A Bielefelder Thread !

[Brat Flock]

Well remember I have 3 baby Roos so maybe we can hook you up once they grow a bit in the spring. As it is I am blessed to be adding your girls to our flock!

Thank you to everyone for all the kind words after the loss of our roo.  We will definitely be looking for fertile Biele eggs in the spring.  The main reason we wanted to try Bieles was b/c of all the great things we heard about the roos (& well the auto-sexing is awesome).  The hatch rate was 100%!  We got 6 females & only 2 males.  We sold 1/2 right away & fell in love with our sweet boy.  He truly was as terrific as people say.  I found a home for our females so we can lighten the flock for the winter.  Our daughter is already planning out a new science project for 2016.  Of course it involves hatching more eggs.  

Well remember I have 3 baby Roos so maybe we can hook you up once they grow a bit in the spring. As it is I am blessed to be adding your girls to our flock!

 

[Bine]

Thank you, im hoping next year she will go broody and hatch some babies out!

The German Youtuber I posted some vid from here, had one of the girls broody. They put her in a run on her own for two days but in the end the neighbours lawn mover that scared her over the fance to her flock and out of broodiness.
When you want hen raised chicks I would buy an smaller ornamental or game breed. A "big" Silky or an Old English hen would make a good mum for your Bielefelders. Heavy breeds like Brahmas go broody, too but you always have the risk that they crush some eggs when they are nesting in a box.

 

[Zinniah]

The German Youtuber I posted some vid from here, had one of the girls broody. They put her in a run on her own for two days but in the end the neighbours lawn mover that scared her over the fance to her flock and out of broodiness.
When you want hen raised chicks I would buy an smaller ornamental or game breed. A "big" Silky or an Old English hen would make a good mum for your Bielefelders. Heavy breeds like Brahmas go broody, too but you always have the risk that they crush some eggs when they are nesting in a box.

Would a silky be able to share a coop with the bieles? Would i need more than one for it to be comfortable? If they aren't able to hatch any eggs by the end of next year, i would either get a silky or a small incubator.

 

[Faraday40]

We have a bantam orpington. That girl has gone broody 5 times in 2015! Three of those times we allowed her to incubate & raise chicks. Because of all the fluff, she can easily fit 8-9 full sized eggs under her. It's broody breed that most people overlook. I am unsure if all Bantam orps are like her, but we don't dare get a second one. One small crazy broody is plenty for our flock.

We get good results by separating her from the big girls. This scrap of plastic fence keeps the hens from kicking little "Cookie" off her nest. It also allows her to remain part of the flock. (Easier transition once the chicks arrive.)

When the chicks 1st hatch, we keep them safe in an old rabbit cage inside the run for a few days.






Once I feel Cookie can handle her brood, we let them free range.



No! No! Cookie! Do not try to hatch THAT!


Cookie was our only bantam up until 2 months ago when she hatched a Sebright. Cookie hatched in our incubator along with the big orps & EEs. She never realized she's small & is always in the middle of it all. She's got quite an attitude! (Nicknamed "the Bantam Menace" as well as "Cookie Monster" when she's broody.) I have to admit, a bantam adds more than her weight in daily stories & humor. The biggest concern you may have is that a bantam must have some special way to access food & water. I put a roost by the water & have a lower hanging feeder.

 

[Bine]

Yep, I manage my boodies quite simular. Dorkings, Silkies, Cochins are praised as broodys too. The German Buchhuhn or better German Park Chicken are seek after as foster mothers for all kinds of chicken breeds, pheasants and wild birds, but they are extremly rare and I don't think they are avalible in the US.
They are lovley bantam sized birds that don't need coops and they are exceptional free rangers. They are only breed as "park ornamentals" and for hatching and fostering other breeds and wild birds.

Aren't they lovley?

 

[DesertChic]

Would a silky be able to share a coop with the bieles? Would i need more than one for it to be comfortable? If they aren't able to hatch any eggs by the end of next year, i would either get a silky or a small incubator.

I have a very nervous little Silkie that gets along with with my big Bielefelder girls while most of my other large breed girls torment her. It may take a couple days for them to adjust, but the Biels are so very tolerant and patient with other breeds.

Ironically, I had gotten this little Silkie because of their known broodiness, and while she has gone broody a few times, I wasn't in a position to allow her to sit on eggs then. My surprise broodies have been my White Rocks. I allowed the first of my broody WRs to hatch eggs and she's proven to be a fantastic mother. I had to break the other one of her broodiness because I'm done hatching for the year, but I'm encouraged to know they are such good mothers.

 

[Zinniah]

I have a very nervous little Silkie that gets along with with my big Bielefelder girls while most of my other large breed girls torment her. It may take a couple days for them to adjust, but the Biels are so very tolerant and patient with other breeds.

Ironically, I had gotten this little Silkie because of their known broodiness, and while she has gone broody a few times, I wasn't in a position to allow her to sit on eggs then. My surprise broodies have been my White Rocks. I allowed the first of my broody WRs to hatch eggs and she's proven to be a fantastic mother. I had to break the other one of her broodiness because I'm done hatching for the year, but I'm encouraged to know they are such good mothers.

Thank you for the info! Hopefully one of mine goes broody, but if not im going to try and find an adult hen locally to integrate in. I'm not sure if I will be able to find a silky, so having a other options is good.

 

[Zinniah]

Got a big egg today at 75g, her eggs are normally 50-55g, I wonder if its just big or has a double yolk. I think she is going to keep laying, and i think another one may have started laying, i got an egg on the 24th, then again on the 26th, 27th, 28th and today the 29th. She could be just a really super layer though

 

[Faraday40]

Got a big egg today at 75g, her eggs are normally 50-55g, I wonder if its just big or has a double yolk. I think she is going to keep laying, and i think another one may have started laying, i got an egg on the 24th, then again on the 26th, 27th, 28th and today the 29th. She could be just a really super layer though

Congratulations!

Yes, we all understand how exciting those 1st eggs can be! I still take pics of the new layers' eggs & record my daily eggs with tallies next to each hen's name.
I even blow out some nicer eggs to use as xmas ornaments. Non chicken people just don't understand.LOL

 

[Zinniah]

Congratulations!

Yes, we all understand how exciting those 1st eggs can be! I still take pics of the new layers' eggs & record my daily eggs with tallies next to each hen's name.
I even blow out some nicer eggs to use as xmas ornaments. Non chicken people just don't understand.LOL

Wow those are really cool, never knew you could do that with egg shells. Im going to try and make some, though i had to google how you get the egg out and its looks really hard. lol......