BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[hellbender]

The ones I'm going to butcher are the ones I had planned to have Ariel (daughter) to caponize because of the difficulty factor but when I mentioned the prospect to her, she just squinted up her eyes and drooped her mouth down on both corners....a clear indication that she had NO interest in such an ordeal at this time.

Change of plans plus something new.

Now, the young Queen (not Turk) has decided to hold onto the cockerels longer (good idea) to get a better idea of what they will be at young maturity. Butchering them now would be precipitous so I guess that's settled for a while.

Whole 'nother direction. We considered for about 25 seconds the prospect of getting into Mangalitsa hogs and since the cattle are gone, some folks think it would be a good time to get these to go along with their capon business. Gotta think hard before that happens. Perhaps I'd go for a boar to cover our sows and back breed but these are not cheap to buy. I do remember the 'lard hogs' and rendering and crackins' but not sure there's a market here...except the ski resorts.

Since C-H has been opened, it's only about 3 hours to Baltimore-Washington Metroplex but I don't know if those folks already have suppliers. My family has too many good ideas but a dearth of funds.

 

[Beer can]

Wooly pigs GET THEM! If you can't get in the $$$ Mangalitsa meat and lard market I've looked into using the lard as a fuel source, it can be done.
Besides that I hear the meat is the best and the lard better then butter!

 

[dfr1973]

My family has too many good ideas but a dearth of funds.

Sounds about normal, for here also.

Just a bit of an update: the Chinese family who buys my extra Silkie cockerels (two so far, and he's asking when the next will be ready!) also started buying my eggs over a month ago, on the premise that my eggs should be great tasting since I take great care of my birds. His mother also asked for a large regular chicken for eating, so I sold her one of the GLW slips hatched in January. She'll want another one in a while, so now I have a market for cockerels who don't get caponized and slips (other than our crock pot, that is). The punchline is, they run a restaurant and could get commercial-quality stuff for themselves, but love our higher quality. The best part: they buy live birds, so no hassle with food inspections.

 

[DesertChic]

Change of plans plus something new.

Now, the young Queen (not Turk) has decided to hold onto the cockerels longer (good idea) to get a better idea of what they will be at young maturity. Butchering them now would be precipitous so I guess that's settled for a while.

Whole 'nother direction. We considered for about 25 seconds the prospect of getting into Mangalitsa hogs and since the cattle are gone, some folks think it would be a good time to get these to go along with their capon business. Gotta think hard before that happens. Perhaps I'd go for a boar to cover our sows and back breed but these are not cheap to buy. I do remember the 'lard hogs' and rendering and crackins' but not sure there's a market here...except the ski resorts.

Since C-H has been opened, it's only about 3 hours to Baltimore-Washington Metroplex but I don't know if those folks already have suppliers. My family has too many good ideas but a dearth of funds.

I learn so much from your posts. Furry pigs! I had no idea!

 

[DesertChic]

Sounds about normal, for here also.

Just a bit of an update: the Chinese family who buys my extra Silkie cockerels (two so far, and he's asking when the next will be ready!) also started buying my eggs over a month ago, on the premise that my eggs should be great tasting since I take great care of my birds. His mother also asked for a large regular chicken for eating, so I sold her one of the GLW slips hatched in January. She'll want another one in a while, so now I have a market for cockerels who don't get caponized and slips (other than our crock pot, that is). The punchline is, they run a restaurant and could get commercial-quality stuff for themselves, but love our higher quality. The best part: they buy live birds, so no hassle with food inspections.

Now that is some awesome luck! Good for you!

 

[hellbender]

I learn so much from your posts. Furry pigs! I had no idea!

It's not the fur that recommends them...it's the fat..."Everything old is new again" The scientist don't/didn't know their butts from a hole in the ground when it comes to natural foods and stuff like margarine, crisco and other trash foods that were pushed for so long...since the 50s. All that BS has helped make millions of folks sick...type 2 diabetes is not the least of the problems that were at least in part, caused by the science-guys and gals at big Pharma...

 

[hellbender]

Sounds about normal, for here also.

Just a bit of an update: the Chinese family who buys my extra Silkie cockerels (two so far, and he's asking when the next will be ready!) also started buying my eggs over a month ago, on the premise that my eggs should be great tasting since I take great care of my birds. His mother also asked for a large regular chicken for eating, so I sold her one of the GLW slips hatched in January. She'll want another one in a while, so now I have a market for cockerels who don't get caponized and slips (other than our crock pot, that is). The punchline is, they run a restaurant and could get commercial-quality stuff for themselves, but love our higher quality. The best part: they buy live birds, so no hassle with food inspections.

I'd be surprised if you couldn't sell them capons too.

 

[Beer can]

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I have a question for you fine folks. When you have a brooder full of chicks when many look alike, and you want to leg band them (zip ties), weigh them, or otherwise check on them, how do you get them out one at a time to check/weigh without completely terrorizing them all?

I have 23 right now, and they are a week and a half old. I am trying to get them banded with some numbered zip ties so I can track weights/growth curve (as well as note any health issues). I know about how to try not to startle them (not looming, not snatching, etc.), but in the end it didn't work very well (they are fast and get away easily) - no matter what I did they freaked out, especially as the number of un-banded ones began to dwindle and I had to target getting certain chicks. I still have 7 I need to band, but I decided to call it quits and give them a break.

How do you folks do this (get weights, etc., or even just get a chick out of the brooder to check on a specific chick's injury) without giving them all little heart attacks? Is there a trick to this that I'm missing? I hate stressing them out (or teaching them all to run form me)...

Any tips would be welcome.

- Ant Farm

 

[ronott1]

I have a question for you fine folks. When you have a brooder full of chicks when many look alike, and you want to leg band them (zip ties), weigh them, or otherwise check on them, how do you get them out one at a time to check/weigh without completely terrorizing them all?

I have 23 right now, and they are a week and a half old. I am trying to get them banded with some numbered zip ties so I can track weights/growth curve (as well as note any health issues). I know about how to try not to startle them (not looming, not snatching, etc.), but in the end it didn't work very well (they are fast and get away easily) - no matter what I did they freaked out, especially as the number of un-banded ones began to dwindle and I had to target getting certain chicks. I still have 7 I need to band, but I decided to call it quits and give them a break.

How do you folks do this (get weights, etc., or even just get a chick out of the brooder to check on a specific chick's injury) without giving them all little heart attacks? Is there a trick to this that I'm missing? I hate stressing them out (or teaching them all to run form me)...

Any tips would be welcome.

- Ant Farm

What breed of chickens do you have? Some like Penedesencas are just like that and you have to work with them. Others are very tame and calm.

Do this:

Get some dried meal worms and drop them in front of them. Tap the worms and make tsk noises or even chirps. Eventually the chicks will start eating out of your hands. When they do this, pick them up. They will get used to you and not be as scared.

Also, they are chickens so do not worry so much about scaring them. They will get over it--especially if you have a tasty treat for them.