BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[CanadianBuckeye]

The biggest cull (other than for disease) I've ever read about was for a leghorn breeder. He had a judge go through 200 birds, when the judge was finished there was only a trio left.
I think it's understood that if you are breeding and selecting for specific traits, many many more birds will be culled than kept if you want to get anywhere. I feel (my opinion only) that once they are dead, it's kind of irrelevant what happens to them next, but hopefully like to think they aren't "wasted" (insert a definition here).
The most I've ever culled at one time was three. As you well know I'm faint of heart, I cringe when I think of killing anything

- but in a way a cull- a- thon is almost easier (mentally, for me) than doing it piecemeal- sort of like pulling off a band aid.

When hundreds of thousands of (healthy) poultry are killed to prevent the spread of flu, it puts things in perspective, although to be totally truthful I think it's a good idea not to hatch any more chicks or keep more chickens than there's room, money and time for.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Okay, time to show my ignorance, but I have a question.... Do I need to do anything differently when processing a hen versus when I process a cockerel/rooster? I've only culled and processed boys to date, but I've a got few nasty hens just begging for an invitation to dinner.

I have always assumed that hens would be smaller, fatter and lighter boned than a same-age cockerel......... Let me know!

 

[ejcrist]

Like Turk said, you won't get chickens that look like that from any hatchery. You'll need to find a breeder if you want the huge Dark Cornish.

Do NOT expect to get birds like these from any hatchery that I'm aware of. There are folks out there who breed them. I got mine from @lpatelski , in a round-about way and I'm very pleased with them.

Turk

I never expect hatchery birds to be anywhere near as good as what good breeders produce. I just want to see how they taste. If everything goes well (raising them, heat tolerance, etc.), then I'd seek out a breeder and see about starting my own strain.

 

[Beer can]

adjduncan on BYC sells large fowl and bantam show quality dark cornish hatching eggs. I wanted to pick some up when we were in Florida this spring, was just too far out of our way.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/754060/the-new-crazy-24hr-auction-thread/11640#post_16874764
The bantams are posted just above this one, nice looking birds.

 

[Kassaundra]

I have never done anything different w/ females. They are a bit easier the connective tissue isn't as strong (like when your skinning)

 

[lcertuche]

Speaking of skinning I helped someone butcher some cockerels last week. The first one wasn't so hard but with another, and another, and...for 5 altogether my hands hurt so bad as did my back. I had muscle spasms in my hands, feet and back all night long. Next time unless it's one or two I will pluck or at least enlist the help of my teenage sons, lol. Thank goodness they were just a few months old.

 

[bramblefir]

What looks like beef, smells like beef, and tastes like beef?



Goose. Seriously.

I cooked some goose meat from one of my culls yesterday. It went into the slow cooker with onion, garlic, mushrooms, salt, pepper, and a splash of sherry (I was surprised to find no red wine in the pantry). It didn't turn out as tender as I would have liked (probably the lack of fat). Everyone ate it and enjoyed it.

Now, here's the key part. EVERYONE liked it. My elderly mother-in-law, a born and raised city girl, lives with us. She won't eat our eggs (they smell funny), she won't eat our chickens (unsanitary), she won't eat our ducks (gross), but she ate the goose AND she liked it. We told her it was goose, I swear, but apparently she didn't believe us and ate the "beef roast" that I served. She had no clue that it wasn't beef... and we aren't gonna say a word.

 

[Beer can]

I thought the same first time I unknowingly ate a skinned and boneless wrapped in aluminum foil baked wild goose breast, thought it was venison tenderloin. Canadian goose early season starts Sept 1 here. I've never bought a stamp before. I had some goose jerky last winter that was awesome. I think I'll try getting some this yr. I just checked our Sept season rules, you can use a shotgun holding up to seven rds and daily bag limit 15, 45 bag limit for the month!!! They must really want to knock down the population.

 

[oshun55555]

Quote: They are. These hens are they still laying? If they are you will find eggs or rather yolks (sometimes you will find a whole egg inside). If you have killed a rooster successfully you can do a hen no
problem. Think of it as a new adventure that adds to your chicken knowledge base.

 

[NanaKat]

 

 
Okay, time to show my ignorance, but I have a question.... Do I need to do anything differently when processing a hen versus when I process a cockerel/rooster? I've only culled and processed boys to date, but I've a got few nasty hens just begging for an invitation to dinner. 

I have always assumed that hens would be smaller, fatter and lighter boned than a same-age cockerel.........  Let me know!

They are. These hens are they still laying? If they are you will find eggs or rather yolks (sometimes you will find a whole egg inside). If you have killed a rooster successfully you can do a hen no
problem. Think of it as a new adventure that adds to your chicken knowledge base. 

Agree with Oshun55555 that there is no difference in the procedure.
Older hens are better for noodles according to my MIL.
I have brined, roasted, pressure cooked, crock pot cooked and canned hens just like the cockerels. A tip I got from the same sage woman is that the many yolks you will find can be rinsed in salt water and frozen or cooked...her buttermilk custard pies were always a treat when a hen was butchered.