Bielefelder thread!!!!

[NorthwoodsChick]

I have a feeding question. I've heard that Bs eat a lot. How much would a small flock of 7-8 eat in a month? My flock of 7 (no Bs in it) go through 50 pounds of all flock in about a month. I have 6 hens (Australorps and Orpington) and 1 Chantecler rooster.

I have 5 biels and 3 niederrhieners (similar type of pig) plus a brahma and EE (10) with at least 7 laying. They can’t forage now so #50 lb of 17% all flock pellet lasts 3-3.5 weeks. I also give 1/3 lb sprout barley every day-ever other day in winter. (2-3ft snow on ground right now). In summer most free ranged very well all day and my feed lasted 6 weeks minimum. The roosters are great attendants. I can’t speak to how well roos are against predators bc I’ve been luck not to have losses yet.

ETA: I think they consume more in the first 6-7 months then level out, IMO

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

2 of my 4 bielefelder boys got some significant frostbite on the combs and wattles in that recent cold snap, but everyone seems to be doing ok now.

I do free range my mixed flock of 25, but they go through a bit less than a 50 lb bag of feed in a week. 10 chickens are about 20mo. The other 15 are 9mo including my 10 bielefelders (4 cockerels and 6 pullets.)

Hope they are doing ok. How did your females do?
I have a couple 10month old hens with less than stellar tips, and my roo with one wattle end he will lose. Nipple waterer- he tilts his head to the left and dribbles—weirdo!

 

[BlueBaby]

ETA: I think they consume more in the first 6-7 months then level out, IMO

I agree that the younger one's seem to eat more. I figured they did that because the older one's run them away at treat time. When I pull up weed's for mine (since I do not free-range), I break some of it up unto smaller pieces that I can toss behind me where the younger one's wait for it.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I agree that the younger one's seem to eat more. I figured they did that because the older one's run them away at treat time. When I pull up weed's for mine (since I do not free-range), I break some of it up unto smaller pieces that I can toss behind me where the younger one's wait for it.

I have one younger biel that has finally been accepted as equal by the older biels. She is now joining in on the chase against her brooder mates in order to get treats. She also hangs out with all the biels in the run and if they venture outside. Seeks out Spatch, the roo!!
Birds of a feather…

 

[BlueBaby]

I have one younger biel that has finally been accepted as equal by the older biels. She is now joining in on the chase against her brooder mates in order to get treats. She also hangs out with all the biels in the run and if they venture outside. Seeks out Spatch, the roo!!
Birds of a feather…

2 of my younger pullet's will start laying sometime next month, and 4 younger pullet's will start laying in April. They were from different hatching egg's that I had ordered from different states. That's why I have the staggered ages.

 

[BlueBaby]

I seen the hawk a couple times today while I was out there pulling up weed's eyeballing my flock in the pen. I talked to my neighbor across the street and found out that there are 2 hawk's, not just one hawk. The lady said that she went out to her back yard and seen one of the hawk's sitting on top of her coop one day and chased it off. Meanwhile another lady that lives next door to her had all of her flock killed by the hawk's already, as she free-ranged her's.

 

[Bobmc914]

Hope they are doing ok. How did your females do?
I have a couple 10month old hens with less than stellar tips, and my roo with one wattle end he will lose. Nipple waterer- he tilts his head to the left and dribbles—weirdo!

The pullets did fine. I have one black australorp hen who may lose a few points. Looks like my two best boys may lose a few points, and some wattle, but everyone seems to be healthy otherwise. I'm just keeping an eye on them to see if they heal up or lose a few bits.

 

[BlueBaby]

Well that chicken math just grabbed me again. I just ordered a dozen Bielefelder hatching egg's from Omega Hill's Farm this time to add to my gene pool of them.

 

[Sally PB]

Really (really-really) thinking of get Bielefelders for my flock expansion this spring. Just pullets; I have a rooster and plan to keep him. He's a Chantecler, so any hatching of my own eggs would just be mutts, and that's ok.

I might transition my flock to mostly Biels over a few years. If I get a few pullet chicks this year, I can see how I like them. All the hens and roo I have now are going to live out their lives here, so I'm not looking to do a major switcheroo.

 

[Iluveggers]

We have a Biele in our June order! So excited!