A Bielefelder Thread !

[stryker]

YEA!!!

 

[bluejean55girl]

My first Biel hatch was highly successful, with an 85% hatch rate from eggs shipped to me from across the country. I kept the temp at 99.5º F and 45-50% humidity until day 18, at which time I lowered the temp by half a degree per day and increased the humidity to 65%. I use the Rcom20 incubator so it automatically circulates air and, thankfully, is pretty much dummy-proof.

My second attempt at hatching Biels was a disaster, and it was from eggs that I drove 3 hours to acquire from a woman in Phoenix. It turned out the eggs tested positive for pullorum. Only one chick out of 14 eggs hatched, and he died in less 3 days.

Right now I've got some of my own Biel's eggs in the incubator, but I don't perform my first candling until tomorrow night. I do have some concerns about whether or not they'll hatch properly not because of fertility issues, but because the eggs are more torpedo shaped than would be ideal. I'm afraid the chicks won't be able to move around properly inside the egg and may suffocate.

did you do anything different in temps and humidity the 2nd time? assuming you did both the same way?

 

[bluejean55girl]

I have 4 pips!

awesome!

 

[DesertChic]

I have 4 pips!

 

[DesertChic]

did you do anything different in temps and humidity the 2nd time? assuming you did both the same way?

Did both of them the same way....and I've performed every one of my other hatches the same way with great success. I rarely have less than a 100% hatch rate for my own home-grown fertile eggs, and had an 80% or better hatch rate on all of my purchased eggs except for that one hatch I mentioned.

 

[DesertChic]

Warning: What I'm about to post may be too gruesome for some.

So I butchered and processed the second of my three Biel/Australorp crosses today and I've noticed a very consistent trait in the Biel boys...all of their carcasses, both pure Biel and Biel crosses...all of them contain an unusually high amount of fat compared to the other breeds I've butchered. This latest guy processed out at 4.72 lbs at 22 weeks, amounting to 69% of his live body weight, and had decent musculature...but WOW! He had a lot of body fat...even around his organs, including his heart. I easily have 1-2 cups of fat that I could render for cooking purposes. I'm now wondering if this breed simply retains more body fat than other breeds, and maybe that's why they struggle so much with hotter environments. (I know my own extra padding certainly makes it challenging for me.

)

 

[otakalhasas]

I got 5 Silver Cuckoo Marans and 1 cockerel in 1997, in Santa Rosa, CA...and have bred them for years with no new blood, and they are perfect.
I have used this Silver Cuckoo Male to breed to my Biel hens last year because my Biel Cockerel would not mate.
The experience proved that the hens would allow mounting, and the eggs hatched super easily.

And that is why I have a flock of semi-Silver Crele Bielefelders.....Necessity is indeed, the Mother of Invention.

By the way, the Semi-Silver Crele Hens are now in again, with a Biel cockerel, so they are being bred back. We'll see what the hatchings bring !
Exciting !

How cool! I'd love to see a photo of your semi-silvers! Were the chicks auto-sexing?

 

[bluejean55girl]

Warning: What I'm about to post may be too gruesome for some.

So I butchered and processed the second of my three Biel/Australorp crosses today and I've noticed a very consistent trait in the Biel boys...all of their carcasses, both pure Biel and Biel crosses...all of them contain an unusually high amount of fat compared to the other breeds I've butchered. This latest guy processed out at 4.72 lbs at 22 weeks, amounting to 69% of his live body weight, and had decent musculature...but WOW! He had a lot of body fat...even around his organs, including his heart. I easily have 1-2 cups of fat that I could render for cooking purposes. I'm now wondering if this breed simply retains more body fat than other breeds, and maybe that's why they struggle so much with hotter environments. (I know my own extra padding certainly makes it challenging for me.  )

may I ask what protein level you are feeding at? And age of these roos?

 

[Saris]

2 big ol' chickies! I think I have a boy and a girl. Plus 4 more pips!

 

[otakalhasas]

You go girl!!!!!!