Chronicles of Raising Meat Birds - Modern Broilers, Heritage and Hybrids

Pics
Date sort Score sort
Bookworm0124 said:
Honestly I'll probably end up making another bigger one or using some of my poultry fencing to make them a bigger area. Difficulty will be keeping the main flock from terrorizing them.

Also. I'm impatient. I ordered 12 Bielefelder eggs to hatch out. In theory there is an estimated delivery date of Monday. I'm hoping to keep two of the best hens and a rooster to keep as breeding stock for next year. Curious how they'd do integrating with the main flock. I do already have a roo in there, but I have 9 hens. So maybe two boys would be satisfied with 11 girls.:duc My other coop is one of those small prefab ones and I'm not positive how two separate flocks would do free ranging together. However, my current roo is in the teenage boy phase so I'm not totally in love with him. We shall see.
Click to expand...
I have several bielfelder ... I dont think I got the best stock but I have been less excited about them than I thought I would be. I may hatch out s few more but..... I like my Delaware so much more.
 
aliciaplus3 said:
I have several bielfelder ... I dont think I got the best stock but I have been less excited about them than I thought I would be. I may hatch out s few more but..... I like my Delaware so much more.
Click to expand...
Ooooooh. I was going to order 25 Delaware from Dawnridge farm early this fall. They’re getting 3lb finished weight in 12-13 weeks.

But the two Delaware’s I got from a show breeder are SO SLOW growing and TOTAL pricks, the girl really badly. Is this a breed thing, are they sort of standoff-ish? Because that’s not really what I want. I’m about to put them in crates at night because they’re going to kill a couple of the Cornish at night being jerks. Tonight I threw them in the big girl coop and figured they can fend for themself while I figure out how to get rid of them.
 
jolenesdad said:
I’m a member of a bielefelder group and someone was recently talking about processing and they said that 14 weeks is optimal but they do not have much of anything as far as meat and then those that keep them to 30+ weeks say they have a lot of their weight in fat.

I think since they’re so new here in the states that they may not be an “immediate” broiler prospect for you but can be built and worked towards much more utility like they’re known for in Germany.

The autosexing trait alone makes it a HUGELY worthwhile project and I’m jealous. They’ve been on my “exploration” list for a while.
Click to expand...
I guess we'll see how it goes!! See if I can find a happy medium as far as a good time to process. I found the eggs on eBay, in THEORY they're from a greenfire import a number of years ago.
 
jolenesdad said:
Ooooooh. I was going to order 25 Delaware from Dawnridge farm early this fall. They’re getting 3lb finished weight in 12-13 weeks.

But the two Delaware’s I got from a show breeder are SO SLOW growing and TOTAL pricks, the girl really badly. Is this a breed thing, are they sort of standoff-ish? Because that’s not really what I want. I’m about to put them in crates at night because they’re going to kill a couple of the Cornish at night being jerks. Tonight I threw them in the big girl coop and figured they can fend for themself while I figure out how to get rid of them.
Click to expand...
My main Delaware hens were from some I got in 2016(so no longer young) I liked that they laid pretty well through the winter months.... I have 2 girls (from privet ) and I would normally get one big pink egg a day. I think I liked them more their second year.... witch is weird usually the first year is the best for a hen. Last fall I managed to hatch a rooster out of them and a Big white rooster I had, the youngster hit 5 pounds live at 12 weeks. I remember because I was weighing regularly then and he just amazed me. I currently have him over one of his half sisters, a light brahma, a columbian wyandotte and my 2 delaware..... and trying to hatch every egg they lay. My hope is to meet that happy medium. I did order some more Delaware from sand hill preservation center this year and they seem to be ok.... no grand growth rates but active and everywhere. We will see
 
Compost King said:
https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/delaware-gmo-free.asp If I ever get Delawares again this is where I am getting them from (unless I hear a complaint from someone). I bought some from Ideal a year ago and learned the hard way why people are down on big Hatcheries when it comes to dual purpose for meat.
Click to expand...
I was eyeing those..... mmmmm so far one of Big Boy (my Delaware rooster)'s babies is 2x as big as it's hatch mates they are 2.5 weeks I plan to get it wing banded soon so I can keep track of it amongst the many I have in my flock.... wing bands seem to be the best way for me to be sure of when a bird was hatched. And keep track of other details I might want to remember (when I remember to write them in the book)
 
Compost King said:
https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/delaware-gmo-free.asp If I ever get Delawares again this is where I am getting them from (unless I hear a complaint from someone). I bought some from Ideal a year ago and learned the hard way why people are down on big Hatcheries when it comes to dual purpose for meat.
Click to expand...


Do you think they are selecting for better meat birds in that line? The non GMO thing I am not much interested in but I am wondering about stock. Mostly I think ordinary hatchery Delaware stock would be not so great for a meat bird project.

I was looking at the Delawares (and some others) at Deer Run Farm. Seems like very good stick and they do have 4 really nice egg layer breeds.

https://www.deerrunfarmmd.com/pages/our-breeding-program
 
Newyorkrita said:
Do you think they are selecting for better meat birds in that line? The non GMO thing I am not much interested in but I am wondering about stock. Mostly I think ordinary hatchery Delaware stock would be not so great for a meat bird project.

I was looking at the Delawares (and some others) at Deer Run Farm. Seems like very good stick and they do have 4 really nice egg layer breeds.

https://www.deerrunfarmmd.com/pages/our-breeding-program
Click to expand...
I am not all that concerned about Non GMO either. I have my issues with the use of certain herbicides or other pesticides that GMO plants are made for but I am not so into the Anti GMO thing that I think its infecting the entire planet down the food chain.
Thanks for the link, I want to check out as many options as I can find before I start up a sustainable Delaware meat flock. I also want to start up a New Hampshire meat flock then make sex links from the 2. I can sell the females to people wanting eggs then raise the males for meat.
 

Similar threads

FunClucks
    • Like
    • Informative
Meat Bird Comparison: Freedom Ranger Hatchery White Ranger, FR New Hampshire, Cornish Rock Cross, and Ginger Broilers
Replies
4
Views
223
FunClucks
FunClucks
A
    • Love
    • Like
My own variety of meat birds
2 3 4
Replies
30
Views
3K
Adorae
A
Esrun
How to house meat bird in a stationary coop?
2 3
Replies
20
Views
3K
Acre4Me
Acre4Me
M
Raising meat birds
Replies
2
Views
766
Ridgerunner
Ridgerunner
I
Should cornish cross not getting any outdoor time or daylight at all ?
Replies
7
Views
2K
HenriettaPizzaNolan
HenriettaPizzaNolan

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom