Bielefelder thread!!!!

[Sally PB]

I hope they work out for you. They really are sweet, quiet birds.

That's what I want! Plus eggs.

What are the roosters like? I've had a "good with the girls, PITA to me" roo, and now have a roo that avoids me, but I don't know if he's "getting the job done" with the girls. I got him at the end of summer, and everyone is getting over their molt/hiatus right now. I've seen him mount a couple of hens, but I'm not certain the resulting eggs were fertile. It was at the end of summer, so the egg machines were winding down.

This spring/summer will tell me how he is for the flock.

 

[BlueBaby]

That's what I want! Plus eggs.

What are the roosters like? I've had a "good with the girls, PITA to me" roo, and now have a roo that avoids me, but I don't know if he's "getting the job done" with the girls. I got him at the end of summer, and everyone is getting over their molt/hiatus right now. I've seen him mount a couple of hens, but I'm not certain the resulting eggs were fertile. It was at the end of summer, so the egg machines were winding down.

This spring/summer will tell me how he is for the flock.

The rooster's will crow as they all do, but he doesn't crow all day long. Hawkeye basically crow's when the other neighborhood rooster's start crowing and figure's that he has to join in. He has never tried to peck at me. I talk the same way to them before I even go in the coop, so that way they know that it's me. They can get noisy when there is a predator, but to me that is good because it let's me know that something isn't right out there.

As far as if your rooster is making his mark or not, crack an egg open and check it for that telling bullseye.

 

[BlueBaby]

You’ll have to keep us posted on the hatch, if you can.

Don't worry, I'll post here in this thread. After all, they will all be Bielefelder's!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

That's what I want! Plus eggs.

What are the roosters like? I've had a "good with the girls, PITA to me" roo, and now have a roo that avoids me, but I don't know if he's "getting the job done" with the girls. I got him at the end of summer, and everyone is getting over their molt/hiatus right now. I've seen him mount a couple of hens, but I'm not certain the resulting eggs were fertile. It was at the end of summer, so the egg machines were winding down.

This spring/summer will tell me how he is for the flock.

My roo is very gentle on the ladies and attentive when free ranging. I haven’t seen him defend against predators, but when he alerts to the flock all freeze in place until he moves first. He does respond to the egg songs and escorts the ladies to and from nests.
I have 9 hens to 1 roo and this seems to keep everyone happy.
As for people aggression in my roo, I’ve never seen it. I simply respect his space, acknowledge him but otherwise go about my chores, walking past him.
He watches close when I have to handle the hens. I am careful to replace the hen so he can see she is calm, then I go about other chores. I handle him when I need to, mostly on the roost at night. He submits to the inspections but has not shown any aggression. At about 5-8 months my cockerel became hormonal and mated…a lot!, but not aggressive toward hens or people.
From what others say about temperament, I will agree that the Bielefelder roosters are one of the best.
ETA: my eggs are fertile.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

As far as if your rooster is making his mark or not, crack an egg open and check it for that telling bullseye.

Two fertile eggs, one being very obvious.
These eggs are from brahma and bielefelder.

 

[BlueBaby]

Two fertile eggs, one being very obvious.
These eggs are from brahma and bielefelder.

So, are you planning on doing any hatching of those this spring?

 

[Sally PB]

As far as if your rooster is making his mark or not, crack an egg open and check it for that telling bullseye.

I thought I saw a bullseye last fall. I'll look this weekend, when DH makes breakfast. We're only getting about 2 eggs every 3 days. I've seen 4 different hens in the nest, but only 1 girl in the last week or so. I sure hope production ramps up!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

So, are you planning on doing any hatching of those this spring?

I would like to give hatching a try eventually but I have too much going with establishing my tree farm on ATM . I need to purchase an incubator first, but ideally I would let a broody hatch. I don’t know that Bielefelders or Niederrhieners go broody, so having an incubator backup is important.
Next year I will get more into crossing Bielefelder with Niederrhieners.

 

[BlueBaby]

I thought I saw a bullseye last fall. I'll look this weekend, when DH makes breakfast. We're only getting about 2 eggs every 3 days. I've seen 4 different hens in the nest, but only 1 girl in the last week or so. I sure hope production ramps up!

Are the hen's comb's getting red again? That's how you will know if they are about to get back to laying egg's again or not.

 

[CaroleW]

That would be awesome! Does she have a thread going about it? I would be interested in those a few years down the road!

No thread yet on the Bielefelder/NN mix to be auto-sexing. These should lay first egg about Feb/March and I'll separate out a couple of breeding pens/runs for the project.

It will be a good learning experience since I'm not well versed on genetics (but studying and learning all the way). I have downloaded the auto-sex "recipe" file posted elsewhere here to start with.

I need to write out my project plan so I have a firm goal for guidance. My initial thoughts on goals for the NN/Bielefelder--
auto-sexing
heat tolerant (since I'm in AZ)
large birds (so could be dual purpose and perhaps less targeted by predators)
good egg layers
good temperament