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I've been told by experienced breeders that I should keep the cocks separated from the hens unless I'm in the process of breeding them, and I hate to say it but I think as a general rule they're right. I do think it mostly depends on the cock bird though. But like in the case of my layers, which...

Gosh I got a couple of layer hens that have the same wear and tear you're describing. When I went out there today I thought I had a new Naked Neck in the run but it was just the one hen the rooster likes the most. I'm going to separate that rooster for a while to give the girls some time to...

We BBQed our first Naked Neck Cockerels today and man-o-man, they are one delicious bird! Never thought they'd be as good as they were but they far exceeded everyone's expectations. They were almost 6 months old and averaged around 7 lbs. We didn't do anything special to them, like let them rest...

I'm brand new to breeding and only started very recently so take my info with a grain of salt. I've done a lot of research on the subject and I still have a lot more to do but I might be of some help. The Livestock Conservancy has info on selecting birds for breeding and here is one of their...

I haven't worried too much about feeding raw meats because they also eat every mouse that comes into the run, as well as every cockroach they can catch, and just about anything else that walks or crawls. I'm sure most of those critters carry far more unsavory things than ground meat from the...

I've been getting it at Wally Mart for around $5 a pound. Look for the stuff that's marked down and nearing expiration. One time they didn't have any so I went with ground beef but of course it was a little pricier.

I give the ground pork to mine raw. I've given them cooked pork before and they loved it too but they definitely prefer the raw ground best. Maybe it's just because they're more familiar with it but they'll run me over to get to it.

Gosh, thanks for that link. I'm going to give them a try.

Yep, those are the same prices here at the feed stores. Gosh, two 40 lb bags of Nutrena Meatbird feed cost me $52 the other day. The Starter-Grower runs $20. I haven't priced the Gamebird feed and I only saw a 5 lb bag which I'm sure is astronomically high. I'll look for the 40 or 50 lb bag when...

No kidding? I thought about using the gamebird feed but the feed store said it's too much protein for chickens - that didn't sound right to me because I read somewhere that a higher protein diet isn't detrimental until you get way up to something like 40%. And even then it takes prolonged use...

I do the same as you - feed higher protein Starter-Grower or Feather Fixer, and believe it or not I got asked the same question the other day at the feed store. I found my layers do substantially better with the higher protein and oyster shell free-choice. I go through more oyster shell of...

You got that right! It was 74 this afternoon and I kept a sweatshirt on. I don't think I can ever live anywhere North of Phoenix again. If I want to see snow I'll turn on the Weather Channel.

Wow, no kiddin'. Yeah I figured that was the case. Ok then, it'll be chikin' for supper for them tonight. I gave them the pork around lunchtime and I felt like a Trump supporter in the middle of a Hillary rally - they were all over me - I thought I might not see my family again. I remember at...

Ok, gotcha - thanks. We have some leftover roast pork in the fridge I'm going to try feeding them tomorrow. A couple are undergoing a light molt but they're still pretty young - won't be a year old till January. My rooster Hoss is about 2/3 of the way through his full-blown molt so I'm feeding...

On the pork, did you give it them raw or cooked in some way?

Are your meat birds Cornish Crosses? I just got my Cornish X chicks in Tuesday but all I had to do yesterday was cut the heat lamps off. It got to 98F in the new coop where they're living at the moment but since they're so young yet they were ok. Once they gain a few pounds though 95 will kill...

Gosh, you're making me hungry. I never thought about turkey sausage.

Thanks. Yeah the NN's definitely stole the show today. I had a bunch of people that came over because they wanted to see them in-person. No one was disappointed - they all got a kick out of seeing them. I think I'll have to start charging a nickel a head if this keeps up. I forgot to ask you...

All excellent points - you know your stuff. I always cut both jugulars rather than lopping off the head- very quick and it drains a lot of the blood. Personally we think they taste a lot better when we do it that way. On another note my hatchery NN's, Dark Cornish's, and Cornish Crosses came...

You got the right idea for sure. The sad thing is their fur isn't even worth enough to take the time to skin anymore. I used to just use parts of them for fox bait in sets.