All this incubating going on, how do you manage your hatches and flock. WARNING MAY GET GRAPHIC!!!

[r4eboxer]

I see so many people that incubate at all different times of the year. I too love to incubate and hatch. I'm just wondering what everyone does with all the birds that are hatched. I know some do this for meat and they put most in the freezer. I know how tough roosters are for meat, even Cornish X roosters are pretty tough and I'm not willing to grow out roosters.

It takes so much to grow out all of these chicks, is everyone going broke on feed? There just does not seem to be the market for all these birds to be sold either, especially the way America eats now days.

I'd like to hatch out my ducks, chickens, turkeys and geese but there is no way I'm feeding all of those chicks to adulthood.

I know how to sex geese and ducks so I know I'm not going to grow all the males out, I just don't know what I'm going to do with them. I've read where some people use the pincher type tools to take care of the nasty business.

If you incubate how to you handle that? or am I the only one who is not willing to grow all those birds out?

I've only hatched out 4 geese, a few guineas and a couple of ducks because I"m afraid of going broke, but I want to fill my bators and get some hens to sell locally for eggs. I do need to learn how to sex chickens besides the feather growth method before I set out on that project though.

I have read about almost everything else related to poultry on here and I've never come across a thread that discusses this in any kind of detail.

 

[gryeyes]

A lot of folks sell the chicks they hatch, which I think is very clever of 'em. I, on the other hand, keep everything I hatch, at least until the cockerels crow. Then I send those to a friend's "Freezer Camp" and they process them with any cockerels they have...

But the last time I incubated was in May. Currently I'm only dealing with chicks hatched by broody hens because I hAD to slow down.

 

[delisha]

Nasty business? Your love of chickens is showing..

If you do not want certain sex poultry why breed? Just purchase females and purchase what you need and will use.

So before purchasing chickens decide why you are purchasing them, what you need them for, what is your budget. How many can you have? How many do you need.

Males and females taste exactly the same. Taste comes from how they are raised and what they are fed, type of bird, processing, and preparation.

Do some reading on healthy raising of chickens, free range, types of feed, how to correctly butcher a chicken, how long to cool the chicken after processing, Seasoning you can use in ice baths. Correctly storing poultry.

These are things everyone should know before starting.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I sell alot of chicks on Craigslist this time of year. However, in the warmer months when there's more for the chickens to forage I do grow them out and process extra boys. I don't think they're tough, I process at a young (tender) age and let them rest in brine before cooking them. Any older bird, hen or roo, is going to be tougher. They get cooked using a low and slow method. If I were to grow out boys this time of year it would cost me and arm and leg in feed. I have an enclosed run, so extra boys are tossed out into the yard to free range and sleep in a separate hutch at night, since there's all kinds of bugs and greens in the warm months for them to eat they don't get any feed. I give them kitchen scraps and the occasional handful of scratch.
Nikki

 

[Eggcessive]

For chickens that lay eggs why not just buy red sexlinked chicks this spring? They are available at all of the feedstores and you won't have any males by mistake. I think we all like to hatch out baby chicks, but as Delisha said, one has to have a backup plan for what to do with extras. I give away my extra roos to a friend for meat, but I have to feed them, and even my friend can't use too many.

 

[r4eboxer]

I know there has to be someone out there with some actual pertinent information to my question. Are there any ol' timers left on the forum?

 

[delisha]

I see so many people that incubate at all different times of the year. I too love to incubate and hatch. I'm just wondering what everyone does with all the birds that are hatched. I know some do this for meat and they put most in the freezer. I know how tough roosters are for meat, even Cornish X roosters are pretty tough and I'm not willing to grow out roosters.
This is a statement..not a question
It takes so much to grow out all of these chicks, is everyone going broke on feed? There just does not seem to be the market for all these birds to be sold either, especially the way America eats now days.
I would not be raising chickens if broke, it takes planning to be successful in any business.
I'd like to hatch out my ducks, chickens, turkeys and geese but there is no way I'm feeding all of those chicks to adulthood.
This is another statement
I know how to sex geese and ducks so I know I'm not going to grow all the males out, I just don't know what I'm going to do with them. I've read where some people use the pincher type tools to take care of the nasty business.
Another one
If you incubate how to you handle that? or am I the only one who is not willing to grow all those birds out?
Handle what? I eat or sell my chickens. I hatch out what I need and no more.
I've only hatched out 4 geese, a few guineas and a couple of ducks because I"m afraid of going broke, but I want to fill my bators and get some hens to sell locally for eggs. I do need to learn how to sex chickens besides the feather growth method before I set out on that project though.
Another statement
I have read about almost everything else related to poultry on here and I've never come across a thread that discusses this in any kind of detail.
What exactly do you want discussed?

I am an OT..I have been raising chickens for 35 years

 

[hallerlake]

I know how many I can manage at a time, and don't hatch more than I have room for. I raise them until I can tell which ones I want for my breeding program. Some, I know fairly early because of obvious flaws. Others, I may have to wait 4-6 months before I can tell. I sell the ones I don't want. There is a ready market for pullets. Since I raise rare breeds, there is even some market for the cockerels. Any cockerels left over after that, I take to the feed store.

Are you asking about our culling methods? If a chick has serious problems that are obvious at hatch, I cut off its head with large, sharp scissors (over and into a plastic bag). I have also wrung necks. Be sure to go around twice. Once is not enough.

Graphic enough for you?

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: The poster does seem to be beating around the bush.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I know there has to be someone out there with some actual pertinent information to my question. Are there any ol' timers left on the forum?

What about the responses is not pertinent? We answered the questions you asked. Is there something we're supposed to be reading between the lines?
I wouldn't say I'm an 'ol timer, but I've had chickens for almost 10 years, so I like to think I've got plenty of experience in them. By the way, considering everyone went out of their way to answer your questions (when they indeed have been covered at some point or another somewhere in the forum) I find your response a little insulting :/
Nikki