A Bielefelder Thread !

[DesertChic]

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?

Most of my boys were very mild tempered, but I did have one that was very skittish and another that was...well...demanding. He would peck us REALLY hard when he wanted attention. He left bruises on me! My two favorite boys were real lap chickens. The one I still have seeks me out so he can jump up on my lap to be hugged and pet. And in spite of his affectionate nature with me, he's still the dominant rooster in my yard.

 

[chickens r life]

Sounds like they are docile for the most part. I'll take a deeper look into the breed then. Thank you!!!!

 

[Fosmorefarm]

what is the name of the page

Bielefelder Chickens Standard Bred
I corrected the problem with the link to the page, you should be able to click on it an it will take you to the page.

 

[Aziara]

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?

I would highly suggest getting more than one young cockerel to start. That way, if one of them has a bad personality, you will be able to cull him without scrambling for another rooster. I'm just hoping that one of my big knucklehead's sons turn out sweet.
Which is to say, I just had my first hatching yesterday! 4 out of 9 so far with another pipping. Two had to be helped: one pipped the small end and couldn't move, the other got shrink-wrapped in the membrane. The shrink-wrapped chick is a bit weak and lethargic, I hope it makes it.
No one has fully dried out yet, so I'm unsure on genders...

 

[Fosmorefarm]

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

 

[Sylvester017]

Last week I lost my Bielefelder Chickpea to Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome. I knew she was a big bird, we called her Chubby Chubby Chickpea, I had no idea it was a risk to her. She died at 3.1 kg. Has anyone else gone through this?

Did Chickpea display symptoms at all or was it a sudden unexpected death? I believe I lost a prolific layer to liver dysfunction of some sort but she wasn't heavy and it was a sudden death in her afternoon nap at only 11/2 yrs old. Her last two eggs were soft shelled.

 

[SqueakChicken]

Thanks @DesertChic! It makes me feel better to know that they are all chubby, and not just mine. I was worried I wasn't taking good care of her. Just an overweight bird breed!

 

[tcobbs]

You should really look into Naked Neck Turkens. The NNs are my primary breed for meat and eggs and handle both heat and humidity extremely well. In fact, two of my best laying hens are Biel/NN crosses: Misha Gypsy: These two girls took a little longer to reach POL than my pure NNs did, 22-24 weeks, but they started laying 1.8 ounce eggs from day one and supply me with eggs 5-6 days per week even now during the shorter daylight hours and without supplemental lighting. They are slightly more stressed by the heat than my pure NNs, but haven't required any exceptional cooling practices to keep them healthy...just shade and cool water like the others. They're also VERY friendly and affectionate and outstanding foragers. The NN breed in general is outstanding in most climates. I actually sold hatching eggs to a woman in Maine who wanted to increase her NN flock. Even there the birds are doing great!

YEP! I'm in Houston, Texas where July might be 112°F amd 90% humidity for days... my Naked Necks are out in the yard happy campers while everyone else is trying to stay cool. My Beilfelders tanked and died despite everything I tried. I thought I got a bad batch, and wanted to get more, but I am second guessing that. Maybe it's just not the right climate for them. Naked Necks. It is. DesertChic, maybe I'll try the NN/Beil cross because the Biel temperament makes such wonderful roosters.

 

[otakalhasas]

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!

He truly is a handsome boy with very nice color! While I am NOT a Biels expert, I have been working on my line for three years and have studied the breed quite a bit. I would offer these improvements for Archie:

I'd like to see a lower stationed (less leggy) profile
A lower set tail and longer back
Larger comb and waddles with the requisite points
More pronounced keel (breast bone)
A bit more substance

Here's a photo of my main roo - he is not perfect but to my mind is a nice roo

 

[HARRY47264]

I moved my breeders into the greenhouse last fall I have good ventilation and an evaporation system like you see in commercial chicken houses. I feel I will need additional cooling come the hot and humid Arkansas summer.
What are misters ,do they really work, are there special kinds for chickens, where can you buy them?
Have a great spring morning.
Harry