Bielefelder thread!!!!

[Sally PB]

Thank you!!!

 

[Sally PB]

OMG... They have a 3 chick minimum order (+$30, haha). So for $100, I could get my 3 biels, and a blue Australorp.

I have 2 blues, but I think they aren't very good quality. One is more lavender, and both lost the feathers on their backs due to rooster attention. I have 3 black Aussies that didn't have any feather issues, so I'm wondering if my blues were actually lavender...? Anyway, I'd like another one to compare to.

Do you guys recommend vaccinating against Mareks? I have NO signs of it in my current flock, thank goodness. I don't know if any of my birds were vacc'ed.

 

[Sally PB]

Ok, so if you were choosing among hatcheries... who would you order from?
Cackle
Murray Mc Murray
Mt Healthy
Other...?

 

[Iluveggers]

Ok, so if you were choosing among hatcheries... who would you order from?
Cackle
Murray Mc Murray
Mt Healthy
Other...?

Depends on what I wanted & how many…

I like Cackle’s selection best, but their 3 of each breed, weird shipping rates, & minimum 25 chicks turns me off. I loved working with McMurray last year. They do not have Lavender/Blue pullets except Cochins, which is why I went w Mt Healthy. Two of my neighbors have chicks from Mt Healthy and they said they were great to work with.

I like using Ideal too, (but they don’t have Bilelefelder).

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I have an almost 2wk old roo from McMurray. So far he’s quite sweet. One of the first ones to come up when I’m cleaning the brooder and doesn’t complain when I’m handling him. Photos are when he first arrived and 1wk old. View attachment 2669845View attachment 2669846

omg, That right there may be the most adorable baby chicken I have EVER seen. Look at how healthy all his bits are

 

[Sally PB]

Thanks for the input about hatcheries, @Iluveggers.

My neighbor is slow to get back to me about any of this, other than she's interested in splitting an order. I don't want to miss getting Biels because I wait for her.

I know she is very busy; she and her hubby have a business and home school 3 boys. I'm retired, so I don't have demands on my time the way she does.

The maximum number of birds I want to add is 4, so Mt. Healthy may be where I order as they have a 3 minimum. Yeah, I'm going to have to pay $30 extra, but I really want what I want, so that's doable.

 

[Iluveggers]

Thanks for the input about hatcheries, @Iluveggers.

My neighbor is slow to get back to me about any of this, other than she's interested in splitting an order. I don't want to miss getting Biels because I wait for her.

I know she is very busy; she and her hubby have a business and home school 3 boys. I'm retired, so I don't have demands on my time the way she does.

The maximum number of birds I want to add is 4, so Mt. Healthy may be where I order as they have a 3 minimum. Yeah, I'm going to have to pay $30 extra, but I really want what I want, so that's doable.

At least you could get your date booked, and if she adds on 6 more, they’ll change it for you, and shipping will go down to $15. Each person gets to pick a chick in my house, and the Bielefelder was my pick! So excited! When are you ordering for? Mine aren’t until June, so please tag me when yours come so I can see the little babies!

 

[CaroleW]

OMG... They have a 3 chick minimum order (+$30, haha). So for $100, I could get my 3 biels, and a blue Australorp.

I have 2 blues, but I think they aren't very good quality. One is more lavender, and both lost the feathers on their backs due to rooster attention. I have 3 black Aussies that didn't have any feather issues, so I'm wondering if my blues were actually lavender...? Anyway, I'd like another one to compare to.

Do you guys recommend vaccinating against Mareks? I have NO signs of it in my current flock, thank goodness. I don't know if any of my birds were vacc'ed.

Make sure they don't throw in "packing peanut" roos for warmth in small orders. If they do that you'd be better off just getting some cheap sex-link females to give away to someone.

That's what a friend of mine does - she orders the cheapest egg layer hybrids as "packing peanuts". She gave me six of them and I gave them to another friend after a year.

 

[Sally PB]

At least you could get your date booked, and if she adds on 6 more, they’ll change it for you, and shipping will go down to $15. Each person gets to pick a chick in my house, and the Bielefelder was my pick! So excited! When are you ordering for? Mine aren’t until June, so please tag me when yours come so I can see the little babies!

Ooo! Would Mt Healthy let me add on? Sorry, not on their site atm. That would be awesome if I could lock in my order, and then my neighbor could make my price go down!

I need to talk to hubby about when we're going to add onto the coop. I'm thinking it'll be May, but if we have a nice warm stretch in April, I would rather do it then.

I want to get chicks by mid-May at the latest, if possible. When I got chicks in March, we had eggs in August. When I got chicks in June, we had one only egg layer in November.

If I have a broody, it would just be lucky timing. I'm totally ready to set up my brooder crate. I'd almost rather brood in a crate. Then I could play with them... But then there's integration, so...

Believe me, when I order and get a date, EVERYONE will hear about it!

 

[Iluveggers]

Ooo! Would Mt Healthy let me add on? Sorry, not on their site atm. That would be awesome if I could lock in my order, and then my neighbor could make my price go down!

I need to talk to hubby about when we're going to add onto the coop. I'm thinking it'll be May, but if we have a nice warm stretch in April, I would rather do it then.

I want to get chicks by mid-May at the latest, if possible. When I got chicks in March, we had eggs in August. When I got chicks in June, we had one only egg layer in November.

If I have a broody, it would just be lucky timing. I'm totally ready to set up my brooder crate. I'd almost rather brood in a crate. Then I could play with them... But then there's integration, so...

Believe me, when I order and get a date, EVERYONE will hear about it!

I believe if you call, you can add on to an order as long as it isn’t too close to your ship date & they still have availability! I wanted a Lavender Orpington, but they are only available through the first week of June, but she said sometimes they will see how they are laying and expand the hatchlings a few weeks. So I’ll be checking in May, and she said I could just call and add one or switch out one!