Meat birds
- Thread starter brockel
- Start date
Nick87
Well-known member
No birds, use to raise a handful of steers and couple pigs every year I miss that. Need to find the time/ room again soon with the little guys.
We raise about 50 birds a year and then buy a hog from a friend every year
slatebuilder
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2018
- Messages
- 629
We do 30 for ourselves every year. Our kids love it, my daughter especially. She is a chicken whisperer.
Daughter goes and checks on them every night. She always says she tells her self she can’t get attached to them. We’ve got 5 egg layers that she said she will get attached to instead
Duck-Slayer
Well-known member
We got 11 egg layers with 9 more being hatched as I write this. Got 9 more under her. Hopefully get a few more hens. We eat them every 2 years.
Matt
Matt
My wife and I each like chickens but apartment life has that out of the option at the moment. We can’t wait to get out of an apartment for chickens and hopefully meat rabbits too. We did chickens growing up, being away from the farm now I miss home raised chicken when I’m stuck eating store bought.
kwyeewyk
Well-known member
Usually do chickens and turkeys, but I've started getting the turkeys in July since they get to be 35-40 lbs by Thanksgiving if I get them in the spring. Started just getting dark cornish heritage breed for chickens since I'm able to mostly let them free range, they don't grow nearly as fast or big as the crosses, but they're also good for eggs and they don't have the leg and other problems like the crosses.
mevertsen
Well-known member
We have 25 coming this week. Plan to add several more this summer sometime.
That’s a lot of eggs. We did that for a few year’s but anymore you had to almost give the eggs away as so many people have layers around here that nobody wanted to pay for them
mevertsen
Well-known member
This was our thought process when ordering meat birds. We ordered 25 RIR roosters we plan to butcher out.
We also ordered some RIR hens to continue with egg production, and some silver spangled hamburgs as well for fun.
We currently have 18 laying hens.
Also 10 runner ducks coming in June to add to our 5.
kwyeewyk
Well-known member
We compared like 5 breeds as dual purpose, got them at the same time, same feed, butchered same time, the dark cornish were the most similar to cornish cross as far as breast formation, the RIR were second best, had some brahmas that are supposed to get big but they needed more time and weren't real big when we butchered (big frame but not filled out). They were pretty cool though, feathered feet and like to lay in the winter.
MThuntr
Well-known member
Don't have chickens now but my grandparents had them when I was growing up. Definitely invest in a plucker if you're serious about doing this annually, plucking 100 birds by hand would be terrible.
Duck-Slayer
Well-known member
Not to bad around here for getting rid of them. We always seem to have people ask if we have any extra. Out of 9 layer's we have only 7 laying everyday, 2 want to just sit on eggs and when they do that they don't lay....... we have a lady that will take 4 dozen a week if we have them, right now we can only do 2 dozen a week for her. But at $5/dz that gives us some vacation money! update 2 of 9 have hatched.
Matt
300stw
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 867
i do the cornish meat birds, 25 at a time, 5 weeks , old or so butcher, they get so big so fast, i bone out breast, pull leg thighs, out, i can leg thighs,
I got egg layers and am interested to see what future chicks will look like since my rooster male is half meat half egg layer breed. His dad was a meat chicken but way too rough on the hens. When we hatched the first bitties he went from ruling the roost to ruling the gumbo.
Unfortunately I lost all the hens from that group to know how they would’ve done with egg producing while maybe having a decent meat yield.
Unfortunately I lost all the hens from that group to know how they would’ve done with egg producing while maybe having a decent meat yield.
Jorgy
Well-known member
I found a easier way. I hunting buddy has 3 kids that are in 4H, I talked one of them into raising me Peking ducks this year. Starting with 6 to see how it goes. I also get a few turkeys from them, split a hog and a steer and a handful of chickens. Money well spent
Western Traveler1
Well-known member
There is a lot of panic buying of chicks due to this pandemic...
mevertsen
Well-known member
This is true. Getting chickens has been a pain for us this year. We have had had chickens for as long as I have been with my wife, and her family had them forever before that.
I like having chickens around, but you have to keep them rotated, and various other mortality factors.
Ducks seem to live forever though.
We were wanting to get a couple pigs this year, but cant find any piglets.
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