Breeding hens: characteristics, care and maintenance

Recently, interest in new breeds of chickens is growing rapidly, so it is not surprising that even very unusual names attract attention. In this article we will discuss exactly those not quite standard chickens, called "bielefelder". What kind of care they are entitled to and what they need to know about poultry breeding - read on.

Description and features of the breed

The main feature of bielefelder is unusual color, but, before understanding all the nuances of the appearance of this poultry, we will tell a little about the history of its origin.

Selection

The history of breeding the described breed has more than forty years, since it was bred by breeders in the 70s of the twentieth century. The merits of the received chickens almost immediately allowed them to win the love of farmers in many countries of the world, among which domestic breeders are no exception. Bielefelder has German roots, and her "parent" is Herbert Roth. The general public learned about the breed in 1976, when its representatives were made public at the exhibition “German Defined”, which was held in Hannover. Then the chickens did not have the usual name today, and the name "bielefelder" appeared a little later, when he was accepted by the members of the German Breeding Birds Federation and issued a conclusion on the breed as a whole.

In a word, studying the description of a bird, we can safely say that the breeder managed to get quite decent result: these are large chickens, characterized by a calm character, which have a very attractive appearance and are not afraid of frost. In addition, all representatives also have very good egg production rates. In order to obtain such high characteristics, the specialists had to use more than one breed, among which were rhode island, new hampshire, welsumer, amrox.Each of them contributed to the formation of a new bird.

External characteristics

Today, there are many large breeds of chicken meat and egg direction, but this breed stands out against their background with a very beautiful and unusual color of plumage - the golden-black color has small stripes. The back, neck and head of roosters are different in ocher color, and small white specks are noticeable throughout the body, mixed with black stripes. The plumage is dense. The body of the rooster has an elongated shape, with a wide chest and medium wings. The belly is rounded and appears to be constantly full. Well visible and slightly raised tail, especially in combination with completely bare legs. The shoulders of the males are wide, and the neck is powerful and thickly covered with feathers. Red earrings differ in medium size and standard oval shape. On the leaf-shaped crest there are four larger teeth and one small clove at the ends. They have cocks and an oval beard. The weight of an adult individual is about 4-4.5 kg.

In contrast to the representatives of the stronger sex, the female half of the inhabitants of the coop has a reddish neck and head, and on the stomach and sides there are light brown specks, gradually turning into black and white color, and then dark brown stripes on the back. Like the males, the plumage is rather dense and wide. The hens' breasts are somewhat wider than those of roosters, their belly is much fuller, and the forward bending of the body has a smaller angle. Both males and females make it possible to get very good meat, and the latter also carry a lot of eggs. The weight of an adult chicken is 3.5-3.9 kg. The character of the Bielefeldors is calm and peaceful enough. They are never in a hurry and just walk around the yard.

All bielefelders grow quickly and put on weight, which is good for breeders.

Productivity

Describing this breed of chickens, it is simply impossible not to recall their high productivity in terms of egg production. Eggs are large, and chickens rush almost all the time, so that you can collect 190-230 eggs from just one bird in a year (they differ in light brown shell color, and their weight is about 60-70 g). The maximum productivity of chickens reach at the age of two years, provided that the reproduction of eggs began at the age of six months. In a three-year-old bird, the egg-laying indices fall again and do not return to the previous figures.

What to look for when buying

For breeding chickens of the Bielefelder breed on your plot, you can purchase already hatched chickens or buy eggs from representatives of the breed. In the latter case, the risks are greater, since it is very difficult to determine whether you really sold what you need.It is clear that all specimens must fully comply with the size and shape of the eggs obtained from the hens of this breed, but even if there are no defects on them, it is difficult to guess how much the breed will be and if there will be any chicken.

With the purchase of already mature chicks you will have to where more chances to get really good representatives of the breed. All you need is to examine each chicken and pay special attention to its color: in males, the plumage will be light yellow, with a “hawk” light spot on the head, and in chickens its color is somewhat darker. Moreover, even in very small layers it is easy to see black stripes around the eyes, which is another characteristic breed trait. “Getting to know” the parents of purchased chickens will help to avoid disappointment. As far as possible, try to personally evaluate the conditions of the birds and their appearance, which must fully comply with the requirements of the Bielefelder breed.

Conditions of detention

Given the relatively large size of the hens described breed, it is easy to assume that they will need a certain amount of space for comfortable accommodation. This applies to both the inside of the premises and walking.

The chickens need to arrange such conditions so that, while walking, they do not constantly stumble upon each other, therefore, if space allows, it is better that only one individual per 1 m². When organizing the roosting, you should not forget about the rather impressive weight of the bielefelder, because if you place them too high, then, trying to get there, the chicken can fall and be injured. The best option would be a height of 50 cm.

