Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Fred's Hens]

so now it begins. next paris hilton, nichole ritchie and alike will have them darn chickens in their pocketbooks, probably silkies or show girls and the cost will be 5000.00 and every breeder in the world will have them.

Only if they come in lavender.

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

And my silkie roo cockerel just went to his new home yesterday! For free! Aahhhhhhhh!

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

the most noted chicken for flavor is that darn bresse. you can buy the american version at greenfire for 399.00 a chick straight run.

Never heard of Em... Googled...

Now I want to go to France I'm a foodie at heart. If I ever strike it rich maybe I'll order me a few of those birds...

 

[Beekissed]

And the Emperor has new clothes.....

 

[JeffOeuf]

Jeff, thank you for being patient. Chicks "raised" in a coop never know anything else, and that is where they are "homed" in, yes, like the homing pigeon. The instinct is similar. Since you bought mature birds, they are confused. It takes, in my experience, 8-12 days before home imprinting is accomplished. A coop or coop and run where the birds cannot escape. I hope that helps. If I understood you correctly, you kept them cooped for "several days"? It takes longer than 2 or 3 days for imprinting.

Thanks Fred (and Bee).

I only kept them cooped up for a couple days. Two of my older girls imprinted in only a couple days, but they had been raised in a small coop...I'm sure mine seemed like a big step up. These new girls, however seem pretty darn wild. Judging from the fellow I bought them from at the swap, it's hard to say where they've been sleeping.

I'll get them locked up and keep them that way for a week and a half or so.

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

From Greenfire on Bresse:

At night Bresse are housed in portable coops to keep them safe from predators. The coops are moved from pasture to pasture to give the chickens fresh forage. During this period when they actively free-range Bresse are given a low-protein whole-grain supplement to encourage them to find insects to boost their protein intake. At four months for hens and at eight months for capons, the birds are placed in wooden cages in a shaded barn where they are fed a diet of grains and milk. Fresh from building lean muscle in the fields, in the barn the birds gorge on the milk and grain concoction; fat infiltrates the muscle and marbles the meat. After a few weeks of fattening they are ready for slaughter.


So, anyone feed their meat birds milk & grain? Coincidentally, I was reading a blog today that includes a broiler experiment where she's doing just that. She has milk goats & a cow, and feeds one set of broilers the whey, etc in addition to broiler ration at first, but then takes them completely off the broiler feed so they're on the milk & grains only. Initially her experiment showed some pretty obvious differences when adding the extra fat - her experiment is still ongoing though. Anyone interested can read more Here: http://www.lifeatmennageriefarm.blo...00-07:00&max-results=7&start=14&by-date=false


But back to my question... Has anyone tried milk & grain to meat birds and noticed a difference in the fat and texture of the bird?

As always, thanks a million!
-Nikki

ETA: better link, directly to a post about her experiment, with some pretty cool pics! http://www.lifeatmennageriefarm.blogspot.com/2012/10/basic-broiler-challenge-week-4-and.html

The blogger writes for Mother Earth News - I found her blog after reading an article she wrote about milk goat breeds.

 

[Beekissed]

I'd say that any chicken on that sort of program would perform in the same way...chicken is chicken when it comes to meat, no matter what color its legs are.

 

[bruceh]

And the Emperor has new clothes.....

i still were the same cloths i worn for years. however that chicken better were a top hat and a tux from 5th ave. i think i saw that chicken on the show "pimp my chicken ". i saw the show they took a rhode island white and decked in red, white and gave it blue legs.

have you ever feed popcorn kernels to your chickens.?

 

[galanie]

And the Emperor has new clothes..... 

 

i still were the same cloths i worn for years. however that chicken better were a top hat and a tux from 5th ave. i think i saw that chicken on the show "pimp my chicken ". i saw the show they took a rhode island white and decked in red, white and gave it blue legs.

have you ever feed popcorn kernels to your chickens.? 

No but mother had an amusing turkey stuffing recipe that used popcorn kernels and a can of beer. Basically you stuff the turkey with the popcorn kernels and when the butt blows off the turkey you sit and drink the beer.

 

[galanie]

No, I think I must have said that wrong. When that roo does whatever he does, there are no unbelievers. None. They ALL take cover NOW NOW NOW. All o them. Even the ones that otherwise ignore him. I just haven't heard that low call enough to know what he's doing . I know a predator call but obviously that's not the one he's doing. It's almost inaudible. But trust me, they ALL, with no exceptions, RUN for cover when he does that. None of my former roos did the same thing and got the same results. None.

More of a eeeehhh! under his breath? Different predator call for different predators. I've heard that one too.
My Sun Conures are the most reliable predator/ stranger callers. My dog pack reacts strongly to them, and you'd better not be in the way as they go out the door. The Suns believe they own the whole Polo Field that I have at my back door. Anything unusual , and they sound the alarm. They know all the usual dog walkers etc, but bring a new person, with a strange dog on the field, and they sound off. These are true flock birds ( I think designed by someone on a psychadelic trip) So their survival depends on flock diligence. Those bright colors are just too visable.

Yes! That's it! If only I could hear it enough to mimic that! It's really sad though, this boy was an oops from the get go. He's 100% mutt and just a chick I got from the feed store to mollify a broody that I was going to sell at POL. But on the other hand, he's a really nice boy. Warns, protects, is a gentleman to the girls and not aggressive to me. Plus his crowing isn't very loud. Wonderful roo for a muttly crowd but nothing I want for a breeder.

Oh and sun conures are amazing birds! I love them. Beautiful and full of personality. Think they were created in the 60's eh? Could be!