First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

I'm following the posts about commercial feed "rules" vs. chickens fending for themselves and scraps, and guess what came in the mail today? A reprinted copy of the 1941 UK publication "Keeping Poultry and Rabbits on Scraps". I found out about it over on Rabbitalk (discussion over there related to issues with poor quality commercial pellets and potential for natural feed). Got it from Amazon.

Lots of non-feeding info on care of chickens/rabbits mixed in, but contains a very interesting discussion of wartime/postwar ration rules of chicken feed (chicks, layers), how to supplement it with scraps, how to encourage the chickens to find as much of their own food as possible from early chickhood, how to best manage a grass run so the greens they forage in are most nutritious, how to choose when to cull annually, etc.

E.g.: "Prewar, a layer's rations consisted of 2 oz. of corn and 2-1/2 oz of layer's mash a day... Under post-war conditions poultry keepers with not over 25 birds receive only just over 2 oz. of Balancer meal (laying mash) daily per bird and no corn on the surrender (at some periods) of egg registrations... [then a paragraph on how you apply for and obtain the rations]. But 2 oz. of Balancer meal per day is not sufficient for a layer as indicated from the pre-war ration..." Then, "A Pullet's Complete Daily Ration: This 2 oz represents one small teacup. With it must be mixed about 8 oz. of minced kitchen scraps, potatoes and vegetables. This is the equivalent of a 1/2 pint glass and with the tea-cup of meal forms a laying hen's complete daily ration..." (And then follows a very detailed discussion of what you can use to feed and how to prepare.)

I just got it, but it looks to be REALLY interesting...(There's a whole bit about how to best use acorns, for instance).

Looks like I have yet one more book for the bedside table stack!

- Ant Farm

I just had to share more. The first two sentences of this book read as follows:

"The hen's egg is the finest concentrated food known to man. It is produced by a humble, and slightly ridiculous, creature whose remarkable qualities have never been justly appreciated."

And the grass run management section is short but very detailed - I hope to try some of the mowing and management techniques to prepare my yard for my meaties in the Fall. (Though, as we are not under wartime rations, I'm not sure I'm going to feed my layers up to half of their food in mashed potatoes and use a pressure cooker to prepare fish waste for their mash! Interesting to know it was an option that worked, though...)

And, while I know this is a meat chicken thread, with regards to raising meat rabbits, there is an entire huge table of garden veggies and scraps to rotate feeding them by month of year, and rabbit gardens. And again, acorns! (Did you know that before WW2, Italy passed a decree making it compulsory when practical for everyone to keep rabbits, for meat production?)

I am totally in love with this book... I'm so glad they rescued and reprinted this!

- Ant Farm

Fire Ant Farm said:

I just had to share more. The first two sentences of this book read as follows:

"The hen's egg is the finest concentrated food known to man. It is produced by a humble, and slightly ridiculous, creature whose remarkable qualities have never been justly appreciated."

And the grass run management section is short but very detailed - I hope to try some of the mowing and management techniques to prepare my yard for my meaties in the Fall. (Though, as we are not under wartime rations, I'm not sure I'm going to feed my layers up to half of their food in mashed potatoes and use a pressure cooker to prepare fish waste for their mash! Interesting to know it was an option that worked, though...)

And, while I know this is a meat chicken thread, with regards to raising meat rabbits, there is an entire huge table of garden veggies and scraps to rotate feeding them by month of year, and rabbit gardens. And again, acorns! (Did you know that before WW2, Italy passed a decree making it compulsory when practical for everyone to keep rabbits, for meat production?)

I am totally in love with this book... I'm so glad they rescued and reprinted this!

- Ant Farm

Click to expand...

Very cool and no worries. This started as a meat bird thread and became a group of a bunch of really awesome people that have become like family to me. We share, discuss, educate and rant about all kinds of interesting stuff. You may feel free to share because I suspect many of us would find this interesting.

Can I just say that you all are so great and I feel like you are extended family!! I love coming here and hearing the stories and seeing the pics of everything you are doing. I started this thread with no real expectations. I just planned on sharing my experience and was hoping to get some advice along the way. I never expected 360 pages later to feel a connection to all of you really cool people. While I most likely won't have meaties this year, I have my 70ish+ layer hens that I love and the bunch at the rented pasture and look forward to when I can fill my freezer again with you all.

I feel like you are all friends and I wish that my neighborhood was all of you. We would have some really awesome block BBQs and man would I never feel alone or overwhelmed because I think there would always be someone close by to help me lift something heavy.

Unfortunately I am stuck with controlling, authority calling snooty horse neighbor. Hopefully she receives her county letters soon that knock her back to reality. Anyway, for a little while I will most likely be vague about what I am doing here but will continue to give solid advice based on my experience with the meaties and comment on the daily banter.

Thank you all for being a part of this thread! I really enjoy every bit of it!

Tweet


(0)


The Horsemeat Cookbook : Braising Saddles and Other Recipes
by Chris Windle

Overview - Curious to try cooking with horse meat? Search no more. Over 50 authentic and tasty recipes guaranteed to have your family and guests jockeying for seconds.
The word is out: horses really are for courses.
Interest in cooking with horsemeat has been piqued by the recent horsemeat scandal, with butchers across the UK reporting customers curious to try it for themselves.


Hardcover

• Retail Price: $16.95
• $13.69

Fire Ant, I have lots of oak trees here and tons of acorns.

