Bielefelder chicken breed

The Bielefelder breed of chickens belongs to the category of new ones, but so far it is popular only among enthusiastic poultry houses. The Bielefelder chicken breed is a meat-and-egg type. It was bred in Germany in the 70s of the twentieth century. The low prevalence of the species is due to the lack of sufficient information and an interested supplier.

Description of the Bielefelder hens

Exterior

Bielefelder breed of chickens appearance description has the following:

• Rooster Bielefelder has a large physique;
• the body is oblong, the tail is slightly raised, the chest broad, powerful;
• the beak and paws are painted in yellow;
• the scallop is leaf-shaped, scarlet, oval-shaped earrings are also painted in red;
• females have more accurate appearance;
• the body is inclined slightly forward, the belly is rounded;
• the rib cage is slightly wider than that of the males.

Chickens Bielefelder differ from others rocks with their external characteristics, photos confirm this. First of all, the unusual color of plumage, called krill, is striking. The colors are presented in 2 variations: silver with black and striped and golden with dark and light stripes. The plumage is loose, dense, which allows individuals of the Bielefelder chicken breed to withstand frosts to -15 ° C.

Bielefelder chickens belong to autosexual.It is possible to determine the gender of the chicks at the age of one day. The rooster has a lighter shade of plumage. If you are interested in Bielefelder chickens, the video will help to understand their positive characteristics.

Production data

Bielefelder as a meat and egg breed is characterized by a rather high egg production. The average annual rate is 200 eggs. Egg products are large. One egg weighs 60-70 g.

An adult rooster reaches a mass of about 4.5 kg. The female Bielefelder weighs less than a cock, about 3.9 kg. Chickens of the Bielefelder breed reach Mature age at 5 months and then begin to rush. Unlike many other breeds, the peak egg production is observed at 2 years. In the third year of life, a decline begins.

Bielefelder is a breed of chickens that leads a rather active lifestyle. The body of individuals has well-developed muscle mass. Most of the carcass is covered with white dietary meat, which is distinguished by excellent taste and is highly regarded among gourmets.

Features

Characteristics of Bielefelder hens, provided in various sources, are often very superficially describe chickens, which pushes newcomers to poultry farming from this species.

Such qualities as frost resistance are noted everywhere, but this does not mean that the bird is able to live at such a temperature regime all winter.This characteristic allows you to create conditions with a sufficient range for chickens in the winter and not to keep them indoors all day on frosty days. Nevertheless, the chicken coop should be equipped in the same way as for other chickens.

Due to the large size of the male and female Bielefelder hens, the house should be very spacious, but not necessarily high. For wintering in the shed, it is enough to insulate the walls and the roof, carefully close all the cracks so that there are no drafts.

In many descriptions, the expression “excellent forager” is often found. This characteristic suggests that the bird perfectly finds its own food on its own in the warm season. This fact does not mean that with the advent of the first warm days, you can remove the feeders from the barn and hope that the birds feed themselves. To get the highest quality products, meat-and-egg chickens should be fed year-round with balanced feeds, which must necessarily include calcium, protein and proteins.

Bielefelder chickens cannot independently feed in the warm season and need special care. Some farmers are advised to add dry dog ​​food to their chickens. On the one hand, this is correct, because meat and bone meal , which is necessary for full growth and development, is present in the feed.On the other hand, one should carefully choose the food, because in the process of making dog food, the digestive system of dogs is taken into account. Based on the organoleptic qualities of the feed, there is no effect on the quality of meat and eggs.

So that the birds do not suffer from an excess of calcium and can please the farmer with good production indicators, they should have enough calcium in their diet. For this, once a week they are given boiled fish of cheap varieties and cottage cheese. The basis of feeding is cereals. With calcium deficiency, young animals cannot develop normally, and in adult birds egg production decreases and meat quality deteriorates. The lack of protein does not make it possible to build up sufficient muscle mass. Professional poultry farmers on their holdings specially keep a couple of dung heaps so that the chickens have free access to the worms that are the source of protein.

Content Features

Care and breeding of Bielefelders – not a very troublesome task. However, some containment rules should still be followed. Birds have rather large dimensions, so houses for them should be spacious, as, accordingly, a place for walking. The internal arrangement of the chicken coop is also one of the most important points.The following must be present in the chicken shed:

• poles for sleeping;
• perches ;
• nests;
• feeders , drinking bowls;
• elementary ventilation system .

