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Until recently, Bielefelder chickens, unknown to anyone, are rapidly gaining popularity today. Although, from the point of view of the chickens themselves, they are not such a young breed.
Bielefelders were bred in the 70s of the last century in the town of the same name. Four meat-egg breeds of chickens took part in the creation of these chickens at once. Initially bred as an autosex breed, that is, chickens of this breed can be distinguished by sex from the first day of life, the Bielefelder in the 76th year was presented at the exhibition as the “German Defined”. In fact, it is impossible to demand from the creator of the breed also rich imagination. However, in the 78th year, the breed was renamed after the place of breeding – the city of Bielefeld.
It was registered as a breed by the German Pedigree Poultry Federation in 80. And already in the 84th, a dwarf version of the Bielefelder was registered.
Description of the Bielefelder chicken breed
Bielefelders have a very beautiful and original color. They are not just variegated, they also have several colors in color, iridescent into each other. In this case, the speck is evenly scattered throughout the body. This color is called “krill”. Roosters of this breed are usually lighter in color than hens and have a wider range of colors.
The body of the male is quite elongated with a long back and a wide deep chest. With a large body and medium-sized wings, the Bielefelder cock has some difficulties with flying to the fence, despite well-developed powerful shoulders. The crest is large, erect, leaf-shaped. The tail is not long, but bushy.
Chickens can have a rather dark color, which would be similar to the color of a wild chicken, if not for the same specks all over the body.
And they can have a color similar to the color of roosters and be light.
And maybe even with a red mane.
If chickens from a dark mother hen can be separated by sex from the first day, then from a light chicken they may not differ from each other in color at all.
Chickens differ from roosters, except for color, with a more rounded body with a large forward inclination. The belly of chickens is voluminous.
Outwardly, Bielefelder chickens look like a large imposing bird, which in fact they are. The weight of a one-year-old rooster, according to the standard, should be 3,5 – 4 kg, a two-year-old is gaining 4,5 kg. Half-year-old bettas weigh 3-3,8 kg. The total weight of a two-year-old chicken is up to 4 kg. A one-year-old hen should weigh up to 3,2 kg. A chicken – pullet 2,5 – 3 kg. Bielefelders move rather slowly, which may be facilitated by relatively short legs with non-feathered metatarsus compared to a large body.
Bielefelder at the exhibition:
Productive characteristics of Bielefelder chickens
Chickens of this breed begin to rush from six months, reaching a peak productivity of 1-2 years. After three years of age, Bielefelder egg production drops.
Bielefelders carry an average of 210 eggs per year, and according to German standards, an egg must weigh at least 60 g.
Chickens evenly rush throughout the year, but only under the condition of a long daylight hours. In winter, they need to install artificial lighting. If the daylight hours are shorter than 14 hours, the hens stop laying.
The advantages of the breed, of course, include the ability to separate the hens from the cockerels from the first day.
In the photo of day old chickens, the difference between future laying hens and roosters is clearly visible. The hens are darker in color, they have light stripes on their backs and a dark head. Males are lighter, with a white spot on the head. There are only two cockerels in this photo.
Features of keeping and feeding Bielefelder
The breed is practically unknown in Our Country. Happy owners of Bielefelder chickens can be counted almost on the fingers. Therefore, almost all the information that a person who wants to get this breed of chickens can receive is advertising and does not focus on certain nuances.
Frost resistance. Advertising presents the breed as frost-resistant, but does not specify what this really means. In fact, this does not mean that chickens can spend the night in the snowdrifts of Alaska, it only means that at air temperatures down to -15 ° C they can walk in an aviary without a canopy. But they should spend the night in a warm chicken coop.
The second advantage in advertising is the ability of Bielefelder chickens to get their own food on their own.. But this advantage is also possessed by any other chicken that has the possibility of free range, and only in the summer. In winter, chicken of any breed must be fed. At least not a single chicken has yet learned to tear the snow and frozen ground half a meter deep.
If Bielefelders are kept in an aviary, then even in summer all their “excellent foraging qualities” are reduced to zero, since pasture in the aviary will quickly end.
