A Bielefelder Thread !

[HARRY47264]

I haven't had any die from that, but I do know that Biels pack on a whole lotta fat, and the more mature ones I've culled have all had fatty liver, and the last rooster I culled had over 2 cups of extra fat on his body, not counting all the fat surrounding his organs. He was over 4.5 kg live weight and processed out at over 3.2 kg AFTER removing all that fat.

I haven't had any die from that, but I do know that Biels pack on a whole lotta fat, and the more mature ones I've culled have all had fatty liver, and the last rooster I culled had over 2 cups of extra fat on his body, not counting all the fat surrounding his organs. He was over 4.5 kg live weight and processed out at over 3.2 kg AFTER removing all that fat.

How do you know that is what killed her did you take her to a vet for an autopsy Just wondering I never heard of it
Harry

 

[DesertChic]

How do you know that is what killed her did you take her to a vet for an autopsy Just wondering I never heard of it
Harry

Was your question meant for me or @SqueakChicken ?

I know my girl died of heat stroke because the temp hit 110*F while I was away from home and the Biels have proven over the past two years to NOT be heat tolerant. When the temp was cooler that morning she was fine, but as the day heated up she became more and more stressed. I know the rooster I culled had fatty liver disease because I examined the liver when I butchered him, and I already know what fatty liver looks like in both humans and animals.

 

[HARRY47264]

Was your question meant for me or @SqueakChicken ?

I know my girl died of heat stroke because the temp hit 110*F while I was away from home and the Biels have proven over the past two years to NOT be heat tolerant. When the temp was cooler that morning she was fine, but as the day heated up she became more and more stressed. I know the rooster I culled had fatty liver disease because I examined the liver when I butchered him, and I already know what fatty liver looks like in both humans and animals.

My question was directed to Squeakchicken but I was wondering what it looks like and is it detectable without butchering and what are the preventive measures I have never heard of it.
Thanks
Harry

 

[I Love Layers]

How long does everyone's Bielefelders live? Archie is at around 3 to 4 years so I'm Hoping I can set some eggs quickly out of them just to ensure I can hopefully have a backup rooster and hen just in case.

 

[HARRY47264]

If we are interested in keeping these Bielefelders pure and promoting the SOP we must not sell of give away these culled roosters unless you know the bird is going to the dinner table. I plan on hatching every big egg I can.I won't sell anything till next year. Your culled roosters are going to spread these unwanted genes all over the place like a disease. The breeder I bought from is very conscious about substandard birds .I got six pretty red eared large hens and two roos they are a year old now. One of the roos ended up with a white tail feather and I culled him I also culled one hen that was a bit smaller then the others I didn't kill them just sent them to the egg laying pen. She told me a lot of breeders will pull out white tail feathers before sale.If you get a roo without white tail feathers with 6 points on his comb and none of those bumps on the side of his comb hang on to him. Next year I will only sell what I consider quality birds to people who are interested in a breeding program and demand top $. I will also sell substandard hens as good egg layers without a rooster. If you sell these substandard birds and advertise them Bielefelders it puts $ signs in people's eyes and I feel it will come back to bite you in the butt if you are working towards the SOP. I practice the same with my Cream Legbars I have about 20 Bieles and CLs 5 weeks old yesterday with 53 eggs in the incubators.by the end of the year I will cull down to about 12 hens of each the best of the best of the best.
These are all my ideas and practices not intending to tell anybody how to raise them it just seems like common sense to me.
hope you have a wonderful spring day
Harry

 

[Birdydeb]

Interesting. I have dealt with Fatty Liver Disease in parrots but never thought about it in chickens. It pretty much makes sense though that a bird developed to get big and hefty and that supposedly eats like a pig(don't have mine yet) would be at risk for Fatty Liver. I know what you do with parrots. Put them on a low fat diet and use milk thistle and dandelion to treat the liver. There are medications too that can be gotten from an Avian vet. Probably the smartest thing would be an attempt at prevention? Certainly something to think about. Hmmm....wonder if chickens instinctively know dandelion is good for them. I have often watched my mixed flock fight over dandelions I have pulled from the yard and thrown to them.

I am glad this came up. Fatty Liver has hovered in the back of my mind therefore I am always throwing my chickens some dandelions or even buying dandelion greens for them if necessary. Not daily(unless it is spring and I want them out of my yard LOL) but fairly regularly. It is just good for their liver. Being new to Bieles I just wonder if it is safe or prudent to try to feed them a lower fat feed. Anybody know?

 

[I Love Layers]

I'm assuming some of you breed to a SOP of some sort so what do you think of Archie. I finally got a picture of him!

 

[Bine]

Biels gain fat very fast. Before the modern broiler hybirds that are raised on grain "broiler chicken" were mostly raised on the compost and manure. People just hadn't the money to feed lost of grain to any lifestock. Here in germany we are known for our many varieties of dark bread but the shocking truth is that only 100 years ago only very wealthy people could afford wheat bread. The only grain that did well here was rye and rye is not good for chickens. Only modern farm technics and new varieties of wheat made it possible to harvest wheat in good quality here. The Bielefelders may not be an old breed but the breeds that were used to create them did well on the traditional chicken food: the dung hill.

 

[DesertChic]

Interesting. I have dealt with Fatty Liver Disease in parrots but never thought about it in chickens. It pretty much makes sense though that a bird developed to get big and hefty and that supposedly eats like a pig(don't have mine yet) would be at risk for Fatty Liver. I know what you do with parrots. Put them on a low fat diet and use milk thistle and dandelion to treat the liver. There are medications too that can be gotten from an Avian vet. Probably the smartest thing would be an attempt at prevention? Certainly something to think about. Hmmm....wonder if chickens instinctively know dandelion is good for them. I have often watched my mixed flock fight over dandelions I have pulled from the yard and thrown to them.

I am glad this came up. Fatty Liver has hovered in the back of my mind therefore I am always throwing my chickens some dandelions or even buying dandelion greens for them if necessary. Not daily(unless it is spring and I want them out of my yard LOL) but fairly regularly. It is just good for their liver. Being new to Bieles I just wonder if it is safe or prudent to try to feed them a lower fat feed. Anybody know?

Biels gain fat very fast. Before the modern broiler hybirds that are raised on grain "broiler chicken" were mostly raised on the compost and manure. People just hadn't the money to feed lost of grain to any lifestock. Here in germany we are known for our many varieties of dark bread but the shocking truth is that only 100 years ago only very wealthy people could afford wheat bread. The only grain that did well here was rye and rye is not good for chickens. Only modern farm technics and new varieties of wheat made it possible to harvest wheat in good quality here. The Bielefelders may not be an old breed but the breeds that were used to create them did well on the traditional chicken food: the dung hill.

My personal thoughts are that the Biels should be allowed to forage as much as possible given what I've seen of birds raised primarily on chicken feed. One thing about living in the desert...there's very little greens for them to forage here. My Biels and my Naked Necks were raised side by side, free-ranging together, on whatever they can find in the dirt most of the year with occasional greens popping up during monsoons and supplemental greens I try to grow for them as often as possible. (Gardening isn't easy here in the desert either, and I'm not a very good gardener to begin with.) The NNs I've butchered have minimal fat compared to the Biels, typically just enough to add flavor and succulence. Even compared to other fully feathered heavy breeds I've raised there's really no comparison...the Biels are hugely fatty. So...yeah...I think less grain and more "natural" forage would be ideal for them.

 

[chickens r life]

What temperament do the males normally have? I know that it is generally based on the specific personality but do they tend to be nice to the ladies and respectful to humans?