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

[NikkiMiChickie]

It rarely does.    I have small, folding tables(white) that are easy to tote, setup, clean and knock down.  It just makes life easier all around.  No problem at all.  

Did you see theprocessing videos that I posted up on the Road thread?  Not my videos but they sure were good ones...just old country folk showing us how it's done.    

 

I'll check those videos out, Bee. I haven't been up to The Road for awhile - it's a second job just keeping up with this thread, and it's my favorite thanks to the input of Walt, Fred and Al too. I feel like I'm hanging out on grandma's porch again, listening to stories.

what's the price of admission?
I am thinking of getting meaties in the spring but I am hesitant on culling.I have watched the video and say to myself yeah I can do that but it would so much nicer to have someone with experience to learn from. I don't mind getting my hands dirty.
My DBF hunts and gets a deer ever year I have helped him clean and process them but he refuses to process chickens

Bree's right, no charge! You're more than welcome to join us as well! My best friend is a newbie chicken owner in Ohio, and I thout about asking her to join us too. So long as Bee's up for teaching, I'm up for a processing party! ...we have a fancy DJ karaoke setup from my husband's old DJ days. Maybe he can play us the Chicken Dance while we're partying. I mean processing.

No price, silly....just bring a cooler and a sharp knife!  I have a whole box of nifty, plastic disposable aprons that cover your whole front. 

Oops...sorry, Nicki...didn't mean to start inviting to your processing party.  I just got excited about doing something like that with a group of folks...always just been me alone, me and my boys, or me and the Bat.  Always more fun if you have a lot of people who really want to learn something.  

I don't mind a bit Bee. We have a 60x100 metal building that we have parties in all the time. Had a big flea market type neighborhood yard sale last June. Bing metal, it can get a bit stuffy on really warm days. But the nice thing is we have room for lots of tables and coolers and people, even if it's raining. If it's sunny, we can always be outside, but that's always the best backup plan
I'm so excited about this! I told my husband and the girls at work that THE Bee is coming to teach me how to process a chicken! My husband told me I was a strange bird (LOL) but the girls were really excited for me!
Any hatchery suggestions for ordering the birds? Feelings/experience on freedom rangers? Or maybe a mixture of CX and FR? Or all CX, doesn't matter to me. What I've read about FR says they're actually more similar to CX than the hatcheries advertise them. Just wondered if anyone had experience with them?

 

[Beekissed]

saddles? What is a saddle?

You've done it now! Don't get Al riled up....

 

[al6517]

Quote: He will cover each pen three days and the rotate to another pen for three days then into the last pen for three days. the the rotation repeats.

Should I do this differently?
Also I added some info on the Birchen pen description....


Hey Nana.................... the rotation thing is a common practice for many reasons, Carl Jarvis also does it this way as well. Your rotation schedule is fine the three day is the best and up to 4 hens in each pen is fine as well if the Test samples from your roosters are good. This will also allow you to withold a certain pen for the required time in order to provide another rooster his and your chance to experiment............... this is where egg marking toe punching and staggered hatches came into the mix, it's a process.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:

I bet they were real impressed. A lady who knows how to yank guts out of chickens is probably not the honored guest on most people's party list.

I haven't gotten around to finding another hatchery for CX yet this year...I wasn't real happy with the last type I had...too short in all ways. Took longer to grow out, which I don't mind, and they were all very vigorous but they were about half the size of the chicks I had gotten at a TSC~who doesn't seem to know WHERE their chicks come from. So, the search continues.

I'll look around and cruise the meat thread to see if anyone has a line on some better birds. Mine were a good price but, in the long run, that's like a hatchery...you get what you pay for, in this case.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Hey Nana.................... the rotation thing is a common practice for many reasons, Carl Jarvis also does it this way as well. Your rotation schedule is fine the three day is the best and up to 4 hens in each pen is fine as well if the Test samples from your roosters are good. This will also allow you to withold a certain pen for the required time in order to provide another rooster his and your chance to experiment............... this is where egg marking toe punching and staggered hatches came into the mix, it's a process.

Hey Nana, I got screwed up reading your plan. LOL. It's been a long day with a long drive back home this morning. Glad Al understood you better and helped you out there.
I won't say what I understood you to say, just never mind.

 

[al6517]

Quote:


Holy &%^%$#@$^&*............................

 

[Beekissed]

See. Told ya...

 

[Fred's Hens]

If your rooster wears out your hens, during a short breeding season of just a few months, you might want to consider the feathering quality of your hens. That's all I would say, but remember, it's been a long day and I'm tired.

 

[NanaKat]

.... using the same rooster but rotated every three days...

Did you mean to say three days?

He will cover each pen three days and the rotate to another pen for three days then into the last pen for three days. the the rotation repeats.


Should I do this differently?

Also I added some info on the Birchen pen description....

Hey Nana.................... the rotation thing is a common practice for many reasons, Carl Jarvis also does it this way as well. Your rotation schedule is fine the three day is the best and up to 4 hens in each pen is fine as well if the Test samples from your roosters are good. This will also allow you to withold a certain pen for the required time in order to provide another rooster his and your chance to experiment............... this is where egg marking toe punching and staggered hatches came into the mix, it's a process.

My CW flock is from Carl. when he decided to focus on Bantams, I got his five hens and Roos. I had purchased a juvenile trio from him earlier in the year. When he saw my rooster Beau, he told me to keep my roo and put his roo in the stew pot. He also is responsible for my older Cochin roo and the older Splash hen. The other Cochins are from eggs from both Bo Garrett and Jim Heintz from Iowa. The white hens are from Bo's flock when he sold some at auction. I sure appreciate their advice too. Fertility tests are good so far on all four Cochin Roos and on all three of the Wyandotte Roos.

I have a Cochin x CW that Carl's thinks I should breed to his two sisters for several variety outcome. will set that up too so will have 12 pens. He is going to help me with the incubation too.

 

[al6517]

Some places do get better Cornish X meat bird stock than others do..................... last year was terrible for some reason with an above normal amount of people getting sub par meaties in alot of ways. Growth was off, type was off, condition was goofy. my first thought was the almighty hatcheries are up to their old tricks again and trying avoid having the eggs sent in from outside of their own operation, by concocting their own hybrids.

I I am not personaly a fan of the FR they grow much slower and not as big not to mention meat quality. The FR does however fill a niche market for those wishing to let their meaties forage/free range, thus growing slower, the Granola heads like the FR for these reasons and the whole goofy Organic thing.