an investment in a line of poultry that should serve me well for many years to come.

Also, how do they dress out and what is the meat quality? We generally just eat extra roosters as there's not a huge market for chickens up here. I've had large breeds before where they put on lots of meat, but the meat is extremely tough even from a very early age, like "bend a fork" tough. I do want decent meat quality, if at all possible.

Not to step on any toes but I'm with you about Orps. Our friend had a hen that was unpleasant. I watched videos on Orp chicks and they are aggressive even as babies. I also avoid Wyans too - it's 50pro/50con regarding their temperaments. I don't have Bielies but the owner feedbacks sound like a good temperament breed if you can afford to feed large birds. Seems like their eggs are a good size too. GL!

 

[kittydoc]

Not to step on any toes but I'm with you about Orps. Our friend had a hen that was unpleasant. I watched videos on Orp chicks and they are aggressive even as babies. I also avoid Wyans too - it's 50pro/50con regarding their temperaments. I don't have Bielies but the owner feedbacks sound like a good temperament breed if you can afford to feed large birds. Seems like their eggs are a good size too. GL!

ANY individual bird can be aggressive, unpleasant, etc. Some breeds are worse than others. I'm in the "I hate Wyandottes" club--they are beautiful, but that's all.

Orps are not at all notorious for aggression. I have about 40 of them, and my girls love me. My boys love me most of the time (they are roos, and once in a while a roo does its job a little too well and then winds up for dinner, but that's also true of any breed).

Hatchery Orps are also different than real heritage Orps that you'd get from private breeders. My hatchery Orps are small but they lay like crazy, because that's what they are bred to do. My Orps purchased from private individuals, especially my English Orps, are mellow to friendly, and still lay 4-5 eggs per week when young. They are huge compared to American hatchery Orps, but one of my very sweetest hens is a little buff Orp girl that will live here until she dies. She is more like a puppy than a chicken.

That said, Orps are not rocket scientists. Bieles are smarter. I love my Bieles, but I'll never give up my Orpingtons either. I wouldn't take a Wyandotte is someone paid me to do so. I have two RIRs, one Ameracauna, and one Light Brahma, and would not want a flock of any of them, but I like these that we do have OK. RIR roos are notoriously aggressive, but I have no personal experience with that.

The reason we have so many breeds of livestock and pets to choose from is because people want different things. Some want pretty, some want functional/production, some want a bit of both. I like having color in my flock. I'd be bored if all I had were Bieles, but they are pretty and sweet and smart for a chicken.

 

[ljcygnet]

ANY individual bird can be aggressive, unpleasant, etc. Some breeds are worse than others. I'm in the "I hate Wyandottes" club--they are beautiful, but that's all.

Orps are not at all notorious for aggression. I have about 40 of them, and my girls love me. My boys love me most of the time (they are roos, and once in a while a roo does its job a little too well and then winds up for dinner, but that's also true of any breed).

Hatchery Orps are also different than real heritage Orps that you'd get from private breeders. My hatchery Orps are small but they lay like crazy, because that's what they are bred to do. My Orps purchased from private individuals, especially my English Orps, are mellow to friendly, and still lay 4-5 eggs per week when young. They are huge compared to American hatchery Orps, but one of my very sweetest hens is a little buff Orp girl that will live here until she dies. She is more like a puppy than a chicken.

That said, Orps are not rocket scientists. Bieles are smarter. I love my Bieles, but I'll never give up my Orpingtons either. I wouldn't take a Wyandotte is someone paid me to do so. I have two RIRs, one Ameracauna, and one Light Brahma, and would not want a flock of any of them, but I like these that we do have OK. RIR roos are notoriously aggressive, but I have no personal experience with that.

The reason we have so many breeds of livestock and pets to choose from is because people want different things. Some want pretty, some want functional/production, some want a bit of both. I like having color in my flock. I'd be bored if all I had were Bieles, but they are pretty and sweet and smart for a chicken.

 

[Sylvester017]

ANY individual bird can be aggressive, unpleasant, etc. Some breeds are worse than others. I'm in the "I hate Wyandottes" club--they are beautiful, but that's all.

Orps are not at all notorious for aggression. I have about 40 of them, and my girls love me. My boys love me most of the time (they are roos, and once in a while a roo does its job a little too well and then winds up for dinner, but that's also true of any breed).

Hatchery Orps are also different than real heritage Orps that you'd get from private breeders. My hatchery Orps are small but they lay like crazy, because that's what they are bred to do. My Orps purchased from private individuals, especially my English Orps, are mellow to friendly, and still lay 4-5 eggs per week when young. They are huge compared to American hatchery Orps, but one of my very sweetest hens is a little buff Orp girl that will live here until she dies. She is more like a puppy than a chicken.

