A Bielefelder Thread !

[Red Banks]

I guess if it's always in the feed, "Cereal" Legbar might be an appropriate name.
That darn auto correct is always entertaining. LOL

I knew what you meant. Not as bad as the time I texted that I liked someone's boots. You can imagine!

 

[texasmomma]

I guess if it's always in the feed, "Cereal" Legbar might be an appropriate name.
That darn auto correct is always entertaining. LOL

ROFL

HAHAHA

I'm not even going to correct that one.

 

[kris86AR]

Love all these little feeding hacks!!!!! We are big DIYr's around my house. If I had trick to keep Muscovy ducks from eating all chicken feed when I open coop for free ranging days now!!!!! ...... Not be lazy and hide chicken feed!!!!! Will be using the pvc idea today when I get off work

 

[DesertChic]

I've read through the posts, but I'm not sure if this question has been answered:
Had anyone been able to find a breed mix that doesn't quite consume is weight in food?
Bielefelders seem great, except that one thing, is there any way too get a more economical bird, without losing the friendliness?

This is actually something I'm curious to observe in my NN/Biel cross because, overall, my NNs are pretty feed efficient compared to most of my other birds. My Dorking-mixes are the only other ones I've noticed good feed efficiency in, but they're really flighty birds, obviously taking after whatever they were bred with. (I bought hatching eggs for what were supposed to be pure Dorkings. They weren't.) I actually crossed one of my Dorking-mix females with my Ameraucana-mix rooster and got a pretty adorable, very calm and friendly chick out of the mix that I will be observing closely. I'm really, really hoping it's a pullet, but with my luck that's not likely.

This is Ziggy, so far with a 102% growth rate in its first week since hatch.

 

[hellbender]

I have other NN mixes this hatch, but she's the only NN/Biel. Right now I have a broody hen sitting on a few Bielefelder eggs that I'm hoping may give me another NN/Biel mix, but I won't find out for weeks yet.

NNs are a pretty awesome breed, especially if you live in hotter climates and if you want a good meat bird that matures to a normal processing age vs the Cornish Cross. They have fantastic personalities, are actually very good layers, and with 50% fewer feathers, process out much more quickly than full feathered birds. I wanted to cross my NNs with my Biels for the purpose of not only enhancing my meat bird program, but primarily to increase the heat tolerance and hardiness of the Bielefelders.

At some point (this year, I hope), I'm going to cover my 50X50 Dark Cornish/Cornish cross with a big NN cockerel. Should work right into my program. I intend to caponize many of the get, I also think they should be very nice table birds un-cut.

I plan to bring some Biels into the capon program as well.

 

[otakalhasas]

I guess if it's always in the feed, "Cereal" Legbar might be an appropriate name.
That darn auto correct is always entertaining. LOL

Hey, at least you now have a name for him - Kellog's!!!!!!!

 

[Faraday40]

Hey the auto-correct is a great thing! It also named one of our birds last year. I shared a pic of my Coronation Sussex wearing a cape. (My DD was playing "dress up" with her & taking crazy pics.) A BYC person tried to caption it "Super Chicken" but the auto correct called it "Supper Chicken" instead. We had such a laugh, so from that day on, she is referred to as SUPPER.

 

[otakalhasas]

Hey the auto-correct is a great thing! It also named one of our birds last year. I shared a pic of my Coronation Sussex wearing a cape. (My DD was playing "dress up" with her & taking crazy pics.) A BYC person tried to caption it "Super Chicken" but the auto correct called it "Supper Chicken" instead. We had such a laugh, so from that day on, she is referred to as SUPPER.

WAY too cute!!!!!!!

 

[Sylvester017]

I've read through the posts, but I'm not sure if this question has been answered:
Had anyone been able to find a breed mix that doesn't quite consume is weight in food?
Bielefelders seem great, except that one thing, is there any way too get a more economical bird, without losing the friendliness?

Wow, that's a loaded question with probably several different answers. But here goes mine and only from experience of breeds that I've actually had:
Unfortunately friendliness or craving human touch is not the White Leghorn's forte but they do eat lightly for the amount of eggs they output but then they are not meat birds per se but you'll get 6-7 LG-XL eggs/week from a White Leg who will weigh about 4.5-lb. The White Leg cockerels will give you more meat than the hens but we ate both on the farm but Legs definitely are not the best pet chicken. My next economical eater was the Dominique hen who weighs at about 4.5 to 5-lb, is also a good forager, decent layer at 4-6 eggs/wk, and will brood her own young -- a very outgoing curious unafraid friendly breed for being classified a dual purpose -- but the breed is a lighterweight dual purpose and like the Leghorn the cockerels will make larger table meat - the Doms make a better friendly pet.

My RIR, NHR, BRs, and Marans were heavier birds and very big eaters and we found our Marans were our laziest foragers -- all these hens weigh 6 up to 8 lbs so of course they'll eat more feed. Can't have it both ways -- the big breeds are bigger eaters. When our sweet 5-lb Blue Wheaten Ameraucana is not laying LG-XL eggs, she is an economical eater, but once she starts laying her big eggs her appetite increases exponentially to get body nutrients replaced. My favourite economical eater is a slender 4-lb Breda hen that lays 4 to 6 eggs/wk at 1.75-oz and from the time she arrived at 4 months old has been a very outgoing naturally curious friendly unafraid breed and she was not handled much by the breeder. We had her in-house for quarantine and even our visitors were amazed at how outgoing she was sitting next to them on a bench or pecking at their shoes under the table or flying to their shoulder. We also had a Breda cockerel mis-sent to us which we had to re-home but he was from a big breeder ranch and didn't have much handling either but he was just naturally outgoing curious unafraid and naturally friendly. I love the sweet temperament of our Ameraucana but she has extremely noisy egg songs during her laying cycle where the Breda is just as friendly and sweet but a lot less high-pitched screeching than the Ameraucana songs. Since we don't eat our backyard flock I can't attest to processed table weights.

Hope this info helps and hope more will give you their breed inputs.

 

[ChickieMama2B]

This is just my experience but Biels are no friendlier than any other breed I have.... Ameraucanas, BCM, Cream Legbars, assorted Marans. They are just bigger, calmer, maybe the best way to describe them is not as flighty but it is more like an elephant versus a monkey. Just calmer in a more lumbering big bird kind of way. I do like them very much. They are so beautiful. I am picking up 9 more chicks tomorrow and anyone that has fed Biels will enjoy the pictures I got yesterday from the breeder. She said the other day the chick feeder was upside down and when she picked it up there were Biels inside.

Wow! That is too precious! I can't wait till i have my own little fluffballs to look after! I guess as far as the calmness factor goes, I'll just have to develop a no tolerance policy, as far as the roos are concerned.