BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[CanadianBuckeye]

This was the commercial chicken we had for dinner the other day- when I got it home I realized that the "special" (hard to see it) sticker indicating that the best before date was the date of purchase had been carefully pasted over top of the original sticker ( I couldn't peel it off very well, it was around $12 bucks before :-/ ). I'm not pleased, normally if I'm buying food that's about to go "off" I like to know about it. Usually I read labels carefully but I must have been in a hurry. Glad I didn't leave it in the fridge for a few more days.

You can see that the breast is of freakish proportion, the wings and legs are so tiny I have no idea how this chicken can stand up to eat or drink. My husband likes the white meat, I like the dark, I think I got ripped off ;-) but it still was enough chicken for 3 meals for the two of us. My husband isn't going to like the Buckeyes..........they are a dark meat bird I hear.
One day when I get brave enough to actually eat one of my dark cornish, I'll take photos, because I have yet to see a processed pure Cornish chicken for the table. I imagine the breast meat would be pretty good but nothing like the above unfortunate chicken.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Ha, like I said. Paranoid. She mentioned that they couldn't stop it. Just a cold. I was new on the thread and didn't realize about the cancer. This is how rumors get started. I'll know better next time. I feel her pain. Since losing my DD Aimee to suicide in September you have a lot of time to reflect. It took a flat six months but eventually you learn that there is a reason for the way things happen.

It would be very difficult to come to terms with that, I'm sorry for your loss.
I've had the good fortune of not suffering much during my life, but sometimes things do get me down There is a Taoist tale that I've found helpful, here it is, I want to share it, it might help others.

 

[Our Roost]

Well, the first words out of my mouth were that it was a nice looking carcass. Your points of interest were point on relating to mating abilities. I have Belgian malines that are hefty in the meat category but have an extreme difficulty mounting a hen as a result of that bulk. I have actually lost a few hens as a result of that brutal onset. I like the term barnyard chickens. I refer to it more as utility breeding. I like being able to select certain birds and mate them to see what shakes out.

 

[LindaB220]

It would be very difficult to come to terms with that, I'm sorry for your loss. 
I've had the good fortune of not suffering much during my life, but sometimes things do get me down  There is a Taoist tale that I've found helpful, here it is, I want to share it,  it might help others.

Thanks, honey, appreciate it. Taoist..... Hmmm. I took a test on the web years ago to see which religion I would most agree with. It came back Buddist. A real eye opener for me. But I'm a Christian. I see this fellows point of view. He said we can be both.

 

[Kassaundra]

Thanks, honey, appreciate it. Taoist..... Hmmm. I took a test on the web years ago to see which religion I would most agree with. It came back Buddist. A real eye opener for me. But I'm a Christian. I see this fellows point of view. He said we can be both.

I had one of those FB quizzes, an ink blot test "they" said was a real one used by therapists that said I was a sociopath that needed to seek immediate help. lol lol lol

 

[bnjrob]

Well, the first words out of my mouth were that it was a nice looking carcass. Your points of interest were point on relating to mating abilities. I have Belgian malines that are hefty in the meat category but have an extreme difficulty mounting a hen as a result of that bulk. I have actually lost a few hens as a result of that brutal onset. I like the term barnyard chickens. I refer to it more as utility breeding. I like being able to select certain birds and mate them to see what shakes out.

Ugh, that would be a pain to deal with all the time when you're trying to get your birds to be good at reproducing without a lot of help. Wouldn't want to lose a good hen because of a big breasted cock either. Such a fine balance trying to get all the traits you want without causing problems. It scares the heck out of me to watch my turkeys mount. It's better than a rooster, since it is much more consensual and the turkey hen has to allow the tom to mount her, but it still takes forever for the tom to get into position because of their size and I just sit there thinking "Don't kill the hen, don't kill the hen."

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

You can see that the breast is of freakish proportion, the wings and legs are so tiny I have no idea how this chicken can stand up to eat or drink. My husband likes the white meat, I like the dark, I think I got ripped off ;-) but it still was enough chicken for 3 meals for the two of us. My husband isn't going to like the Buckeyes..........they are a dark meat bird I hear.

Because Paula was thin and sick for a day or two, I spent a lot of time looking at the "body condition" diagrams for birds. The bird above would be classified as *massively* obese.

Without intending to, I have begun to prefer dark meat anyhow. Some of it is the birds I have bought to eat (before culling my own) - I'm working my way through some "sale" pastured legs and thighs I had in the freezer, and they are SO much better than chicken breasts (just plain with rice and broccoli!). But part may be that I'm cooking more dishes that call for dark meat anyway (written by smart folks/cultures that realize all the flavor there). Especially Indian cooking...

- Ant Farm

 

[bnjrob]

Because Paula was thin and sick for a day or two, I spent a lot of time looking at the "body condition" diagrams for birds. The bird above would be classified as *massively* obese.

Without intending to, I have begun to prefer dark meat anyhow. Some of it is the birds I have bought to eat (before culling my own) - I'm working my way through some "sale" pastured legs and thighs I had in the freezer, and they are SO much better than chicken breasts (just plain with rice and broccoli!). But part may be that I'm cooking more dishes that call for dark meat anyway (written by smart folks/cultures that realize all the flavor there). Especially Indian cooking...

- Ant Farm

I've always preferred dark meat because it was more tender, so that part wasn't a problem for me when we started eating our own birds. But I'm still having a hard time getting family to enjoy our homegrown meat. They ate one bird and said that the flavor was good but it was too dark and tough. So now they always just make chicken and dumplings with any carcasses that I give them. I can't figure out if they really just are so wigged out that these birds have actual texture, compared to store bought chicken, or if the problem is that my mother has always been a horrid cook and she made such a lousy meal with the first bird that turned them off and now they think that it's the bird's fault for being *tough*.

.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Because Paula was thin and sick for a day or two, I spent a lot of time looking at the "body condition" diagrams for birds. The bird above would be classified as *massively* obese.


- Ant Farm

That's funny, there was barely any fat on this bird. Those diagrams must just be for breeds other than the commercial cornish! I've noticed that my dark cornish are getting a bit tubby. Now that they are 9 months old they definietly need less food than the red sex link crosses. I've started feeding more low- cal squash- they love spaghetti squash!

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

I've always preferred dark meat because it was more tender, so that part wasn't a problem for me when we started eating our own birds. But I'm still having a hard time getting family to enjoy our homegrown meat. They ate one bird and said that the flavor was good but it was too dark and tough. So now they always just make chicken and dumplings with any carcasses that I give them. I can't figure out if they really just are so wigged out that these birds have actual texture, compared to store bought chicken, or if the problem is that my mother has always been a horrid cook and she made such a lousy meal with the first bird that turned them off and now they think that it's the bird's fault for being *tough*.

.

I can't speak from experience but I believe the secret is to brine the bird before you cook it.