A Bielefelder Thread !

[jbkirk]

Do you think that it is shipping that causes the low hatch rate? Or is it general fertility? I just put 3 dozen eggs into the incubator from my mixed flock. Right now the laying hens are 2 Bielefelders, 2 SL Wyandottes, 1 Buff Orp, and 1 Black Australorp. My Bielefelder roo is 16.5 weeks old and has been "taking care of the girls for 3 weeks. We can't eat the eggs (antibiotics

) so I thought I'd see if he was doing his job!

I am hoping for a few Bielefelders, and will sell the rest as mixes.

Does anyone have any idea of fertility in Biels? Or if a roo needs some "practice" before he gets it right? The girls have stopped screeching, and just sit there for the 2 seconds it takes.

BTW I am having hilarious conversations with my 20 year old son, and his friends when they learn about chickens mating.

My fertility has been excellent but others have had problems because the cock just didn't have the impulse!!! like with @Chickielady s old cock!

 

[otakalhasas]

Both of my roos were incubator hatched & imprinted on us. My DD handled one roo a little, but the other was supposed to be sold. He was the slightly skittish one & always ran away from us. When they started crowing (for real), I started putting them in the garage at night so my neighbors can sleep in. One boy we could simply bend down & pick up at any time, but we had to wait until roosting time to grab his brother. Every night they get carried to their cage in the garage (& receive a little bedtime snack for being good boys) & every morning, they get carried to the yard to be reunited with their girls. They don't squirm or fuss because they know a reward awaits them. The skittish one just gradually got used to the routine. Now we can pick either one up at any time & they'll take treats from our hand. Often I carry a roo under each arm, so I only have to make one trip. Neither will jump into my lap for snuggles, but I have hens for that.

The only part that is not ideal is the morning hormones. The boys have to go all night without hens, so there's some chasing when I first set them down.

Sounds like a good routine! How old are they?

 

[Faraday40]

Sounds like a good routine! How old are they?

about 16 mo. They're full-sized orps. I started the garage routine around age 4 months, they were used to it by 7 mo, and now their legs just dangle & I can pick them up with one arm if needed. I go in the coop at night & scoop one off the roost. Occasionally the other will jump down & wait by the coop door for me to pick him up.

 

[otakalhasas]

about 16 mo. They're full-sized orps. I started the garage routine around age 4 months, they were used to it by 7 mo, and now their legs just dangle & I can pick them up with one arm if needed. I go in the coop at night & scoop one off the roost. Occasionally the other will jump down & wait by the coop door for me to pick him up.

Way cool!!!!!

 

[Chickielady]

The ironic thing about having lost Gretel is that her sister, Gidget, seems to have assumed Gretel's "duties". Gretel was the protector of my little Buff Silkie hen, and also was the "talker" in the flock, always making funny noises, greeting me with a particular series of sounds, and literally responding to me when I spoke to her. Gidget never made a sound....until now. Suddenly she's the one to run up and greet me with nearly identical sounds to what Gretel used to say, comes to sit on my lap and hold conversations with me, and has taken over the responsibility of shielding my Silkie from the meaner hens and all amorous boys except my Biel roosters. The only thing she does differently is roost at night instead of laying on the floor with the Silkie and the Frizzled EEs. It's been an interesting dynamic to observe.

Chickens never cease to impress, astound, educate and amuse me.

 

[Saris]

Soon I will have to narrow it down to just one boy......






This one has a LOT of red in the wings



My big boy!





The left most one has the most even distribution of color, but the bottom one is the biggest.



Thoughts? I also have a little baby Biele boy, I'm hoping he ends up looking nicer than these ones.

 

[bluejean55girl]

Soon I will have to narrow it down to just one boy...... This one has a LOT of red in the wings My big boy! The left most one has the most even distribution of color, but the bottom one is the biggest. Thoughts? I also have a little baby Biele boy, I'm hoping he ends up looking nicer than these ones.

supposedly they say to build the house first. You can always work on color later. Might think about keeping a second roo for a backup. So maybe the first one for size and the second one for color?

