Bielefelder chicken breed
The Bielefelder chicken breed belongs to the category of new ones, but so far it is popular only among enthusiastic poultry houses. The Bielefelder chicken breed belongs to the meat and egg type. It was bred in Germany in the 70s of the twentieth century. The low prevalence of the species is associated with the lack of a sufficient amount of information and an interested supplier.
Description of Bielefelder chickens
Exterior
Bielefelder breed of chickens, the description of the appearance is as follows:
- the Bielefelder rooster is distinguished by its large physique;
- the body is oblong, the tail is slightly raised, the chest is wide, powerful;
- beak and paws are yellow;
- leaf-shaped scallop, scarlet, oval-shaped catkins, also colored red;
- females have a neater appearance;
- the body is tilted slightly forward, the tummy is rounded;
- the ribcage is slightly wider than that of males.
Bielefelder chickens differ from other breeds in their external characteristics, photos confirm this. First of all, the unusual color of the plumage, called krill, is striking. The colors are presented in 2 variations: silver with black-striped and golden with dark and light stripes. The plumage is loose, dense, which allows the Bielefelder chickens to withstand frosts down to -15 ° C.
Bielefelder chickens are autosex. It is possible to determine the sex of chicks already at the age of one day. The rooster is distinguished by a lighter shade of plumage. If you are interested in Bielefelder chickens, then the video will help you understand their positive characteristics.
Production data
Bielefelder as meat and egg breed characterized by a fairly high egg production. The average annual rate is 200 eggs. Egg products are large in size. One egg weighs 60-70 g.
An adult cock reaches a mass of about 4.5 kg. The female Bielefelder weighs less than a rooster, about 3.9 kg. Chickens of the Bielefelder breed reach Sexual Maturity at 5 months and then begin to rush. Unlike many other breeds, egg production peaks at 2 years of age. 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 a well-developed muscle mass. Most of the carcass is covered with white dietary meat, which has excellent taste and is highly valued among gourmets.
Features of the
The characteristics of Bielefelder chickens, provided in various sources, often very superficially describe chickens, which repels newcomers to the poultry industry from this species.
Everywhere, such qualities as frost resistance are noted, but this does not mean that the bird is able to live all winter at such a temperature regime. This characteristic allows you to create conditions with sufficient walking for the chickens in the winter and not 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 fact that male and female Bielefelder chickens are large in size, the house should be very spacious, but not necessarily high. For wintering in a barn, it is enough insulate the walls and the roof, carefully seal up 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 food on its own in the warm season. This fact does not mean that with the arrival of the first warm days, you can remove the feeders from the barn and hope that the birds will feed themselves on their own. To get the highest quality products, meat and egg chickens must be fed all year round with balanced feed, which must include calcium, protein and proteins.
Bielefelder chickens cannot forage on their own in the warm season and need special care. Some farmers advise adding dry dog food to their chickens' diet. On the one hand, this is correct, because the composition of the feed contains meat and bone meal, which is necessary for full-fledged growth and development. On the other hand, you should be very careful when choosing a food, because in the process of making dog food, the capabilities of the digestive system of dogs are taken into account. If we proceed from the organoleptic qualities of the feed, then there is no influence on the quality of meat and eggs.
So that birds do not suffer from excess calcium and can delight the farmer with good production indicators, their diet must have enough calcium. To do this, once a week they are given boiled fish of cheap varieties and cottage cheese. The basis of feeding is grain crops. With a calcium deficiency, young animals cannot develop normally, and in adult birds, egg production drops and the quality of meat deteriorates. Lack of protein makes it impossible to build sufficient muscle mass. Professional poultry farmers keep a couple of manure heaps on their farms so that the hens have free access to the worms, which are a source of protein.
Features of the content
Caring for and breeding Bielefelder is not a very troublesome task. However, some content rules should still be followed. The birds are rather large in size, so the houses for them should be made spacious, as, accordingly, the place for walking. The internal arrangement of the chicken coop is also one of the most important points. The chicken shed should contain:
- sleeping poles;
- perches;
- nesting sites;
- feeders, drinkers;
- elementary ventilation system.
