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My neighbor had 3 Pekin ducks that he didn't want. They're about 12 weeks old, and I'm planning to process them this weekend. I know how everything works with chickens. Can I assume that ducks are pretty similar internally? Are there any differences that I should be warned about? Any...

A friend of mine found this in his shed. The Mr. Luther mentioned in the advertisement used to own his property. We're pretty sure this is from the 1930's. Anyway, it's pretty humorous to read now. Broilers that attain 4 lbs at only 10 weeks? OMG! It really shows you how much things...

I just went to www.jmhatchery.com, and their "Colored Range Broilers" are now called "Freedom Rangers". I assume that they worked out a deal with the previous owners of that trademark. So, I guess we can start calling them by their proper name again. :-) So, do you think they were going to...

A lot of us here raise our meat chickens either on pasture or free-range. Most of us are familiar with the difference in eggs that free-ranged chickens produce, and many of us believe they are healthier. So this got me wondering... If free-ranged chickens' eggs are healthier for us to eat...

Ordered 150 Colored Range Broilers from JM Hatchery, and they arrived at my post office this morning. They actually arrived at my regional (not local) post office at 6pm last night (Thursday)! I'm not even sure how that's possible, since JM said they hatch on Thursday, and they shipped from...

I came across this today. The FCR's are for pounds of feed to pound of meat, keep in mind. So 3.8 is right around a 2.5 FCR for live-weight. My last batch of Cornish X was right around 3.8 as well, so that probably means I could expect my 150 freedom rangers to be around 5.2. Good thing I...

I haven't posted here in quite awhile, so I'll just update everyone on what I'm doing this year. This year, we seemed to be inundated with chicken orders. We planned to purchase 150 chicks in mid-April, and before the end of March, we already had around 140 spoken for. I had to ask some folks...

They dressed right about where I expected: 4 to 6.5 lbs. The cockerels dressed around 5 to 6.5 lbs and the pullets 4 to 5 lbs. So, at 12 weeks, they dressed at about the same weight as I would expect a cornish cross at 7 to 8 weeks. I cut up a couple of the small ones, and we're planning to...

It's the biggest egg I've ever seen. Compared to another egg from the same hen (probably Extra Large). On the scale (in grams). A large egg weighs around 60g, iirc. Edited to show in-line pictures.

I had a bunch (35) of my Cornish X's (specifically, Hubbard White Mountain Broilers from Towline Hatchery) processed yesterday. They were just over 8 weeks old (59 days). But this time, I actually had a scale. I knew that many of them looked larger than my last batch, and I was quite...

I bought this 48" trough feeder from Meyer hatchery this spring for my meat birds. It was a bit pricey (esp. including shipping), but it sounded like it would get the job done. And, well, I'm pretty happy with it. No, I'm not getting any kickbacks from Meyer, but if I find a good product, I...

I believe that something has attacked my chickens on a couple of occasions. Both times, I went out in the morning, and noticed massive head wounds on one of the birds. After about a week, the first guy had healed up to the point that I couldn't spot him anymore, and then the next day, I found...

I was surprised to find a blue egg this weekend. I have 2 araucana's that have been laying for some time, but both of them lay green eggs. This egg was much bluer, and rather small, which means it was one of my new araucana's. (Technically, they're all EE's and/or Ameraucana's) Less than 16...

I have 5 laying hens, and they have been really busy lately. Last Friday, they gave me 5 eggs. Saturday, I got 5 more. Sunday, I had 6. ??? I know exactly which hen laid which egg, and in this case, Rusty (an ISA Brown) laid the extra egg. And she laid another yesterday (Monday). From...

15 of the 16 shipped chicks were still alive. They were in transit for 2 days, and with a smaller number I had questioned whether or not I should have ordered the minimum. I've never lost a chick in shipping before. Honestly, I think the box was too big. But anyway, sometimes that just...

I'm taking the plunge... Or, maybe I'm just getting my feet wet. I ordered 15 (the minimum) today from JM Hatchery, for a ship date of July 16. I also ordered 50 "regular" meat chickens from Townline Hatchery which ship (or was it hatch?) on the 14th. So, this will be the ultimate...

I normally don't name my food, but in this case, it was hard not to. I'm not sure why Bubba's beak ended up like this, or when it ended up like this. I didn't notice it until he was about 5 weeks old, but with 50 chickens, he may have hatched that way. Regardless, he didn't seem to have any...

Just noticed that www.FreedomRangers.net updated their site to specifically mention JM Hatchery and the equivalent birds. from the site: Bronze Ranger Redbro Grey Ranger MasterGris Red Ranger Coloryield Golden Ranger Tricolor

Does anyone else like doing the math like this? Or am I just one of those nut-cases? I purchased 50 cornish cross broilers from Meyer hathery, brooded them for 3 weeks, then put them in the moveable tractor/pen. I had them processed this weekend (58 days old). cost of brooder ($0) cost of...

I've been borrowing transport "cages" from a friend of mine, when I transport my chickens off to be processed. They're basically just stiff wire fencing that was shaped into a rectangular enclosure. But now I have more chickens than she has cages. Oops! I'm looking into building some of my...