There is also another important nuance: if you have several roosters and you have already seated them in different henhouses, then you can not bring the males together again, because most likely they will begin to oppress each other.

Courtyard for walking

No matter how spacious the erected coop turns out to be, we must not forget that for the normal development of large bielefelders they need and regular walkspreferably in an open courtyard. If there are no other aggressive animals near the chicken coop and at home and you can provide chickens with safety, this will be an excellent solution to the problem.

Walking free, they will be able to find food for themselves, which means it will be possible to save on feed, and there will be more benefits from such food. On hot days, it is worthwhile to arrange a drinker around the perimeter, and also try to provide the bird a free way back to the hen house.

To limit the contact of chickens with wild birds (they often act as carriers of various infections), you can stretch the canopy over the walking area.

What to feed

According to the description of the Bielefelder breed and reviews of farmers who have long been engaged in raising such chickens, they are not picky about food and calmly eat almost any compound feed. However, we should not forget that for normal growth and development the food they consume must be rich in vitamins and microelements, and this means that it is necessary to add vegetables to the menu (beets, cabbage, peas, soybeans and corn).As a main “dish,” birds are given bran, corn, and oats, although to the extent possible (usually in the summer), it is worthwhile to include more greens in the diet. For active egg production, chickens need to constantly add meat-and-bone and fish meal, as well as introduce chalk, rakushnyak and egg shells into the diet, of course, having ground them well.

If you breed chickens only for eggsthen no special food additives should be used, instead you can give them more protein foods: cottage cheese, greens, eggs, and starting from 1.5 months - ground wheat and barley. Birds are fed 2-3 times a day, alternating between dry food and a wet mash (for example, in the morning and in the evening dry rations, and in the afternoon wet porridge with bran). In the summer, from feed can be generally abandoned.

Vaccination, care and cleaning

Bielefeldars have good health, but this does not mean that they do not need proper care. One of the most important requirements is cleanliness inside the chicken coop and in places of walking birds. Representatives of this breed, perhaps even more than their other relatives, are very susceptible to crowding and dirt, which means that it will not be possible to avoid mass death of pets in unsanitary conditions. General cleaning It is recommended that rooms be occupied immediately with the arrival of spring, removing litter and treating feeders with hot water with the addition of caustic soda. For the period of processing the bird is temporarily transferred to another room. In addition, do not forget about the regular cleaning of the litter in the hen house. The frequency of this procedure depends on the size of the room and the number of its inhabitants.

The risk of disease will be lower in chickens kept clean, on a sufficient area and with a full-fledged diet, in which there is a lot of greenery.

As for poultry vaccinationthen every owner decides whether it is necessary or not, but in any case it will be useful to know the opinion of the veterinarian. The specialist will explain which vaccines can be used and in which order, and will also objectively evaluate the appropriateness of their use.

Rearing

Bielefelder chickens breed successfully without human assistance, but for owners who are focused on getting full-fledged representatives of the breed, it is important to control this process.In most cases, incubation of eggs (you can take from your birds or purchase from another breeder) uses special incubators, and the owner only needs to lay eggs in him and control the process with the help of appropriate instruments.

There is nothing difficult in this task, and after carefully reading all the requirements for using such a machine, one can expect a high hatchability of chicks.

Maintenance and care

Like an adult bird, it is very important to keep bilefelder chicks clean. They are distinguished by intolerance to the dirty floor, bowls or food standing in the sun, because of which the young can become sick. When caring for very small chickens, it is important to wash the feeders every time and change the water, regularly cleaning the litter (at least 1 time per day).

Feeding

Representatives of this breed grow very quickly and gain weight, so they need food that is high in protein.

In general, this option is not devoid of meaning,indeed, in the production of such nutrition, bone meal is so important for the growing organism, but here again it is important to be sure of the quality of the product being purchased and not to use it in unlimited quantities. Several times a week, chickens can be given well-chopped boiled fish and cottage cheese, which will provide the growing body with calcium and such protein it needs. From grain crops, you can add peas, soybeans, barley, wheat, and oats to the diet, periodically adding chopped vegetables to them.

In order to provide their wards with animal protein, some owners even create dung heaps in order to choose worms from there. Of course, this is completely optional, but there will be a lot of benefit from such a decision: first, the chickens will get a lot of useful things, and second, the plants that are planted in the garden can be fertilized with the remaining humus.

Bielefelder chickens are easy to maintain, so they are suitable for breeding for both experienced farmers and novice poultry farmers, and high-quality meat and tasty eggs will be a reward for proper keeping and proper care.