BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

It will be for the best and things will be more peaceful afterwards, but I know how hard it is for you (you let yourself get so attached to those bachelors). To mentally protect myself, I have to keep in my brain at all times that almost any boy is potentially dinner. But I have definitely found that the longer I keep them, the harder it is. Before Goodwin was killed, I had thought to get rid of Monkey the splash copper marans. But I had talked myself into actually finding a loving home for him (which is nuts compared to the way I usually think about my flock...). Now that Goodwin is no more, Monkey gets a bunch of new girlfriends instead.

You, too? I have WAAAAAAAY too many chicks on the way, between orders and incubating. I must be out of my mind. I realize that gives me more leeway to select the very best to keep, but I may need to buy yet ANOTHER freezer...

- Ant Farm

I'm getting better about not getting so attached to the boys....except the Silver Grey Dorking flock + two boys from my own flock. That is the friendliest, sweetest and most affectionate group of birds I've ever hatched. I think the SGDs have taught "my" hatchlings to be even sweeter than normal. Anytime I have a bad day I just go out to their pen and all the stress melts away under their intense affection. I'm glad I'll have to perform heavy breeding/hatching of the SGDs for a while because the thought of culling any of that flock just stabs at my heart. And Andres (the Giant) and Lenny, the fastest growing NN cockerel I've ever hatched, are in that group, so they all look like keepers to me.

 

[bnjrob]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dfr1973

LOL - on the topic of hatching,last month, my mom tried to give me a warning about hatching all these cute little chicks. "This lady lives in Texas and blogs; she hatched and hatched and before she knew it, she had 50 chickens and needed a new coop!" I laughed and said that lady is an amateur ... I am up to about 70 right now with the current hatch. I didn't have the heart to tell mom I was over 100 chickens last spring.

I'm getting tired of my family telling me "You're doing too much, you need to cut back." They just refuse to believe that this is the life my husband and I have chosen and that it is a lot of work, but we do it willingly. I like eating my own eggs and my own poultry meat and my own garden produce. Even though agriculture is in our family background with my grandparents and their ancestors, my parents and everybody else in the family just doesn't *get* it and they think I'm wasting my time when I can go to the store and buy everything.

 

[bnjrob]

I've had a few problems with some of the Biels beyond heat intolerance. Not only did they take an insanely long time to start laying, but they stop for any and every reason imaginable. While some of my NNs and WRs were practically bald for weeks while molting, they've either continued laying the whole time or only took 3-5 weeks off. My two Biel girls lost just a few feathers on their back and haven't laid eggs in over four months...and one of the girls seems to have a cold AGAIN. I plan to butcher her this week too. She's incredibly sweet and beautiful, but she's also adding plenty to my feed bill without paying for her meals.

For people who want pets, these birds are great. For people who want meat, I've actually found that Biel + Australorp crosses are not only big, fast growing birds, but are some of the tastiest with a really nice fat layer that keeps the meat moist and succulent. The pure Biels that I've butchered have had so much fat that I've actually cut over half of it off the carcass to render and use in other recipes. For people who want eggs....it's a bit of a crap shoot. I've heard from others that their Biels are amazing layers of huge eggs. My best laying Biel did give me a nice supply of jumbo eggs while she was alive, but they definitely need a particular environment to survive. I'll stick with my NNs and now my Silver Grey Dorkings, who've completely won my heart.

I have to wonder if some of the problem is poor breeding in their backgrounds. Greenfire and other folks bring in *rare* birds and such and they are trying to recoup their money by selling them for a fortune, so they aren't necessarily doing the best breeding job. And then the people that buy these birds do the same thing. Not to mention that so many backyarders give their birds antibiotics every time they sneeze, and they choose breeders for sentimental reasons rather than looking at vigor and such. I know of several people that insist on breeding birds that are constantly *sick* and selling the offspring because they like pretty birds. Humans find the survival of the fittest way of life to be distasteful, so they have difficulty thinking in terms of only breeding the hardiest poultry and I think this may be the cause of some of the problem with breeds/strains of birds that have significant difficulty in certain situations. Birds have survived thousands of years without all the niceties, but the weak ones were also culled in one way or another - that's not happening in most poultry situations these days because of the sentimentality attached to them now and people not liking to think about killing an animal even for food.

