BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Arielle]

Quote: Looks like I am not the only one that has had to relearn how to cook. Poultry direct from the farm is very different than most of the commercial products. I'm all for using animal fats!!! I keep the bacon fat for misc uses. Looks like I should skim off a supply of chicken fat before we eat it all in a soup!!

THe store bought ground turkey is oddly spiced and while I eat almost anything, this stuff needs aromatics to disguise it!!

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

I could see myself grinding up the dark meat and make sausage with bacon

. I don't really care for the breasts. But I would just skin the birds, lop off the thigh and leg for grinding and throw the carcass with breast on in a bag for making stock. I do A LOT of stock. I use the heck out of it.

As for meeting state laws, I would be selling live animals. If I get into butchering I have to pour a foundation somewhere and cover with a greenhouse to make my own processing plant. Not there at this point.

When we skin birds we compost the feathers for use in our fields. We are really focusing on a biodynamic approach to our farm and the chickens are a part of that. They till fields to be planted, eating weed seeds and fertilize. We sell their eggs, eat their meat, and compost their feathers. Circle of life around here!

 

[bnjrob]

Looks like I am not the only one that has had to relearn how to cook. Poultry direct from the farm is very different than most of the commercial products. I'm all for using animal fats!!! I keep the bacon fat for misc uses. Looks like I should skim off a supply of chicken fat before we eat it all in a soup!!

THe store bought ground turkey is oddly spiced and while I eat almost anything, this stuff needs aromatics to disguise it!!

Funny how the less pre-processed food you eat, the funkier the store bought stuff tastes. Have chicken fat and also beef tallow that I use. The family was surprised at how tasty the homemade flour tortillas made with beef tallow are.

 

[bnjrob]

I could see myself grinding up the dark meat and make sausage with bacon

. I don't really care for the breasts. But I would just skin the birds, lop off the thigh and leg for grinding and throw the carcass with breast on in a bag for making stock. I do A LOT of stock. I use the heck out of it.

As for meeting state laws, I would be selling live animals. If I get into butchering I have to pour a foundation somewhere and cover with a greenhouse to make my own processing plant. Not there at this point.

When we skin birds we compost the feathers for use in our fields. We are really focusing on a biodynamic approach to our farm and the chickens are a part of that. They till fields to be planted, eating weed seeds and fertilize. We sell their eggs, eat their meat, and compost their feathers. Circle of life around here!

That's great to have things in place to use so much of everything. We're not using everything yet, but we're headed that direction. The idea of using chicken feet and other offal is just not doing it for me yet. I did actually read about skinning chicken feet the other day. Baby steps, LOL. I make a ton of broth and seasoned stock here with bones and skin. My pressure canner pretty much lives on the stove.

I anticipate only being able to raise animals for our own use unless we start keeping birds on a much larger scale that could pay for itself. Even selling live animals for food, legally, can get so nitpicky here. Big-ag interests always come first when it comes to regulations, and then the various medical and hospital associations also lobby against allowing small producers to be able to sell anything. They tell everyone that people will be dying left and right from e coli and salmonella if things are made easy for small producers to sell things.

 

[DesertChic]

I've been thinking about getting the starter flock from Omega farms, Would the full flock be better?

I guess that depends on your goals. I'm hoping to get at least 10 hatchlings to start my flock with and managed to get eggs from two separate strains. I'm hoping to work on improving the breed over the coming years and this will be a long-term project for me. They're actually going to be my "learn-by-doing" birds to supplement all of the reading, researching and studying I've been doing on breeding for production.

I had contemplated a starter flock as well, but I just can't bring myself to have chicks shipped to me through the mail knowing what I know of the postal workers around here. I swear they use packages as punching bags before delivery, even when marked "fragile". But, if my hatch doesn't go well, I'll probably bite the bullet and order some chicks directly from Greenfire farms...and then not sleep through a night until they've arrived.

 

[jbkirk]

I guess that depends on your goals. I'm hoping to get at least 10 hatchlings to start my flock with and managed to get eggs from two separate strains. I'm hoping to work on improving the breed over the coming years and this will be a long-term project for me. They're actually going to be my "learn-by-doing" birds to supplement all of the reading, researching and studying I've been doing on breeding for production.

I had contemplated a starter flock as well, but I just can't bring myself to have chicks shipped to me through the mail knowing what I know of the postal workers around here. I swear they use packages as punching bags before delivery, even when marked "fragile". But, if my hatch doesn't go well, I'll probably bite the bullet and order some chicks directly from Greenfire farms...and then not sleep through a night until they've arrived.

I'm not worried about postal carriers around here. It's more the people out of the area!!!

 

[gevshiba]

This is my dilema as well; when to cull cockerels.

I HAVE to add a grow out pen somewhere far away. 1) I want to see what I have to work with and make an educated choice. In the past I have rushed to cull because of feed expense and fighting. 2) I can't get over the notion of the waste. Killing a little baby is hard! These birds could be used.

I am hoping to find a market for my stewers and cockerels. I am going to talk to the mission in town. I know they take dear killed on a nuisance permit, but usually butchered. I am going to approach the Asian market in town. I am hoping they will have a community that will want them. I still have to sell cockerels for something if I am going to feed them. Low producing egg hens I feel less inclined to sell for much as I have already made my money. I may work a 2 for deal??? Anyway chicken feet are big in that community and I am looking to sell those off when I butcher. I don't know if I could do snake food. Seems cruel. I would rather chop their heads! I also have a huge hispanic community I am hooked into here because of all the farmers around us. I think I may be able to find buyers that way. I have a few point men to that community. I know many middle easterners buy and kill their own goats, maybe chickens too? Think culturally. Maybe you have some of these communities in your area?

All my extra cockerels and toms go in my freezer for myself and the dogs. I feed raw to the dogs. I go through a lot of poultry. I can't eat the dark meat anymore, so the dogs get everything but the breast meat. The entire bird, minus the breast, goes through the grinder (my choice to grind, not everyone does). If you can find a raw feeder who is willing to do the butchering, it'd be a great way to unload those cockerels.

 

[gjensen]

We have never made sausage with chicken. Has anyone had any that was any good? If so, could they point me to a recipe? It is something that I would like to try. Another thing I would like to try is canning poultry meat.

We still pluck and will pluck the birds. I do not want to lose the skin. I have removed only the breast and thighs on some young cockerels, but I would rather get it all. We feed some to the cats and dogs. That is what I do with the old males. I am not eating them. I have too many young birds to eat. The dogs enjoy them though.

ETA: The waste feathers, feet, bones etc. is good for burying where the future fruit tree will be etc. It gives them a great start. All of my trees that I have planted have been planted over such holes.

 

[gjensen]

That's great to have things in place to use so much of everything. We're not using everything yet, but we're headed that direction. The idea of using chicken feet and other offal is just not doing it for me yet. I did actually read about skinning chicken feet the other day. Baby steps, LOL. I make a ton of broth and seasoned stock here with bones and skin. My pressure canner pretty much lives on the stove.

I anticipate only being able to raise animals for our own use unless we start keeping birds on a much larger scale that could pay for itself. Even selling live animals for food, legally, can get so nitpicky here. Big-ag interests always come first when it comes to regulations, and then the various medical and hospital associations also lobby against allowing small producers to be able to sell anything. They tell everyone that people will be dying left and right from e coli and salmonella if things are made easy for small producers to sell things.

I want to purchase raw goats milk, but I cannot get it. Some will sell it to people for pets etc., but I have not wanted to lie about it's use.

 

[Beekissed]

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