Bielefelder Owners: At What Age Did Your Hen(s) Start Laying?

[SBFChickenGirl]

That's very good to hear! If you have any adults you want to get rid of, send them my way

I've got a couple extra cockerels, but I'm assuming you don't want those if you're looking for eggs

 

[Chicken_Legend]

I've got a couple extra cockerels, but I'm assuming you don't want those if you're looking for eggs

Yeah, just hens. The town I live in doesn't allow roosters.

 

[LaFleche]

Do you have any suggestions for the food? Grubbies does not have any food with that high of protein.

They do not provide any starter pellets?

You could switch to any starter pellets containing 18-20% protein, and I recommend pellets so they will not be able to just snack on the grain and leave the essentials.

ETA: Every time you change their diet, do it over at least 7-10 days starting to mix in a small amount of the new feed and increasing the amount every other day. In doing so, you prevent digestive troubles and possible moulting that could happen with abrupt feed changes.

 

[Chicken_Legend]

Well, I found a nice surprise this morning. She finally laid an egg.

 

[Dave NL]

I only feed them this https://grubblyfarms.com/products/grubbly-layer-feed and dried grubs on occasion.

Whow... You're feeding your chickens a fowl version of caviar. Ridiculously expensive.. it's like feeding dogs with T-bone steaks.
Here in Europe, a good quality special chicken feed to promote laying costs less than a quarter .. In Nederlands, Belgium, Germany around $18 for 20kg = 40cts a pound

 

[Sally PB]

I have 4 Bielefelder pullets. One started laying at 29 weeks on December 1st. Another started laying yesterday. I feed them Kalmback Flock Maker, 20% protein, with oyster shell and crushed egg shells on the side.

 

[babarshamshad]

My Bielefelders are 8 months old and have not laid yet. whereas Delawares and barred rocks started at less than 6 months old. The Buff Orpington is the same age as Delaware has not started either. Delaware is the best choice. I would not get any more Bielefelders anymore.

 

[Mrs. K]

The ones I had were late layers, and not real prolific. They were eye candy, but not for breakfast so much.

 

[SchwartzLakeFarmNC]

Just wanted to add to this discussion even though it's pretty old at this point.
Our 2 Biels were hatched on May 28th 2023, 1 finally laid her first egg yesterday Feb 6th 2024, the other is just now squatting and checking out nesting boxes so hopefully within the next couple weeks for her. Big pretty brown eggs though!

 

[Awaytome]

Just wanted to add to this discussion even though it's pretty old at this point.
Our 2 Biels were hatched on May 28th 2023, 1 finally laid her first egg yesterday Feb 6th 2024, the other is just now squatting and checking out nesting boxes so hopefully within the next couple weeks for her. Big pretty brown eggs though!

My five Biels are about one week older than yours. Three are laying as of today, and the last two are giving signs of starting soon. Their eggs are pretty but surprisingly small for such large birds. I’m hoping they will get bigger with time.