 

[Molpet]

I'm getting tired of my family telling me "You're doing too much, you need to cut back." They just refuse to believe that this is the life my husband and I have chosen and that it is a lot of work, but we do it willingly. I like eating my own eggs and my own poultry meat and my own garden produce. Even though agriculture is in our family background with my grandparents and their ancestors, my parents and everybody else in the family just doesn't *get* it and they think I'm wasting my time when I can go to the store and buy everything.

yes my brother and cousins think I am nuts to raise my own organic eggs and poultry.... they say I can buy chicken, turkey and eggs for under a dollar a lb on sale ..

 

[DesertChic]

I'm getting tired of my family telling me "You're doing too much, you need to cut back." They just refuse to believe that this is the life my husband and I have chosen and that it is a lot of work, but we do it willingly. I like eating my own eggs and my own poultry meat and my own garden produce. Even though agriculture is in our family background with my grandparents and their ancestors, my parents and everybody else in the family just doesn't *get* it and they think I'm wasting my time when I can go to the store and buy everything.

yes my brother and cousins think I am nuts to raise my own organic eggs and poultry.... they say I can buy chicken, turkey and eggs for under a dollar a lb on sale ..

My teenage son and I had this discussion. In fact we have this discussion ever time I set up to butcher another bird. Everyone else just stares at me aghast and whines, "But how can you kill a bird you've hatched, raised, cuddled and named?" followed by, "I could NEVER do that," as if I've now been firmly classified as a living monster akin to Bundy and Manson.

 

[lcertuche]

I explain to friends and family how I am giving my chickens the best life. Certainly better than any conditions chickens, or for that matter, any critter raised commercially. Yes, my free range birds have to endure predator threats but so do wild birds. Any one ever seen a roadrunner run up and grab a sparrow knows this. I think people just don't want to put a face on their food. If that's the case they should consider being a vegan. Yes it's work but then so is mowing a yard in town, carrying garbage cans to the curb, and cleaning house. I'd rather pick up brush anyday rather than spend the day shopping, ugg!

 

[Molpet]

My teenage son and I had this discussion. In fact we have this discussion ever time I set up to butcher another bird. Everyone else just stares at me aghast and whines, "But how can you kill a bird you've hatched, raised, cuddled and named?" followed by, "I could NEVER do that," as if I've now been firmly classified as a living monster akin to Bundy and Manson.

they said I was curella deville from 101 dalmations....

 

[DesertChic]

they said I was curella deville from 101 dalmations....

Well....at least she had cool hair.

 

[DesertChic]

I explain to friends and family how I am giving my chickens the best life. Certainly better than any conditions chickens, or for that matter, any critter raised commercially. Yes, my free range birds have to endure predator threats but so do wild birds. Any one ever seen a roadrunner run up and grab a sparrow knows this. I think people just don't want to put a face on their food. If that's the case they should consider being a vegan. Yes it's work but then so is mowing a yard in town, carrying garbage cans to the curb, and cleaning house. I'd rather pick up brush anyday rather than spend the day shopping, ugg!

If I never had to set foot in any of our local food marts again I'd be perfectly happy. I know what goes into all of my food grown here, and I know it's REAL, not some compilation of chemicals manipulated to taste like something it bears no resemblance to. My birds live well, are fed well, and are loved. I pity those poor genetically manipulated fowl living in bio-secure warehouses. They may only have to endure that life for 6-8 weeks, but what a horrible way to live their brief life. I've seen pure ecstasy on my bird's faces simply by being able to dust bathe and lay in the sunshine. Yeah....the butchering is hard to do, but I wouldn't trade it for anything now.

 

[Beekissed]

Here ya go, folks...a charming way to ID your chickens.

I can now die....I've seen everything now.