 

[Coop de Grass]

Both of my roos were incubator hatched & imprinted on us. My DD handled one roo a little, but the other was supposed to be sold. He was the slightly skittish one & always ran away from us. When they started crowing (for real), I started putting them in the garage at night so my neighbors can sleep in. One boy we could simply bend down & pick up at any time, but we had to wait until roosting time to grab his brother. Every night they get carried to their cage in the garage (& receive a little bedtime snack for being good boys) & every morning, they get carried to the yard to be reunited with their girls. They don't squirm or fuss because they know a reward awaits them. The skittish one just gradually got used to the routine. Now we can pick either one up at any time & they'll take treats from our hand. Often I carry a roo under each arm, so I only have to make one trip. Neither will jump into my lap for snuggles, but I have hens for that.

The only part that is not ideal is the morning hormones. The boys have to go all night without hens, so there's some chasing when I first set them down.

I like the idea of keeping them in the garage at night. I will have to try to work that out, but at the moment my neighbors are ok with it. Sometimes they crow during the day, but the sound of the leaf blowers and lawnmowers is much louder!

Great idea

 

[DesertChic]

Soon I will have to narrow it down to just one boy......






This one has a LOT of red in the wings



My big boy!



The left most one has the most even distribution of color, but the bottom one is the biggest.



Thoughts? I also have a little baby Biele boy, I'm hoping he ends up looking nicer than these ones.

First, I don't envy you the task of choosing your keeper(s), especially with this breed since they're usually so incredibly sweet. Second, I agree with @bluejean55girl that considering keeping a second cockerel for backup may be a good idea. You never know what the future may hold and if you're planning to breed pure for more chicks, it's always nice to have a backup. And third......What's your priority to breed towards? Body shape? Color? Temperament? That above all us should determine which one is your keeper.

When I chose my two Biel cockerel keepers, back when I was still planning to breed them, I chose first for temperament/personality because it was important to me to have birds I could easily handle, and at least one of my two preferred was also an exceptional rooster when dealing with the other birds in my flock. I wound up with two very different body shapes. My "great uniter of flocks" rooster, Hansel, is very large, weighs about 11 pounds now, but actually has a frame more conducive to an egg-laying bird than a meat bird. His breast is not terribly prominent, and his body is more streamlined. My second lovable rooster, Bosch, is only about 9 pounds, but has a more rounded breast and carries more meat overall on his frame, making him better for breeding meat birds. And all of the cross-breeds I've hatched from these two have consistently followed this pattern, with the chicks Bosch sired proving to be meatier, and the chicks Hansel sired producing more eggs.

 

[Saris]

First, I don't envy you the task of choosing your keeper(s), especially with this breed since they're usually so incredibly sweet. Second, I agree with @bluejean55girl
 that considering keeping a second cockerel for backup may be a good idea. You never know what the future may hold and if you're planning to breed pure for more chicks, it's always nice to have a backup. And third......What's your priority to breed towards? Body shape? Color? Temperament? That above all us should determine which one is your keeper. 

When I chose my two Biel cockerel keepers, back when I was still planning to breed them, I chose first for temperament/personality because it was important to me to have birds I could easily handle, and at least one of my two preferred was also an exceptional rooster when dealing with the other birds in my flock. I wound up with two very different body shapes. My "great uniter of flocks" rooster, Hansel, is very large, weighs about 11 pounds now, but actually has a frame more conducive to an egg-laying bird than a meat bird. His breast is not terribly prominent, and his body is more streamlined. My second lovable rooster, Bosch, is only about 9 pounds, but has a more rounded breast and carries more meat overall on his frame, making him better for breeding meat birds. And all of the cross-breeds I've hatched from these two have consistently followed this pattern, with the chicks Bosch sired proving to be meatier, and the chicks Hansel sired producing more eggs. 

I think at this stage we would prefer to choose for egg production. We will likely only have one or two hatches before our keeper is replaced by my Ameruacana boys. But once we move we will be sourcing another boy. So for egg production I should look for a streamlined body with long back and wide pelvis?