Best Tasting Chicken Breed

[Bossroo]

I found out that my alfalfa grower plowed under his 1200 acres of alfalfa due to 3 years of drought, therefore he can't get anymore irrigation water for this year. Hay prices just jumped up to the stratosphere. While the prices for all livestock is dropping like a rock. So, I just sold 4 mares and their foals. They just left for Canada this morning in a 25 horse rig. They have tons of GREEN grass up there now. I will miss my girls. I think that another 8 mares may be sold to a ranch in Texas, will know soon.

 

[weaveagarden]

Oh Bossroo I am so sorry. Too bad it wouldn't pay to foster them out.

 

[Bossroo]

Quote:
Not worth the hasstle due to liability issues , not to mention the lousy economy right now... what would happen if the foster person looses their job? I, just an hour ago, donated 3 geldings to a group home for abused kids. They will have a great loving home and the kids will enjoy the horsey rides and life lessons that my kids, then my grandkids got to learn. Win , win !!!

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I cut out big chunks to avoid repeating very long posts, over and over.

I'm very surprised to hear you say you market organic products, after reading a few of your posts where it sounds like you really disapprove of organic markets, and said you had poor yield when you tried to garden organically. I'm not sure what you mean by "nearly organic". But if you are engaging in environmentally sound practices, then yippee, good for you.
I'm sure you can see why I thought otherwise, from some of your previous posts, such as: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=128768&p=2 post #18 on this page,
and
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=128768&p=3 post # 29, here. There are plenty more, but you see what I mean.

I'm terribly sorry about your horses. It's a heart breaking situation.

This year we're getting plenty of rain, but that's following three very dry years. Last year Atlanta pretty much ran out of water. The reservoir for that city was so low they were on severe water restrictions, I think it was so low they were on "boil water" advisory for some time.

It was marginally better up here, in KY. Hay became extremely scarce, and people here were forced to slaughter livestock early, at a loss, or sell them for almost nothing, because they couldn't get feed for them. My chickens, being very hardy barnyard mixed breeds and dual purpose breeds, did fine. There were still lots of bugs, (Kentucky bugs are evidently immortal, especially the darn ticks and other things that bite, unless something eats them) and weed seeds, so they still had a good deal of forage, even when the grass became crunchy. If I'd had cattle or other livestock, I would have been in trouble.

I hear the weather people on the news say things like, "Bad news, more rain this week...." and "Good news, it'll be over 80F the next few days and none of the rain we've been plagued with..", and I just want to shake them. Even though what they say has nothing to do with what the weather will do, it just annoys me that they are so short-sighted and ignorant that they curse the very thing that puts food on their tables. I guess they don't remember the last three years, and what the folks in Georgia went through last summer.

The farmers are certainly not complaining about the rain this year. I celebrate every cloud.

I wish for you an end to the drought you've been enduring. I grew up in Oklahoma. I understand drought, even though I'm not a desert dweller.

 

[Dbl T in CO]

Cornish X have always been rated big.

But, I just read an article that Dorkings are by far the best eating bird out there. And they are good layers. You may want to research them and decide for yourself.

Good luck!

 

[dancingbear]

There are alternatives. If you're not hung up on getting a huge bird in 6-8 weeks, there are all kinds of choices. Just be aware they won't be as tender as a CX if fried or quick cooked by any method, but when cooked properly, (crock pot, slow-roast in a bag to retain moisture, something like that) extremely good eating.

 

[cw]

does it have to be a chicken. a guinea is mighty fine eaten as well

 

[Mahonri]

I've never tasted a dorking.

I've always been partial to Cornish X (either sex) and RIR roos by 16 weeks.

 

[TheBoonducks]