It should be borne in mind that, in addition to the large dimensions, the birds have a rather large weight, therefore, the sleeping poles should not be mounted in several rows: it will be difficult for chickens to climb perches. Chicks should be kept separate 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 may remain hungry, which as a result will negatively affect their well-being and production data. Even the Bielefelder rooster is not distinguished by an aggressive disposition 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 above facts, there are exceptions to the rule: there are males who cannot live a day without a fight. Then you should resettle the warring cockerels and keep them in separate enclosures.
Bielefelder chickens have a calm disposition
Chickens and adults have good survival rates even in the Urals. The survival rate of young animals almost reaches 100%. Chickens 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, you should follow the basic rules of hygiene:
- regularly process drinkers and feeders with soda solution and rinse with boiling water;
- thoroughly treat perches and nests with disinfectants at least once a year;
- transfer the bird to a temporary dwelling in the summer, so that the winter chicken coop is ventilated and the microflora in it changes.
Breeding
Breeding Bielefelders is a pretty profitable business. Breeding chicks is easy with incubator... The sex of the young is determined already on the first day after birth, based on external characteristics: the head of the Bielefelder male is marked with a large spot of a light shade and light brown stripes along the wings. As they grow older, silver begins to dominate in the plumage of males, and in females - a golden color.
Chickens need separate housing and special care. Chicks' nutrition should be balanced and contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals for full development. If the purpose of breeding is to obtain large testicles, and not meat, there is no need to introduce special compound feed to accelerate weight gain.
Naturally, it is easier to raise the purchased livestock of young animals than to breed them on their own and go through all the stages of growing up with the pets. The birds take root quite well in new places and perfectly adapt to various climatic conditions, so their breeding is possible even in the northern regions of Russia.
The opinion of poultry farmers
Reviews of the few owners of the Bielefelder chicken breed give every right to believe that the breeders have tried their best in breeding them. The meat and egg qualities of the chickens are simply amazing. For a year, the laying hen is capable of producing up to 200 eggs of a fairly large size. Looking at the video, you can be sure that Bielefelder is a breed of chickens that is not only highly productive, but also very beautiful. That there is only her famous krill color, presented in two variations.
The genus is distinguished by excellent health, which greatly facilitates care. The birds are able to walk outside at a temperature of -15 ° С, and at -5 ° С there is not even a decline in egg production.
Layers have a strong maternal instinct, which is very beneficial for further breeding. Chickens survive almost 100% of the time.
In the warm season, with sufficient walking, most of the nutrients are obtained by chickens on their own, collecting pasture. So that chickens do not get injured, you should not make multi-level sleeping rails for them in sheds. The birds are quite heavy, so climbing a high pole is problematic for them.
Among the advantages of this breed are also noted early maturity and rapid weight gain. The peak of egg production, unlike other breeds, occurs in the second year of life. Bielefelder chickens begin to lay eggs at 5-6 months.
Summarizing
The Bielefelder breed of chickens (in the photo above you can carefully consider it) appeared not so long ago. The homeland of these birds is Germany. The birds are of the meat and egg type. The quality standard of eggs and meat is quite high. The meat part of the carcass has excellent taste. White dietary meat predominates on the backbone. Heavy eggs in light or dark brown shells.
When breeding, the goal was to breed a bird species that would be distinguished by high survival rate, productivity and external data. The results exceeded all expectations. Bielefelder people 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. The birds are attractive not only for their high production rates, but also for their interesting colors, which allows them to be kept for aesthetic purposes. Birds of this species do not need special care. Their diet is the same as for any meat and egg breed.
Maintaining a high standard of performance is not at all difficult by following the basic rules for caring for birds. When supporting the Bielefelder, 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 the roosters of this breed very rarely come into conflict, therefore, more aggressive individuals often drive the birds away from the feeders. Young animals are also recommended to be kept separately from adults until they reach sexual maturity.