That said, Orps are not rocket scientists. Bieles are smarter. I love my Bieles, but I'll never give up my Orpingtons either. I wouldn't take a Wyandotte is someone paid me to do so. I have two RIRs, one Ameracauna, and one Light Brahma, and would not want a flock of any of them, but I like these that we do have OK. RIR roos are notoriously aggressive, but I have no personal experience with that.

The reason we have so many breeds of livestock and pets to choose from is because people want different things. Some want pretty, some want functional/production, some want a bit of both. I like having color in my flock. I'd be bored if all I had were Bieles, but they are pretty and sweet and smart for a chicken.

True - any breed can have its good and bad temperament individuals but we re-homed our production egg layer breeds in lieu of keeping gentle non-combative 5-lb-or-under breeds to have a peaceful backyard. There are many large gentle giants of which Bielies will fit but unfortunately we won't mix the over 5-lb hens with our smaller gentle souls. We get less or smaller eggs but enjoy the lack of drama queens in our flock.

I love getting consistent feedback about the Bielies - one of the few breeds I've researched where the feedback is mostly positive in temperament, eggs, and meat.

The only breeds I or my folks have had are Babcock Leghorns, RIRs, BRs, Doms, CA Greys, NHRs, Buff Leghorns, Breda, Ameraucanas, Marans, and Silkies. In general we found the straight or floppy combed breeds too aggressive to mix with known gentle breeds. Our Leghorns were wonderful layers but eventually went aggressive on flockmates and the Marans were downright mean. Our friends had a different variety of Marans and found theirs too aggressive also. I guess it all depends on how the breeds are thrown together in a flock. As pullets they all seem to get along but their true natures surface at maturity. Our White Leg was gentle for 3 years and suddenly decided to go bonkers on her flockmates and we had to re-home her into another equal flock of her peers. The Marans viciously attacked all the Silkies once she couldn't de-throne the alpha flock hen. Our friends said their Marans were just as unpleasant. All the Wyan varieties are gorgeous but the 50/50 feed back on their temperaments warned us not to incorporate their dominant tendency into our gentles flock. But that's what's wonderful about chickens - ornamentals, bantams, heritage, dual-purpose, production, and rare breeds - somewhere a breed for everyone!

 

[DMRippy]

Breeder wyandottes that I have had have never been mean or spastic. Hatchery birds are probably ALL breed with leghorns to up production that would increase the odds of spastic birds.

 

[johnderosa1]

True - any breed can have its good and bad temperament individuals but we re-homed our production egg layer breeds in lieu of keeping gentle non-combative 5-lb-or-under breeds to have a peaceful backyard.  There are many large gentle giants of which Bielies will fit but unfortunately we won't mix the over 5-lb hens with our smaller gentle souls.  We get less or smaller eggs but enjoy the lack of drama queens in our flock. 

I love getting consistent feedback about the Bielies - one of the few breeds I've researched where the feedback is mostly positive in temperament, eggs, and meat. 

The only breeds I or my folks have had are Babcock Leghorns, RIRs, BRs, Doms, CA Greys, NHRs, Buff Leghorns, Breda, Ameraucanas, Marans, and Silkies.  In general we found the straight or floppy combed breeds too aggressive to mix with known gentle breeds.  Our Leghorns were wonderful layers but eventually went aggressive on flockmates and the Marans were downright mean.  Our friends had a different variety of Marans and found theirs too aggressive also.  I guess it all depends on how the breeds are thrown together in a flock.  As pullets they all seem to get along but their true natures surface at maturity.  Our White Leg was gentle for 3 years and suddenly decided to go bonkers on her flockmates and we had to re-home her into another equal flock of her peers.  The Marans viciously attacked all the Silkies once she couldn't de-throne the alpha flock hen.  Our friends said their Marans were just as unpleasant.  All the Wyan varieties are gorgeous but the 50/50 feed back on their temperaments warned us not to incorporate their dominant tendency into our gentles flock.  But that's what's wonderful about chickens - ornamentals, bantams, heritage, dual-purpose, production, and rare breeds - somewhere a breed for everyone!

My marans have been aggressive to their flockmates as a rule... Same with the olive eggers bred from them. I am trying a new line and hoping they will be a little better in a mixed flock...,

 

[Living4birds]

IF you work and spend time with any chicken when they're young until they're about a year old they can be very sweet. I have a leghorn roo that's an absolute sweetheart.

 

[DMRippy]

I don't keep or breed mean roos in any breed. They will breed it forward. Any line of birds can have a bad apple. Cull that bird an move on.

I breed the following
Rocks (5 colors)
Marans (7 colors)
Orpingtons (8 colors)
CCL
Leghorns (6 colors)
Wyandottes (4 colors)
Silkies (10 colors)
Ameraucanas (3 colors)
Bielefelders
Rhodebars
Easter Eggers

NONE are mean. I don't play with my chickens since I have about 800 ATM. So no special attention, I just don't breed for mean.