A Bielefelder Thread !

[ChickieMama2B]

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.

I am actually looking at Dorkings, right now. My greatest struggle is finding a breed that suits my needs and has an appearance that appeals to my husband.

 

[ChickieMama2B]

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.

Yes, thank you.
Right now I'm having to debate whether or not I'm willing to have to provide space for multiple breeds, if so I'll probably be looking onto rescuing battery hens for my egg layers.
I'd have to do more research in order to determine what birds I'd use for meat and hatching.
At this point I'm mostly looking at heritage breeds, but i certainly have enjoyed this thread and being able to get a few different ideas and perspectives.

 

[DesertChic]

Yes, thank you.
Right now I'm having to debate whether or not I'm willing to have to provide space for multiple breeds, if so I'll probably be looking onto rescuing battery hens for my egg layers.
I'd have to do more research in order to determine what birds I'd use for meat and hatching.
At this point I'm mostly looking at heritage breeds, but i certainly have enjoyed this thread and being able to get a few different ideas and perspectives.

At the risk of adding to the massive amount of choices available to you, I would strongly encourage you to consider NN Turkens as an outstanding dual purpose birds. I realize they are an "acquired taste" as many people can't get past their appearance, but they truly are wonderful birds with friendly, quirky and even affectionate personalities while still supplying an ample number of eggs and amount of meat. Their appearance can be far more diverse than other breeds since so many people, myself included, cross-breed these birds, and they are exceptionally hardy and healthy. My best chicken dinners have come from my NNs and my best laying hen supplies me with six 2-ounce eggs per week and has never slowed down, not even during molt...though she looks awful right now because of it. Here's a sampling of some of my birds:









And here's how one of my young cockerels processed out:

 

[otakalhasas]

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.

No butts about it, that's cute!!!! (Sorry, couldn't resist!!!!!).

 

[hellbender]

These chick-pics make me chuckle once in a while, when I just think about them. They are either the dumbest chicks in the world or the most determined...I'll lean toward the latter!

 

[Sylvester017]

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.

What a HOOT!

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes, thank you.
Right now I'm having to debate whether or not I'm willing to have to provide space for multiple breeds, if so I'll probably be looking onto rescuing battery hens for my egg layers.
I'd have to do more research in order to determine what birds I'd use for meat and hatching.
At this point I'm mostly looking at heritage breeds, but i certainly have enjoyed this thread and being able to get a few different ideas and perspectives.

Rescuing battery hens is admirable but be aware that if they had to be rescued, they probably didn't have good care as new layers, and may have health issues you may not have time or resources to bother with. A friend rescued 3 battery Sexlinks in a separate coop and one died promptly, another got eggbound and died in spite of treatment, and another was found ill and dying on the floor of the coop a few weeks later. Although battery breeds are good egg-layers they get spent in high production their first two years of life and not good after that - which is why they are discarded for newer younger birds. @DesertChic made a good suggestion about NNs if you don't mind their appearance - people who have NNs (even a Farmers Mkt egg-seller I know) say the NNs are their favourite and most NNs have great temperaments. I don't know anything about their dual purpose or economical feed reputation but DesertChic will be a good resource to ask. For myself, I have backyard pets for a few eggs, and rare or pretty purebreds are what I like. I'm done with the larger, heavier, common dual-purpose breeds because of my experience with their more assertive natures - they're great egg-layers/meat birds but in my old age now I like the gentler smaller more docile personalities of some of the less common or rarer breeds.

 

[Red Banks]

Brought home my new baby Biels and 15 BCM babies! Now...... no more chicks! I have 66 chicks! The oldest are 7 weeks, the youngest are a couple of days old. Read my lips.... No more chicks!!!
Chicken math is killing me!

 

[TNBielefelder]

Brought home my new baby Biels and 15 BCM babies! Now...... no more chicks! I have 66 chicks! The oldest are 7 weeks, the youngest are a couple of days old. Read my lips.... No more chicks!!!
Chicken math is killing me!

Did you get your Marans from Greenfire? If so let us know how they turn out.

 

[Red Banks]

Did you get your Marans from Greenfire? If so let us know how they turn out.

This is my second batch of BCMs from Feels Right Farm. My first batch is almost 8 weeks and have convinced me you can buy nice BCMs. They are Greenfire new import and Little Peddler. I need to take pictures of the 8 wk olds. They are my third attempt at BCMs. I had really given up. I am starting to think the third time will be a charm.