McChooky
Free Ranging
Love to see how your chicks are doing.Any updates?
My experience with bielefelders so far
- Thread starter docdubz
- Start date
Mtn Homestead
Chirping
- Jun 1, 2021
- 49
- 96
- 96
Finally remembered to snap a few pictures while I was out there yesterday! I noticed when I came in that my lens was smudged, so some pics are a little blurry.
We lost several of the Biel females in the brooder. Not sure why they seemed more prone to death than the other chicks, and not sure what the problem was.
All the males survived, and we still have some of the females. They seem to be doing well now! 
We decided on names for all the Bielefelder roosters:
Sheriff (he already seems to be keeping the peace pretty well in the flock, even though he is younger than many of them)
Deputy
Roy Rogers
Lone Ranger
Tonto
We haven't named the girls yet.
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McChooky
Free Ranging
To create a similar feathering rare breed called a Welbar take a Welsummer rooster and breed him to a barred rock hen .Pick the best black barred cockerel from their breeding to breed back to Welsummer hens to get brown barred chicks that produce Welbars.Finally remembered to snap a few pictures while I was out there yesterday! I noticed when I came in that my lens was smudged, so some pics are a little blurry.
We lost several of the Biel females in the brooder. Not sure why they seemed more prone to death than the other chicks, and not sure what the problem was.
We decided on names for all the Bielefelder roosters:
Sheriff (he already seems to be keeping the peace pretty well in the flock, even though he is younger than many of them)
Deputy
Roy Rogers
Lone Ranger
Tonto
We haven't named the girls yet.
LaurenRitz
Crowing
I have a biel pullet and a rooster. The pullet was supposed to be a rooster (how does a supposedly professional hatchery mess up an auto sexing breed?) and is the lowest on the pecking order. She had some medical problems as a chick and I won't be using her for breeding.
The rooster came from a friend. They have only Bielefelders and had extra roosters so they gave me one. They said the roosters are very gentle with the girls, and so far that has proven to be the case. My rooster led a dog away from the girls the first time they free ranged, and he's always finding treats for them. They seem to adore him and will run after him if he gets too far away. He is very protective and alert.
The rooster came from a friend. They have only Bielefelders and had extra roosters so they gave me one. They said the roosters are very gentle with the girls, and so far that has proven to be the case. My rooster led a dog away from the girls the first time they free ranged, and he's always finding treats for them. They seem to adore him and will run after him if he gets too far away. He is very protective and alert.
I have a whole flock of these going now that I hatched last year from shipped hatching eggs from ebay and this year I recently hatched out some from Omega Hill's Farm in Mississippi. I am happy with mine. The picture of the chick's has 5 pullets and 1 cockerel.
I have 3 Bielefelder pullets coming in May from Mt. Healthy. I'm really looking forward to having them in my flock.
- Feb 3, 2018
- 486
- 517
- 188
I've had my Bielefelders for 5 years now. I bought mine from a private breeder. This is my experience.
They are very calm birds. I have not had any issues with either my girls or boy. Most of the time you can just walk up to them and pick them up.
I haven't experienced any more or less aggressiveness in breeding. I think maybe the size of the rooster causes some injuries, but nothing excessive. My experience with roosters of different breeds as well as Bielefelders is , they will breed when they want to breed whether the hen is a willing participant or not.
They are gluttons for sure. They are BIG eaters. Never turn down a meal. Maybe more free ranging can reduce "feed" consumption. Honestly most of the large breeds are big eaters. My RIR rival my Biels in eating , so not sure if it's just a Bielefelder issue. My Orps are also big eaters.
Eggs size is impressive , for the first two years , but tapers off quickly. My eggs have an orangish / tan tone some with speckles and some solid.
Food cost isn't a concern for me , so I would get some again. I would look for high quality birds.
If temperament is important , I would give them a chance. If food cost to yield is important I would probably look at sex links
They are very calm birds. I have not had any issues with either my girls or boy. Most of the time you can just walk up to them and pick them up.
I haven't experienced any more or less aggressiveness in breeding. I think maybe the size of the rooster causes some injuries, but nothing excessive. My experience with roosters of different breeds as well as Bielefelders is , they will breed when they want to breed whether the hen is a willing participant or not.
