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

[HappyHenMama]

for cooking and resting i do a couple things. one is i freeze the chicken that i am not going to eat soon. the other is i rest the ones i am going to use in the fridge for a couple days or so..if i use a frozen chicken i let it thaw in the fridge. once it is thawed i wait an extra day. as far as cooking. if you boil a bird it will get tough. simmer is better. an older bird i, cook in a crock pot or slow cook in am oven at 250 f. takes longer but it is tender. i also baste the birds as they cook. you can also brine for tenderness and flavor. if it turns out not to your taste you can always feed it to your chickens.

Thanks Bruce, I didn't ask the question but I sure will put this in my recipe book.

 

[al6517]

for cooking and resting i do a couple things. one is i freeze the chicken that i am not going to eat soon. the other is i rest the ones i am going to use in the fridge for a couple days or so..if i use a frozen chicken i let it thaw in the fridge. once it is thawed i wait an extra day. as far as cooking. if you boil a bird it will get tough. simmer is better. an older bird i, cook in a crock pot or slow cook in am oven at 250 f. takes longer but it is tender. i also baste the birds as they cook. you can also brine for tenderness and flavor. if it turns out not to your taste you can always feed it to your chickens.

I also age them for a few days in the fridge first, then freeze it in a light brine bath, if I have more than a few I just keep them iced in a big cooler in the brine cause it's easier that way. I take other special precautions when doing this on an older bird or a bird that isn't a hybrid meaty.
For those of you who don't know this is how the commercial chicken industry pkg's their birds in a brine bath sealed with up to 10% solution, but not for day's, they just ship them because in transit and while sitting in the grocers meat case it will set for the required time anyway.

 

[TonySorrento]

I don't know why I didn't come here in the first place for this ...

On Monday [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I took this picture of my 16 week old Silver Dorking Rooster ...[/FONT]

The next day after work I saw many of his saddle feathers gone ... and then I watched the hens picking his feathers off ... he has been acting totally normal, except that he doesnt turn around and open up a can on them. There was no blood as they were just pulling his feathers off. He was eating and drinking normally, crowing like crazy as usual. I was told that protein may be the answer and as I had changed over to a lesser protein feed, I went and purchased Flockraiser which is a 20% protein, 5% higher than the Dumor I was giving them.

FF to today,The protein was not the answer as they still do it

.... its not all the time, but it is a little from every bird (22 of them ) and now most of his big tail feathers have been plucked out

... they drew a little blood and were attacking the spot more aggressively that ever ...On to TSC and bought some blue coate .... sprayed the blue coate on and the birds went right to picking, but the recoiled back in disgust and wiped their beaks on the ground and left him alone ...

Is there anything else I can do? Is Blue Kote a natural deterent by covering the red AND taste? Why is this happening?

My flock dynamics are 23 birds total, 2 of which are roosters that are 17 weeks old now ... the Dorking was the boss ... but it is looking like the Buttercup has slid in that position ... the hens are from 9-18 weeks old ... all get along ... my birds are in a coop that is 9.5'x12' and a run that is 10x28 ..... thoughts?

Bump .... c'mon OTers! Help a newbie out

 

[MagicChicken]

I also age them for a few days in the fridge first, then freeze it in a light brine bath, if I have more than a few I just keep them iced in a big cooler in the brine cause it's easier that way. I take other special precautions when doing this on an older bird or a bird that isn't a hybrid meaty.
For those of you who don't know this is how the commercial chicken industry pkg's their birds in a brine bath sealed with up to 10% solution, but not for day's, they just ship them because in transit and while sitting in the grocers meat case it will set for the required time anyway.

Al - Those commercial chicken packages really annoy me when the label says they contain up to 15% retained water. They want me to pay for water? A lot of it? No, thanks. Looking forward to getting my own flock to the point where I can take advantage of the meat part of "dual purpose" chickens. I will keep the brining-in-cooler method in mind. It sounds like a great way to deal with a shortage of refrigerator space. Thanks for all the advice.

What are the "other special precautions" you take for older or not-hybrid-meaty birds?