Bossroo, I'm very sorry to hear about your horses, its admirable that you take joy knowing they will be greatly appreciated, I hope the best. We use a product on our weeds (if needed) called Burnout, it is basically clove extract, citric acid, and vineagar. I know you can make something similar for much cheaper than you can buy the product, I dont know the price comparison to Roundup but I know it has worked just as well for us and is safer for our animals.
For those interested in saving seeds, check out the Seed Savers Exchange website which is one of the best resources for heirloom seed and has a great forum, http://forums.seedsavers.org/. Also, the book Seed to Seed is a good source of information on seed saving (there are a few discrepancies but solid for the most part and the best guide available). Peppers need 500ft to ensure pure seed, they are self pollinating, and heat is a dominant trait, as in a hot pepper next to a sweet will make the sweet hot. Cross pollinating in tomatoes really depends on the type/shape of flower, older wild varieties had/have pistils that extend far beyond the anther tube to facilitate pollination by insects. As they evolved and migrated north they developed the ability to self-pollinate and the pistils got shorter and shorter until some species (most modern varieties) became totally retracted into the anther tube eliminating any possibility of insect crossing. Varieties that still have protruding pistils (and cross pollinate easily) are all currant tomatoes, potato leaved varieties, and those with double blossoms (some beefsteaks); these pollinate much more readily and should be separated by 25ft for true seed (10ft for most modern varieties). Jeff McCormack recommends planting a barrio of high pollen producing plants like squash to attract bees away. We will have a Q/A section of our farm blog coming soon so feel free to send us any further questions.
Weaveagarden, Are there really breed pages for ducks? I would love to write one, and believe me, I have plenty of pics! We butchered our Ancona drakes (9wks) and the butcher said they looked really good, nice size and perfect amount of fat, but they were going through a bit of a molt and said 12wks would be better. Holderread recommends butchering at 7-10 wks, I think we just passed the time slot for that molt, but we were just going with when we could get an appointment. Here’s a link to a picture on our website, http://boondockersnaturals.com/duckmeat.aspx. It was a difficult but overall not bad experience. We used Mineral Springs in Yamhill and they were great, informative, caring, and highly experienced. We are not from farming families and for us and killing our animals for food is very new (big gulp) but we are omnivores… and it’s a good thing I love chicken because I think they will be easier for us to raise for our meat! Another local woman who I met at the butcher just got some Delawares, the butcher had recommended them to her as a good meat bird. Does anyone have any experience/opinions about them? I just placed an order for 100 cockrels who will be rotating our market farm in a tractor, so Ill tell you how the meat is in a few months!
We are more than happy to have visitors at the market farm or our duck yard. We are currently renting both the 2 acres where we market farm and our home which is also home to our ducks and their duck dogs. They are literally backyard ducks on a ¼ acre right outside city limits, pretty much in town and our market farm is 10 min. up the road. We ask that visitors to the duck yard (which are limited to those interested in our rare breeds and raising ducks) come with clean clothes and shoes to limit biosecurity hazards. We have some really great matings planned for next spring and will have many new hatchlings which we are anticipating already!
Oh also check out the new documentary “Fresh”, with Michel Pollan and Joel Salatin, which is the flipside of Food Inc. showcasing local sustainable food systems and calling for un-industrialization and diversity in our food supply nationwide and worldwide. http://www.freshthemovie.com/ , if no one in your area is hosting a screening you can host one for 50$ and keep any proceeds. Also, Deborah Garcia (The Future of Food) is coming out with a new documentary in the spring about soil, http://www.ingoodheart.com/.

 

[Bossroo]

The Boonducks... The abused kids took to the geldings like ducks to water. Their eyes lit up like christmas trees. The 8 mares are on their way to Texas. This week I sold a stallion who will have a nice harem in Cal. I also this week sold 2 geldings that I had in race training. One will start his dressage training this weekend and then be in competition with a 12 year old girl. The other will be at his new home on 500 acre estate with a 50 acre lake. He will have daily rides on the forest trails and around the lake with his new owners. When one door closes , another opens up. As for your clove extract/citric acid/ vinegar... I tried that and tried several variations. You need much more consentrated citric acid and vinegar which one can't readily get. also not reliable results, it may work on some individual plants and poorly on others of the same species. I now use Buckaneer, which is the generic for Roundup ( I posted Roundup as everone knows what it is ). It is the very same formulation. I use 8 oz diluted in 4 gals of water and add a splash ( 1/2 oz) of D-Foam, a surfactant, and a good squeeze of the cheapest dish soap ( also a surfactant). This is very effective on most species of vegetation and enexpensive...like HALF the cost of Roundup. Also I can use much less of it per backpack because the surfactant makes the water wetter by allowing the droplet to spread over the leaf surface thereby absorbed into the leaf pores much easier. Someday soon, I want to again raise a few ducks and turkeys as well as the chicken. I bone them out whole, then take the chicken and put on top of the duck , then put them on top of the turkey and roll them up and tie them into a roll then roast uptill cooked through. Add the usual Holiday trimmings and some good wine...and you get TURDUCKHEN ... Makes for the FINEST eating fit for a King !!!