Are you Bielefelders still laying at 18-24 months?

[Debbie09011970]

My German Bielefelders will be 2 years old in June. It is currently March. I purchased 17 hens and 2 roosters. I still have 10 of those hens and a rooster from another place. They are from a hatchery so they are pure breeds. This winter, I didn't use artificial lights partly because I don't want to lower their laying years so I got very few eggs from any of my birds over winter. Now that spring is here (and more lights), my other birds are laying better but I have only gotten 2 eggs from my Bielefelders. They free range and I assume they get the nutrients they need between free ranging and what I feed them. I have found an occasionally nest but no Bielefelder eggs in them. I would know this because my Bielefelders lay huge brown eggs. So, in the past month, 10 Bielefelder hens have given me 2 eggs. Does this seem normal to anyone? They shouldn't be so old that they have cut down on their laying this much. Is this normal for Bielefelders?

 

[Mrs. K]

It was normal for me, when I had them. I loved the plumage, but they were not great layers for me.

 

[Trux]

It was normal for me, when I had them. I loved the plumage, but they were not great layers for me.

There have been issues reported with different feeds...not going to name the brands here but if you research it you will find the brands readily. You might try mixing your own, or some peeps have given there chickens goat feed and a variety of different things, all with good results.

 

[Mrs. K]

This is a very old thread, and the feed question has been disproved.

 

[bshamshad]

Beilfelders are simply not the best layers. They start laying at about 28 weeks or over and still not good breed for eggs, as someone pointed out, Feed is not the issue since the rest of the chicken breeess that I have eat the same feed so it is definitely this particular breed of chicken.

 

[teamtmo]

I know this is an old feed but wanted to post my own experience in case it comes handy to anyone.
My first flock from 9 yrs ago had one Bielefelder. She started laying around 30 weeks old. She was an amazing producer and would lay two eggs a day about 5-6 days a week! It was obviously hard on her because she would whimper and moan while laying.
Sadly, she died suddenly around 11 months old. We don’t know what happened to her but assume it had something to do with the amount of eggs she was putting out. Maybe her heart gave out? She passed suddenly right after laying her first egg of the day.
It was really traumatic because she was our favorite chicken out of our small flock. She was like a little Labrador pup: always following us around and wanting to be held and dit in our laps and be pet. She was an amazing little hen.
I haven't had another Bielefelder since, so I can’t answer to if they only lay for 18-24 months. My Bielefelder was an amazing layer but only lived to 11 months.