Even in the photo, the Bielefelder looks like a rather massive chicken. As a large bird, the Bielefelder needs a diet high in protein and vitamins. They also need calcium to produce eggs. Therefore, Bielefelders need to be fed year-round with complete chicken feed.
The breeder’s goal was to develop a breed of chickens that is resistant to diseases, fast growing, with a calm character, having a good taste of meat and high egg production. These goals have been achieved. One of the goals was also the same frost resistance. If we recall that in Germany in the last third of the twentieth century, -15 in winter was almost the limit of low temperatures, and in many areas even today lower temperatures are a natural disaster, then the claim about frost resistance was justified. But not for conditions.
In the process of breeding, fortunately, the Bielefelder laying hens retained the instinct of incubation, which makes it possible to breed chickens of this breed not in an incubator, but under a hen.
This is another argument in favor of the fact that chickens need to be fed. The fast growing Bielefelder chickens require special feeds with a very high protein content. Many Bielefelder owners even feed their chickens dry dog food after grinding it. In general, this option is quite reasonable, since meat and bone meal and eggs are used in the manufacture of dog food, but it must be borne in mind that dog food is designed for the metabolism of dogs, not chickens. However, the chicken is not in vain considered an omnivorous bird.
A couple of times a week, young animals are recommended to be given cottage cheese and boiled fish to provide growing chickens with calcium and protein. Without such additives, young animals will not be able to achieve the desired conditions. From cereals, Bielefelder is given corn, soybeans, peas, wheat, oats, barley. Give them finely chopped vegetables.
Some enthusiasts even keep dunghills to provide chickens with animal protein, although this, rather, pursues another benefit: the production of humus.
Bielefelders are fed twice a day. But the summer diet can differ from the winter one only if the chickens have the opportunity to free-range in a large area and partially provide themselves with feed. Otherwise, the task of providing the Bielefelder with a complete diet falls entirely on their owner.
Bielefelder chicken coop
Due to their non-conflict and slowness, Bielefelders are not able to fend for themselves. More aggressive and agile hens will push them away from the feeder, which is why Bielefelders may not receive enough feed.
When arranging an aviary and a chicken coop for Bielefelders, their size and weight must be taken into account. The aviary should be spacious enough so that the chickens can walk in it without constantly bumping into each other.
It is better to make perches low, since when trying to climb a high perch, a heavy chicken can be injured.
Bielefelder roosters do not tend to constant fights, but they also have cocky individuals. The only way to avoid a showdown between Bielefelder roosters is not to seat them. If you had to seat them, then they can no longer be placed together.
Bielefelder Benthams
Registered a little later, a large breed of chickens in appearance differs from its large counterpart only in a greater variety of colors. The weight of dwarf bielefeldder roosters is 1,2 kg, chickens – 1,0 kg. Egg production up to 140 eggs per year. Egg weight 40 g.
Dwarf Silver Bielefelder
Young Silver Bielefelders
Golden variant of the color of the dwarf Bielefelder
Reviews of a few owners of the Bielefelder chicken breed
In our Crimean conditions, similar in annual temperatures to Germany, these chickens are just a godsend. But, of course, I have to feed them all year round. In our summer, green grass can only be found near the river, everything else burns out, and these chickens cannot catch lizards, they are too slow. But in winter, I don’t worry if I suddenly forgot to close the door to their chicken coop.
Eggs, however, could be laid all year round, but I tried it, then I calculated the cost of eggs and the cost of electricity spent and decided that it would be better if they were rarely laid in winter, but “free”. Eggs are cheaper than electricity.
However, we are not going to abandon the Bielefelders. More experienced chicken breeders have already enlightened us that all chickens must be fed, regardless of breed. And stability down to -15 degrees in Our Country is like nothing. Therefore, there is absolutely no difference for which breed of chickens we will have to build a warm chicken coop.
Otherwise, I really like these chickens. And the suit, and the fact that they are tame. You can stroke them, you can talk with them about life, sitting on the same bench. Well, they lay eggs. But after intimate conversations, my hand will not rise to cut them. I will ask the neighbors.
Conclusion
Bielefelders are well suited even for beginners, but it will be necessary to take into account that this breed does not have any superpowers. But from it, with the right content, you can get high-quality meat and eggs. And at first, you can even do without an incubator, especially if the bird is bred only for its own use.