It should be borne in mind that in addition to large dimensions, birds have a rather large weight, therefore, sleep poles should not be in several rows: it will be difficult for chickens to climb perches. Chicks should be kept separately from mature birds.

Birds have a very calm disposition, do not enter into conflict situations, even when they are driven away from the feeders, so they can remain hungry, which will negatively affect their well-being and production data. Even the Bielefelder rooster is not aggressive in nature and is not able to fight back when it is attacked by a more aggressive relative of another breed. Given this peculiarity of the genus, it is worth thinking about a separate aviary for such birds.

Despite all the facts described above, exceptions to the rule occur: there are males who cannot live a single day without a fight. Then you should settle the warring cocks and keep them in separate cages.

Bielefelder chickens have a calm disposition

Chickens and adults have good survival even in the Urals. The survival rate of young animals almost reaches 100%.Hens of this breed are almost not susceptible to infectious diseases. In order for young animals to have good immunity from childhood, it is necessary to ensure the correct conditions of detention. To do this, observe basic hygiene rules:

• regularly treat drinkers and feeders with soda solution and rinse with boiling water;
• thoroughly treat perches and nests with disinfectants at least once a year;
• move the bird to a temporary shelter in the summer, so that the winter chicken coop is aired and the microflora changes in it.

Breeding

Breeding Bielefelders – quite a profitable business. Breeding chickens is simple with the incubator . The sex of young animals is determined already on the first day after birth, based on external characteristics: the head of the male Bielefelder is marked with a large spot of a light shade and light brown stripes along the wings. As they grow older, silver predominates in the plumage of males, and the color of the chickens is golden.

Chickens need separate maintenance and special care. The nutrition of the chicks should be balanced and contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals for the full development. If the purpose of breeding is to obtain large eggs, rather than meat, there is no need to introduce special compound feeds to accelerate weight gain.

Naturally, it is easier to grow a purchased stock of young animals than to breed it yourself and go through all stages of growing up with pets.The birds take root pretty well in new places and adapt perfectly to different climatic conditions, so their breeding is possible even in the northern regions of Russia.

Opinion of poultry farmers

Reviews of the few owners of the chicken breed Bielefelders give every right to believe that breeders tried their best when they were bred. The meat and egg qualities of the hens are simply amazing. Over the course of a year, a laying hen is capable of producing within a fairly large size within 200 eggs. Looking at the video, you can see that Bielefelder is a breed of chickens that is not only highly productive, but also very beautiful. What is only its famous color krill, presented in two variations.

The genus is distinguished by excellent health, which greatly facilitates care. Birds can walk outdoors at -15 ° C, and at -5 ° C there is not even a drop in egg production.

Layers have a strong maternal instinct, which is very beneficial for further breeding. Chickens survive in almost 100% of cases.

In the warm season, with a sufficient walk, most of the nutrients of the chickens are obtained on their own, collecting pasture. To prevent chickens from being injured, do not make layered poles for sleeping in the sheds. The birds are quite heavy, so climbing a tall pole is problematic for them.

Among the advantages of this breed, early maturity and fast weight gain are also noted.Peak egg production, unlike other breeds, occurs in the second year of life. Bielefelder hens begin to lay eggs at 5-6 months.

To summarize

The Bielefelder chicken breed (you can carefully examine it in the photo above) appeared not so long ago. The homeland of these birds is Germany. Feathered belong to the meat-egg type. The quality standard for eggs and meat is quite high. The meat part of the carcass has an excellent taste. On the backbone dominated by white dietary meat. Large eggs in light or dark brown shells.

When breeding, the goal was to breed a bird species that would be highly survivable, productive and externally. The results exceeded all expectations. Bielefelders practically do not get sick and perfectly adapt to any conditions. They can be bred even in the northern regions of the country.Unfortunately, there is not much information about this breed, therefore, it is bred today only in private farms. Birds are attractive not only for their high production performance, but also for their interesting coloring, which allows keeping them for aesthetic purposes. The birds of this species do not need special care. Their food ration is the same as for any meat and egg breed.

Maintain a high standard of performance with it’s absolutely not difficult, following the elementary rules for the care of birds. When keeping Bielefelders it is necessary to take into account their extremely calm disposition. This character trait does not allow them to be kept together with other inhabitants of the poultry yard. Even roosters of this breed very rarely come into conflict, therefore birds are often driven away more aggressive individuals from feeders. Young growth is also recommended to be kept separately from adults until they reach puberty.