meat bird

I ordered Jumbo Cornish X and Cornish game hens. 12 of each. I asked hatchery to separate them or mark them so I could tell the difference, they did not. Will I be able to tell when they are older? I know Game hens are usually ready before Cornish X. That’s why I’m a bit worried. I don’t want to...

Happy Monday, processing my first batch off meat birds this week. Prior to throwing them in the plucker do I need to sterilize the feather/skin area from one bird to the next? is there any issue of contamination I should be worried about?. Does the dip in the hot water cover that just not...

Hi y’all! My latest batch of broilers (1/2 Cornish cross, 1/2 freedom rangers) was a “test batch” from a new hatchery. Some of the Cornish are... not what I’m used to seeing. Several of them have patches of black feathers. They have had them since I got them as day-old chicks. They all seem...

Questions are at the bottom My husband and I would like to add some more chickens to our little farm. We have a rooster and hen we got from a neighbor to just roam around the yard for big control and chicken tv. We started with the rooster and three hens but one got killed by the other hens and...

I am in the market for a plucker and noticed that Amazon has the 20" Kitchener Plucker in the link below on sale for $279 today (from $350). I am debating between that and the 20" YARDBIRD Plucker 21833, which is $400. Can anyone shed light on the performance (or lack thereof) the Kitchener...

Our Biggest Turkey Weighing 42lbs. Before cull.After Cull. Plucked, & Butchered.

Hello! I am raising chickens (Specifically the breed White Hen X bred at A&M university) for my FFA animal showing, and this will be my first time. I have done a lot of research already, but I am very interested in learning more on how I am to take care of my tasty friends! (BTW, I've named them...

We currently have 11 meat birds (cornishX) that we plan to process Sunday afternoon. We have previously done 2 roosters that were aggressive. We did little planning other than withholding feed 24 hours. That was a hot mess to clean out. That said, I have 2 questions. As I said, Sunday is the...

I came back from setting some eggs in the incubator and when I went to do the evening move/feed noticed one of my meat birds didn’t move to the new grass, wouldn’t stand or go for the feed. I’ve moved her inside her comb is purplish she is panting and has a swollen abdomen right near her vent. I...

I have a 5 chicken flock. One Buff Orpington, Austalorp, Barred Rock, Red Star, and Easter Egger. Names Buffy, Scarlet, Dak, Crispy, and Cheeks respectively. For me, my 5 chickens are my pets and egg layers for my family. I built their coop with my father with an attached run and all but they...

Moved my meat birds out today at 4 weeks old, and I’m puzzled by this featherless wonder. I am supposed to have all Red Rangers, but this one is a little different... hatchery (Beau Peep in BC, Canada) also provides CX and dark Cornish as meat breeds. Any thoughts on what it might be? This is...

I would like to contribute my experience with Ideal Poultry's Black Broilers. First, these birds are hardy and gentle. I butchered several (I do it by hand- cervical dislocation- minimal flapping) and they were calm during the entire process. They matured slower than I would have liked on 24%...

Greetings: I have fry pan buff orpington and barred rock boys. I know they likely will not be as succulent as the meaty ladies I raised last year, but I want to give them every chance at that level of yumminess. Is a 24% chick starter feed on to give for the remaining 3 weeks before I look at...

My 1st time having chickens...so I have no idea if this is normal. My meat bird has a pretty big swollen area underneath her vent/butt area. But she also seems very fat lol. (I say "she" because I'm not sure of the sex). I think she's about 4-6 weeks old. She eats a lot, but I thought meat birds...

has anyone here recorded the mass of a chicken pre-slaughter and then its mass after processing it(removing its guts and feathers etc). If anyone here has I would really like to know those records. I'm curious to see how much of the bird is actually the processed meat we get in the end.

I've got 2 broiler chicks 2 months old (and the size of full grown chickens lol) i want to keep them happy and healthy for their life. I keep them seperate from everyone in their own coop for 2 so they can eat a small amount only at night they free range during the day. The bugs are not as...

So my husband and I have decided we want to raise turkeys next year. Mainly for meat, our big goal is to just raise some for Thanksgiving to start with. I have some questions before we dive in... We were originally planning on getting poults in January to raise until November when we would...

I splurged earlier this summer and bought a collection of rare breed chickens from Greenfire Farms. If you don't know Greenfire, you should check out their website. They have gorgeous, healthy birds from all over the world. They import directly from the best stock they can find. These two...

what do y’all recommend for defeathering larger birds like brahmas? All the defeathering machines I see are for 2-3 lb birds.