BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

What, you butchered, dressed and cooked that? And you're new to the hobby... very impressed! That's a way better looking carcass than I produce, lol!

I agree that looks SO delicious... can I stop by sometime...?

Absolutely, come on by...but I'll pick your brain for information while you're here.

That was one of my Bielefelder cockerels at 19 weeks. My family agreed the he was the best tasting bird we've had so far, and I use the same recipe with each new breed I butcher so we can compare fairly. That baby was slow roasted for 4.5 hours @ 275° and nearly melted off the bone. He was the hardest for me to cull though, because he was so darn sweet tempered. Once they're actually dead, I'm fine...but waiting for death to come is downright agonizing when it's a friendly bird.

 

[Ifish]

All it takes to get us off of our obsession with protein and realize that chickens need more energy than any other thing is to try to take a picture. They are (almost) never sitting still unless they are asleep on the roost. Even then, their heart rate and respiration rate is very high.

I do not even try to take good pictures. I have a son that does well, if I ask. He has an eye for it, but busy at 17.

I have a hard time capturing color to. Both the red in the NHs and the buff in the Catalanas have been difficult for me to capture.

Rarely a picture compliments a bird, and more often the opposite. Nothing beats seeing them in person and handling them. Some times they are not as good as they seam, and some times they are a pleasant surprise. Really, only you know.

Comments are helpful if you only use them for perspective and insight. The comments on a picture are never lawful.

Oh certainly. Just a good critique of the birds as seen can help me learn a lot.

The pics of the NH's in the SOP seem a little off, and the wording of the SOP isn't concrete for a layman like myself. Learning the terms and descriptions, with a visual of my flock would be a big help to me.

Also the flock looks great imo, and very tasty.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

It didn't post my comment. I have looked into them. I like dark meat

Ever find any? It's my understanding they are only found in Vietnam.
A long time ago I thought I heard there were 3 breeds with legs like this, but now I am thinking they may have been three names for the same bird.

edit: for some reason I can't quote the first post, but I wanted to point out your comment is there, but its mixed in with mine.

 

[DesertChic]

DesertChic, Might I ask what type of seasoning you used? That cockerel looks mighty tasty! I think I'll have some veal and bunny as a side dish.

2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 heaping tsp freshly chopped thyme
1/2 tsp freshly roasted and ground cumin
1 tsp fine Celtic sea salt


.Make sure the chicken is dry. Rub it inside and out with extra virgin olive oil. Pour half the seasoning inside the chicken and distribute it evenly inside before stuffing the chicken with one onion cut into six wedges. Rub the remaining seasoning evenly on the outside of the chicken. Secure the legs loosely and leave the chicken in the fridge for a minimum of 8 hours to soak up the seasoning.

Roast uncovered with the feet facing the back of the over for 2 hours @ 275°. Tent loosely with foil and continue roasting at the same temp for another 2.5 hours. The meat falls off the bone.

Did I mention I like to cook?

 

[collie1470]

@DesertChic that sounds amazing. I'll have to try out that recipe...writing it down

 

[hellbender]

Absolutely, come on by...but I'll pick your brain for information while you're here.

That was one of my Bielefelder cockerels at 19 weeks. My family agreed the he was the best tasting bird we've had so far, and I use the same recipe with each new breed I butcher so we can compare fairly. That baby was slow roasted for 4.5 hours @ 275° and nearly melted off the bone. He was the hardest for me to cull though, because he was so darn sweet tempered. Once they're actually dead, I'm fine...but waiting for death to come is downright agonizing when it's a friendly bird.

Tell your 'meddlesome son' to meddle on out and take care of the abattoire business if he wants to continue having his meals cooked by you. Cooked... Nay, I say catered!

 

[Our Roost]

Chickens are such that they dont absorb marinade very well. At least, I havent had much luck with it. Dry rubs such as yours truly enhance the flavor much more. The chicken flesh seems to absorb it better when slow roasted. I like to cook also! Yum.

 

[dfr1973]

Kids and critters will make a liar out of ya every time ... I had cooperative chickens this morning.





That scraggelly monster is Feyd, aka "The EverReady Rooster," and he is hen-pecked with pride. Plus, it rained already this morning while they were out.

 

[DesertChic]

Tell your 'meddlesome son' to meddle on out and take care of the abattoire business if he wants to continue having his meals cooked by you. Cooked... Nay, I say catered!

LOL! I sincerely doubt my son will ever be able to bring himself to perform the butchering. Originally he was completely opposed to me raising chickens at all, and then decided that collecting eggs was pretty cool, and now sees many of them as being "pets". He disappears as soon as he knows I'll be butchering. He's been trying to convince me for weeks that we really CAN keep six Bielefelder cockerels when we only have three Biel pullets. Ugh! Teenagers!

He's actually a signification part of the reason for me delving into poultry husbandry as much as I have. Even if he won't be part of the "abattoire business" I wanted him to understand where food really comes from, and that it requires real effort to raise quality food. Kids seem to take way too much for granted nowadays. We started with a garden, and now chickens. Turkeys and Muscovy still might be next.

If my husband has his way we'll be adopting a bison to raise for meat.

 

[Our Roost]

Oui! I have a juvenile bielefelder hen of about 4 - 5 months old that just went broody on my other birds eggs! She hasnt even laid her own first egg yet. How can that be?