Bielefelder (“Bell-feld-er”) is a beautiful great layer over large-jumbo size eggs. It can make a great bird for small farm or homestead for sustainable production because it is Auto-sexing! The male and female chicks are easily identifiable by their different coloring at hatch. Males tend to grow noticeably larger than the female birds. Even though we classify Bielefelder as a Good, Homestead bird, we find the Bielefelder chicks to be slightly more delicate than some other heritage chickens.
Check availability of our Day-old Bielefelder chicks.
- Purpose and Type: Dual Purpose, Excellent Pet bird, Good Homestead choice
- Characteristics:Auto-sexing, beautiful plumage
- Size:Rooster Large, Hen Medium
- Temperament: Docile, Interested
- Weight: 6.5-8.5 lbs
- Egg Shell Color: Brown
- Egg Production: 230-260 eggs per year
- Egg Size: Large
- APA: Proposed in 2024
Description
The Bielefelder is a relatively modern German breed, developed in the 1970s around the city of Bielefeld by breeder Gerd Roth. The goal was a “practical farm chicken” that could handle real-world backyard conditions: calm temperament, good size for the table, strong egg production, and a distinctive “crele” (barred/partridge) plumage pattern. One of its standout features is auto-sexing—chicks can often be sorted by color at hatch, with females typically showing darker, more defined striping and males appearing lighter with a larger pale head spot. That convenience, plus their steady laying, helped the breed spread outside Germany and become popular with small farms and family flocks.
In the coop, Bielefelder are known as gentle, people-friendly birds that do well in mixed flocks and tolerate colder weather thanks to their substantial body size and generally small, tidy comb. Hens are dependable layers of large to extra-large brown eggs, and they tend to keep laying decently through cooler months compared with many heritage breeds. Because they’re heavier and fairly laid-back, they’re not the quickest sprinters away from trouble—so they do best with good fencing, overhead cover in high-hawk areas, and enough space so they aren’t bullied at the feeder. Overall, they’re a strong choice if you want a calm dual-purpose chicken with the bonus of easy chick sexing and a handsome, classic farm-bird look.
There is not yet an SOP for Bielefelder
But this Description from Wrather is the best information I’ve found