Bresse Chickens

[chiqita]

It depends upon the area. Maryland/Virginia 10 each day old.  Eggs are $4 each.   Probably if you bought 100+, you could get them for $6 each.

Yep that seems to be the solid standard.

 

[jcinadr]

I finally finished the tread. Yeeha!! It has been a fun read-especially when I have been reading posts about some of DW's chickens. So far have not figured our her username . DCchicken, your nephew is still excited about the chickens. Our 2 roosters are both cocky. I guess other people have more friendly roos, but to me they are simply being good boys and trying to protect their girls. I have managed to keep them out DW's soup pot so far, but they are about to go to off sight housing as soon as the new coop is completed (vocal boys are not appreciated by out neighbor). I hope I can keep it predator proof-pretty sure electric netting is in the future. Once they are sent to the ranch, the backyard flock should be much more kid friendly. DW is handling coop control - we addressed the early rooster triggers, but they still must be treated with respect. 90% of DW's rooster issues went away by changing to rubber boots. I guess skin showing through crocks looked like supper. As for the Easter hatch-a-long. We did not give our broody gall single accommodations and that wrecked havoc in the nest. A picture speaks a thousand words. We are on day 15 with that tray. 12% clear, but the rest still showing promise. Movement is so exciting. Tray 2 is on day 6, tray 3 is pending. --- just went into day 18 lockdown. tic, tic, tic...

 

[bigshawn]

For those of you who have processed these birds how old were they when you processed them and how did they compare weight wise and taste with other meat birds you've had in the past??

 

[DCchicken]

I finally finished the tread. Yeeha!! It has been a fun read-especially when I have been reading posts about some of DW's chickens. So far have not figured our her username

. DCchicken, your nephew is still excited about the chickens.

Our 2 roosters are both cocky. I guess other people have more friendly roos, but to me they are simply being good boys and trying to protect their girls. I have managed to keep them out DW's soup pot so far, but they are about to go to off sight housing as soon as the new coop is completed (vocal boys are not appreciated by out neighbor). I hope I can keep it predator proof-pretty sure electric netting is in the future.

Once they are sent to the ranch, the backyard flock should be much more kid friendly. DW is handling coop control - we addressed the early rooster triggers, but they still must be treated with respect. 90% of DW's rooster issues went away by changing to rubber boots. I guess skin showing through crocks looked like supper.

As for the Easter hatch-a-long. We did not give our broody gall single accommodations and that wrecked havoc in the nest. A picture speaks a thousand words.

We are on day 15 with that tray. 12% clear, but the rest still showing promise. Movement is so exciting. Tray 2 is on day 6, tray 3 is pending.
---
just went into day 18 lockdown. tic, tic, tic...

Make sure you keep that little nephew of mine away from that door. You should not open the incubator past lockdown to keep the humidity steady. Fingers crossed for a good hatch.

Where is the webcam for the hatch?

 

[DCchicken]

For those of you who have processed these birds how old were they when you processed them and how did they compare weight wise and taste with other meat birds you've had in the past??

I just processed a Bresse that was 8 months old. I think the dressed weight was around 4 pounds. But the bird was actually pretty tough because I cooked it on the grill. I had to wait that long because none of the processors were working in the cold. Next time I will process them at a younger age.

 

[bigshawn]

Thank you for the information, what did you feed it and was it a hen or rooster, seems kinda small after 8 months being a meat bird.

 

[DCchicken]

Thank you for the information, what did you feed it and was it a hen or rooster, seems kinda small after 8 months being a meat bird.

That was the dressed weight of the cockerel not the pre-processed weight. I didn't have a lot of choice over the winter to feed them anything other than commercial poultry feed (Blue Seal Multiflock). I think protein was around 22%. For comparison, I also just processed my Sulmtalers. They dressed out between 4-4.5 pounds in 6 months using the same feed. The only difference is that the Bresse were more likely to wander around and free range. The Sulmtalers stayed near the coop most of the time.

 

[bigshawn]

Thank you once again, I've heard good things about these birds I have a chance to get a few, I'd love to hear how they compare to Buckeyes in the meat and laying eggs department.

 

[juststruttin]

For those of you who have processed these birds how old were they when you processed them and how did they compare weight wise and taste with other meat birds you've had in the past??

We just processed 10 roosters. They were 15 weeks. The plan was to wait 16 weeks but someone offered to process them for me so I jumped on the opportunity. We BBQ'd a couple for Memorial Day and they were absolutely delicious.

 

[juststruttin]

I just processed a Bresse that was 8 months old. I think the dressed weight was around 4 pounds. But the bird was actually pretty tough because I cooked it on the grill. I had to wait that long because none of the processors were working in the cold. Next time I will process them at a younger age.

We recently processed 7 month old Orpington s and they too were really tough and gamey tasting. I have 10 more in the Freezer and we are going to make sausage with them. I really do not care for the taste or texture of birds when they are too mature. Sausage making is a great option for older birds.