Sarah

 

[bruceh]

i feel like posting this. today i was out with the chickens just observing the flock to see who is doing what. first i dropped a chicken carcass left over from dinner last night, well it looked like japan at pearl harbor. i guess they like my cooking. i noticed some hens getting some dark red combs. yes egg laying soon. then my back up rooster may have become my primary rooster. the first thing he did after eating was mount some red comb hens, but not the yellow comb hens.there was no fuss what so ever. then he crowed and stood on point at some noises that came from somewhere., after this he went back to the coop and stood guard over the chicken carcass and crowed. mind you he is very young rooster 3 1/2 months,
well he mounted my black sex link chickens. so much for my sex link project for them. however it was good to see what i call an observant rooster.i also like his build. he is a columbian patterned deleware x rock . he also has a nice stocky frame staring to develop .
if i decide to breed at all i am going to breed for sex link that will be with a columian patterned dele x rock and a production red rooster over some of my best laying production reds, deleware x rock, , and some barred rocks. to early to tell who my best are going to be.
i stated my breeding practice to avoid negative back lash. however suggestions are welcome

what do you o/t look for in a good rooster

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
If this were my flock and my roo, I'd cull the roo that is getting picked on. If he is the only one, then he is the problem, not the rest of the flock. If he isn't the only one, then you have bigger problems which would probably be a space issue. Sometimes animals know more than we do and when picking on one animal in a flock or herd, it could be because that animal is sick or weak in a way we have not discovered as yet and they know it, but we do not.

Whenever I evaluate a problem bird in a flock, I generally look at it as "is it a bird problem or a flock problem?". If it's a bird problem, it's simple....he/she is gone. If there are more than one bird having the same problem, it's possibly a flock problem. If the problem involves just one breed of chicken, then it's a breed problem instead of a flock problem.


ETA: I'm not familiar with the breed and this just may be their conformation but he looks like he's standing a little hunched or hunkered down for a roo...could be the breed or just the timing of the pic, but he doesn't have a strong, normal appearance in how he is standing or holding his head.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Wise, beautiful, meaty and diligent to flock duties and of good egg laying genetics.

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote: I use the "cooler brining method".
I take my meat birds to a processor to have them done but I don't have them bagged. They are dressed and whole and I put them straight in my Igloo coolers with ice and pickling/Kosher salt. I don't measure the salt, just sprinkle it on the ice. When I get home, I add more ice if necessary and fill the cooler with water from the spigot. We have a well (350+ feet deep) and the water is cold. I leave them 48 hours in the coolers in the brine, checking to make sure the ice hasn't all melted. If I need too, I drain some water and add more ice. I freeze plastic jucie bottles and pop bottles of water in the big freezer and use these instead of ice cubes since the larger mass takes longer to melt. I don't have an ice maker fridge but save cubes in trays in the big freezer so I have some on hand when I get home. These work to slide around the carcasses and even out the cold. The salted water draws the blood out and the time allows for the muscles to relax. After the brining and resting, I take each carcass and rinse it, check for anything that might have been missed and put them on my island (that is topped with clean terry towels). When they are all done, I pat any excess moisture off, bag them and weigh them. I mark the weight on the bag with a Sharpee. I've thawed them on the counter or in the fridge, they are always delicious.

 

[Jasperina]

I've got a question for the OTs:
I was just at the feed store, talking to the chicken guy that I bought the chicks from, and telling him how I plan to add a few more to the flock next spring. I was asking him the best way to add a few new chicks to older hens, and he said that when I get the brand new chicks, if one of the hens is broody, I can put them under her and she will tend to them and protect them. He also said that you can induce a hen to go broody by leaving fake eggs under her in preparation for fostering. Anybody use this method who can advise me?
(I have 5 pullets right now, about to start laying.)
Thanks for any insight you can provide.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know that I've ever seen a chicken induced into broodiness by the mere presence of eggs left in the nest....it is a hormonal flux that causes broodiness and not the presence of eggs in a nest, fake or otherwise.

Yes, you can foster chicks under a broody and I've done it with 100% success quite a few times. Has to be done at night, very little light during the process, works best if the hen is in a separate brooding area where she can be kept quiet and on the nest of chicks all night.