They are gluttons for sure. They are BIG eaters. Never turn down a meal. Maybe more free ranging can reduce "feed" consumption. Honestly most of the large breeds are big eaters. My RIR rival my Biels in eating , so not sure if it's just a Bielefelder issue. My Orps are also big eaters.
Eggs size is impressive , for the first two years , but tapers off quickly. My eggs have an orangish / tan tone some with speckles and some solid.
Food cost isn't a concern for me , so I would get some again. I would look for high quality birds.
If temperament is important , I would give them a chance. If food cost to yield is important I would probably look at sex links
- Feb 3, 2018
- 486
- 517
- 188
I forgot to mention that my Biel hens go broody regularly
This thread hasn't been active in several months, but I thought I'd post about my four Bielefelder girls. I got them from Mt. Healthy as day old chicks in mid-May.
They are 28 weeks old. Robin looks like she could lay Any. Day. Now. Her comb and wattles are much bigger and redder than the others' and she has been in the nestbox. I've seen her sit in there, scratch around, and hang out for 10-15 minutes. She's also gotten noisy.
Another one of them, Pip, was the smallest, and is still smaller than they rest, though I don't have any weights, so I can't be sure. Pip's comb popped up at 5 weeks. I was suspicious that perhaps she was a he, and not a Bielefelder. I got an extra chick, and lots of chicks, male and female, have the "chipmunk" stripe look. Nope, Pip is a Biel pullet. Of that I'm sure now. Whew.
They were brooder raised. When they first went outside at 5-ish weeks, Pip picked up coccidiosis. Twice I found blood in the shavings under where I'd seen her roosting, and she was very lethargic. A course of Corid, and she was fine.
That is the only health issue I have had with my Biels. They are friendly, seem to get along well with the other birds in my flock. Sunny and Pip are my "lap chickens." The other two will sit near me, but are less likely to get on my lap.
I'm still waiting for eggs. We're in the waning hours of daylight time of year, so I won't be surprised if the don't lay until after New Years.
I expected my feed bill to double, since I was nearly doubling my flock; I went from 6 to 11 birds total. I'd say it's nearly double, so no surprise there. I feed Kalmbach Flock Maker. Their main "treat" is that feed, wetted into a mash. They get some other things (a pumpkin from a neighbor, yum!), but treats are kept to a minimum.
I would say that so far, my experience with Bielefelders has been very positive. I probably won't be adding to my flock until at least 2025, or even later. I'm maxed out on birds for my space. But based on what I've seen so far, I wouldn't hesitate to get more Bielefelders.
They are 28 weeks old. Robin looks like she could lay Any. Day. Now. Her comb and wattles are much bigger and redder than the others' and she has been in the nestbox. I've seen her sit in there, scratch around, and hang out for 10-15 minutes. She's also gotten noisy.
Another one of them, Pip, was the smallest, and is still smaller than they rest, though I don't have any weights, so I can't be sure. Pip's comb popped up at 5 weeks. I was suspicious that perhaps she was a he, and not a Bielefelder. I got an extra chick, and lots of chicks, male and female, have the "chipmunk" stripe look. Nope, Pip is a Biel pullet. Of that I'm sure now. Whew.
They were brooder raised. When they first went outside at 5-ish weeks, Pip picked up coccidiosis. Twice I found blood in the shavings under where I'd seen her roosting, and she was very lethargic. A course of Corid, and she was fine.
That is the only health issue I have had with my Biels. They are friendly, seem to get along well with the other birds in my flock. Sunny and Pip are my "lap chickens." The other two will sit near me, but are less likely to get on my lap.
I'm still waiting for eggs. We're in the waning hours of daylight time of year, so I won't be surprised if the don't lay until after New Years.
I expected my feed bill to double, since I was nearly doubling my flock; I went from 6 to 11 birds total. I'd say it's nearly double, so no surprise there. I feed Kalmbach Flock Maker. Their main "treat" is that feed, wetted into a mash. They get some other things (a pumpkin from a neighbor, yum!), but treats are kept to a minimum.
I would say that so far, my experience with Bielefelders has been very positive. I probably won't be adding to my flock until at least 2025, or even later. I'm maxed out on birds for my space. But based on what I've seen so far, I wouldn't hesitate to get more Bielefelders.
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