I, being a lazy redneck, do not rake up or even care to attempt to rake the acorns. I have turkeys and chickens that eat them. They spend a lot of time scratching for them. The turkeys swallow them whole.

Before I got birds of my own I had lots of wild turkeys in the yard eating the acorns along with Deer. The Deer still come, the wild turkeys stay away. It appears they do not want to mess with JJ.

That said, I have seen the wild toms come close to the buildings ( a couple hundred yards), and I know Ethel is not the innocent church going hen we all think she is. This spring a neighbor of mine hunted on the south end of the 40. He was calling turkeys, and Ethel made her way out there to them. He knows JJ and Ethel so she did not get shot, but he thought it was funny she would come to the call. (besides in the spring you can only shoot Toms).

I have heard people can eat acorns, but I think they are bitter.

duluthralphie said:

Fire Ant, I have lots of oak trees here and tons of acorns.

I, being a lazy redneck, do not rake up or even care to attempt to rake the acorns. I have turkeys and chickens that eat them. They spend a lot of time scratching for them. The turkeys swallow them whole.

Before I got birds of my own I had lots of wild turkeys in the yard eating the acorns along with Deer. The Deer still come, the wild turkeys stay away. It appears they do not want to mess with JJ.

That said, I have seen the wild toms come close to the buildings ( a couple hundred yards), and I know Ethel is not the innocent church going hen we all think she is. This spring a neighbor of mine hunted on the south end of the 40. He was calling turkeys, and Ethel made her way out there to them. He knows JJ and Ethel so she did not get shot, but he thought it was funny she would come to the call. (besides in the spring you can only shoot Toms).

I have heard people can eat acorns, but I think they are bitter.

Click to expand...

"A word must also be said for the acorn. A hen will not be attracted by a whole acorn and a prejudice exists against feeding it because of the risk of olive-colored or black yolks - as has undoubtedly occurred with ducks. But there is little evidence in support of this with poultry and, in any case, the poultry keeper consuming all his own eggs will be prepared to run this risk if he can obtain such a cheap and valuable food.

If the acorns are roughly broken or crushed, the hens will readily eat them whether fed green or much weathered. They pick out the kernel, leaving the shell (which may cause the discoloured yolks) and they can be given a good handful per bird daily.

It is best to dry the acorns for six weeks, spread on mesh netting or sacks in a shed, as they can then be stored. They can also be ground into meal."

My chicken yard is under a huge oak tree - my chickens have been picking at old acorns, but I don't think much is left now. We'll see when they roll back around again.

Interestingly...

"But little is known about horse chestnuts, although they are considered too bitter and binding for pigs. There can be no harm in feeding them in small quantities if they are soaked, skinned and boiled. But who has the time?"

I gotta go to work, but I'd rather stay home and read this instead!

- Ant Farm

That's interesting..

My acorns are run through the lawn mower every week. I bet that breaks them open enough for the chickens to eat. The yolks still seem a bright yellow to me. BUT after years of eating store bought eggs, all fresh eggs could look yellow,

My grandmother used to have us gather acorns. She would soak them and shell them.crush and soak repeatedly until the water was clear. Then she would spread them on a board in the sun till they dried out. Then it was into a mortar that looked like it was made out of lava to be ground until it was a coarse flour that she would make these little HEAVY cakes out of. It was an acquired taste, That I never acquired.
On another note hogs fed acorns Imo have the best tasting ham.

mountain mom said:

I love it, "citiots"!! Perfect.

Needless to say, I think you will fit right in here! Welcome!
I am sure Ralph will make you take the quiz, but you may get a pass with "citiot"...

My first round of meaties was quite small. Just 5. I was not sure if I could handle doing it. Or if it would be worth it.
Jessica jumped right in with 50, I think. Maybe it was 25, but I thought it was 50.

If you are thinking starting with just 5 (I would recommend at least 5 to make the processing and all the set up worth it) I would encourage you to consider making a larger tractor or coop to accommodate the larger group you will get the next time. That is, if you choose to do it again.

Ralph lives in Minnesota and he just got his meaties. So I would say you are in the clear before it is too cold. As I am sure you know, we all like to grow them a bit slower and give them happier lives. I just processed mine at a couple of days over 11 weeks.
Ralph will wait until they are geriatric chickens...

Click to expand...

The only place I have to tractor them right now is above our drain field for our septic system, and the main yard, which is about 1/2 an acre total. The goal is to build a nice large run in the woods leaving most of the natural vegetation there for the layers, and then a tractor for the meaties, with lots of supervised free range time. Too many things by me love chicken, so they do not get to be out when I am not home, sadly.


Quote:

I'm sure, while useful, citiot is not enough to get me out of the quiz, ::starts reviewing:: - be kind. Names Tricia, by the by, so happy to me all of you! I have to get my DH on board with my building a tractor yet this summer, while we are also trying to build a second garage - but I see some of you have posted set-ups that might lend themselves to being pulled together in a weekend.

Kildare49 said:

I live in South Central WI.

I will be getting 25 on the 21 of July ( from sunnyside ).

They should still have available for a August purchase. That would be when I normally do 2nd batch.....but fox raid on 1st batch has my schedule mixed up this year. August is my preferred time. Chicks still have warm weather.

Not sure were you live. I order mine through the local ag coop. I never checked on what the minimum order is.

Click to expand...

I'm over near Prescott, WI - I'm not sure if we have any ag coops that do chicks this late, but it's worth looking into! Thanks for the idea.