BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[CanadianBuckeye]

@CanadianBuckeye
Have you seen that in more than just that one bird? Maybe it is a Buckeye thing. There were some other birds processed at the same time from another friend's flock. They had some fat in the same area but nothing like this. Different breeds and all laying birds. The fat from my girl looked healthier than what was on the other birds and my friend that was going to render the fat isn't going to use the fat from the other flock because she didn't think it looked as healthy as what this Buck had.

This girl's organs were very nice. She didn't seem to be ailing in any way.

Only reason I took her out is that she was aggressive and attacking other birds (not normal pecking order but flying through the air, landing on the back and ripping feathers out of select birds). I'm not willing to put up with that and her hatch-mates don't behave like that at a

I have not processed any other Buckeyes so I can't say if this is common or not. I wonder if your Buckeye hen had some sort of hormonal imbalance, that un-Buckeye like psycho behavoiur and excess fat might be symptoms?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:

I know that this CAN happen and there are a lot of warnings in the old literature about it causing decreased egg production. I've only seen a good deal of intra abdominal fat in some cockerels that we had - who were put into a small enough pen that they couldn't run around like lunatics fighting all the time, and they were fed a good deal of corn because it was an exceptionally cold winter for us. Otherwise, our Javas are lean birds with minimal fat anywhere, even in the old hens we've processed. I would say that either this is an isolated occurrence with this one bird and how she processed food, or their diet regimen needs tweaking if you find it in more birds.

Well, for whatever it's worth, I had a group of Naked Necks from Ideal received in September, and growing up outside into the winter in a tractor covered with a tarp, very low tech. It wasn't super cold (I'm in South Texas), they had sufficient shelter, but it was chilly, and definitely not cozy. They were paddocked, but the paddock was quite big. (Yes, I finally got their extravagant coop built.)

Anyway, I culled the extra cockerels I wasn't keeping in late December. They included both NN and Nn boys (with the Nn having noticeably more feathers than the NNs). There was a LOT of fat in the NNs - it was STRIKING (I had the same reaction as you). But it looked healthy, and they were healthy, no fatty liver, etc. Much more than in the Nns. I am thinking that it was their bodies' reaction to the cold. The pullets in this same group (including the NNs with the least feathers) went into lay starting at 20 weeks, and lay REALLY REALLY well, and there's no reason to think they wouldn't have had the same fatty reaction.

I've not seen this when I cull in hot weather.

So, this may not be your situation, but FWIW, I would think that if these birds (however well suited to the cold) had the opportunity to be really cold this winter, it could just be that maybe. I wouldn't worry if you're not feeding them too much corn/scratch and they get exercise. Just enjoy and make some schmalz!!!!

- Ant Farm

 

[DesertChic]

I posted this in the Buckeye thread but wanted to post here to see if anyone has any thoughts.


Had an interesting processing experience this morning and curious if anyone has had this before.

We processed a Buckeye pullet. This bird was approximately 8 months old give or take a week. Her lower abdomen was FULL OF FAT. Never seen anything like it before. HUGE AMOUNT OF FAT.

My Bucks that are this age have not started laying yet, though possibly one has this week. (Not this girl that we processed.)

This girl that we processed had SO MUCH FAT that it seems like it would have been difficult for her to lay an egg. Anyhow, just wondering if anyone has seen this with any birds you've processed? I haven't seen this on any of the birds I've processed before but I have to admit that I haven't done many and the ones I did were males.


It's making me nervous that more of my birds may had that kind of fat. But I have SFH that seem to be bony kids that are the same age as this girl.


Thoughts? Experiences with this?

I can't speak to Buckeyes, but this describes my Bielefelders perfectly....both hens and roosters are full of abdominal fat, enough to cut off and render down for cooking. There was so much fat that I couldn't reach in to remove the organs until I cut most of it away, and there was also a lot of intra-organ fat in some of them. After butchering a few I came to understand why they overheat so easily out here in southern AZ.

 

[bnjrob]

I'm definitely thinking I need to tweak something!

Interestingly, the intestines were beautiful and clean; organs healthy.

Fat even looked very good and a friend of mine is going to render it for cooking. But if I had to guess without having measured, I'd say there was at least 1C of fat in that abdominal. In a dry measure cup it would have been more than a cup even if I tried to pack it in. I just kept looking at the amount of fat with my mouth hanging open and eyes wide.

The schmaltz from the rendering should be great. That's what I did with the fat we got from those cockerels - still have some too since I pressure canned it for long shelf life. Since then I've always kept it in the back of my mind that if I needed more, I just need to fatten up some cull birds with corn and less exercise.

 

[NanaKat]

 
I'm definitely thinking I need to tweak something!

Interestingly, the intestines were beautiful and clean; organs healthy. 

Fat even looked very good and a friend of mine is going to render it for cooking.  But if I had to guess without having measured, I'd say there was at least 1C of fat in that abdominal.  In a dry measure cup it would have been more than a cup even if I tried to pack it in.  I just kept looking at the amount of fat with my mouth hanging open and eyes wide. 

The schmaltz from the rendering should be great.  That's what I did with the fat we got from those cockerels - still have some too since I pressure canned it for long shelf life.  Since then I've always kept it in the back of my mind that if I needed more, I just need to fatten up some cull birds with corn and less exercise.

Yummy....schmaltz and gribenes.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Well, maybe it IS just winter. Or Buckeyes. Or both.

I was really gearing up to figure out a diet around here.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I had to look up schmaltz and gribenes

I wish I had taken the time to render the fat but it's been, and going to be, a very busy few weeks so I gave it to my Ukrainian friend who was delighted to get it.

 

[lpatelski]

Just out of the oven!

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I had to look up schmaltz and gribenes

I wish I had taken the time to render the fat but it's been, and going to be, a very busy few weeks so I gave it to my Ukrainian friend who was delighted to get it.

I actually went and BOUGHT The Book of Schmalyz (I'm a sucker for cookbooks, and the author was on The Splendid Table). What he does is every time he roasts or dresses a chicken, he cuts off any extra fat or skin when preparing it, and just puts it in a mason jar in the freezer. When he gathers enough (I want to say 2 cups), he does a batch. So that's what I'm doing - I have a jar in my freezer now... And you can bet next time I process I'll do that also. So, an idea for next time. (But what an amazing gift - and how great to have a friend who recognizes it as such!).

- Ant Farm

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Warning!!!! Graphic autopsy photos!!!






Buckeyes- the Schmaltz breed!

I dug out those photos of the Buckeye hen I autopsied. She had developed a large lump and bald spot under her bum, and it looked and felt as if she had ascites and I was afraid intestines were going to pop out of her body cavity and she was suffering. But it was just fat, although I think something else was going on because of the yellow liver. This is how much fat there was, and you can see the off colour of the liver. She was a nice hen though, I am sorry to have lost her.