Considering raising broilers and have a couple of questions.

[Dogfighter]

Ah ChickenTenders, thanks for the concern. I have been butchering deer and elk for 25 years now, and have helped my Grandparents with a couple of batches of Chickens, but all we did with the chickens was whole roasters (wow hand plucking is a lot of work). I guess I just sound like a 10 year old when I type out my thoughts, maybe that is my inner child coming through.

 

[ChickenTender63]

that's ok, I was just havin fun with ya

 

[patandchickens]

If you are eating boneless breasts from the store, why not switch now to (at least sometimes) buying bone-in breasts, which is usually cheaper anyhow plus you get the bones "free" for making stock. (You can save 'em up in the freezer til you have enough to be worthwhile). And practice boning them. It is no different boning halved bone-in chicken breasts from the store than boning a whole homegrown CornishX carcass.

For chickens you're taking the breasts off, I'd think the most sensible use of the rest of the bird would be to take the wings and legs off whole (grill, bake, whatever) then simmer the rest for chicken-salad-type-meat and soup... you will get a LOT of meat off the rest of the carcass, more IME off homegrown birds than storeboughten ones. (Mine had muscles in places that store chickens certainly never do! All that walking and flapping, I guess). No more waste than if you'd roasted the whole chicken, or whatever.

Honestly if you don't mind it looking *weird*, you could take the breasts off and then roast the chicken just like you usually do

Have fun,

Pat

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
Only licensed poultry processors in our state can quarter chickens. At time of this post, I have never found a single processor in our state who will quarter birds. I know of one which will freeze them for you, but that's as far as it goes.

So, whe you go to a processor, you will get back your whole chicken, chilled to 38 degrees and then bagged.

It is not a hardship. Once you start eating real chicken, you'll find you enjoy the thighs and dark meat a lot more. Plus, the skin is proof god loves us. It's delicious.

Quote:
I lived 15 years in Seattle before coming back home and getting back into livestock again.

I would not raise chickens over the Winter here, period. Our climate is coccidiossis heaven, so unless you use medicated feeds you will suffer badly. I get my first chicks May 1st, sometimes a week earlier. The wet is a problem since they burn off too much energy staying warm. Secondly, your tractor will make mud everytime you move it if you do it any sooner. Use the weather to your advantage and only raise birds in the best seasons. With vacuum sealing technology and frost free freezers, your birds will not lose quality.

I never will raise Cornish Crosses again in our climate... but, if you've never done broilers, you may want to give them a try, so you know why people have such issues with them. I raise the Colored Ranged Broilers from JM Hatchery and haven't looked back.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
I think your strategy going in won't meet the reality once you're raising birds. Of course you could give the birds unwanted bits to a pet... but, you are missing the point.

Grocery store chicken comes from industrial chicken farms who contract to Foster Farms (the largest grocery store brand in our state). I worked a chicken farm as a teenager growing up. The conditions are deplorable, the birds kept in overly confined conditions and the mortality rates would sicken you.

Then, once the chickens are put out of their misery at 42 days old, they are 'brined' in salt water to reach a 20-25% moisture content. The poultry producers say this 'enhances flavor'. Cynics argue that they are selling heavy salt water at the price per pound of chicken. I tend to agree with the cynics.

What this artifically high moisture content does is allows bad chefs to over-cook the hell out of and still have 'moist' chicken.

When you get your first farm bird, it will amaze you:

1) How "dry" it looks compared to grocery store.

and

2) How quickly it cooks, because you're not driving out all that extra moisture.

You are in for an eye opener the first time you eat the chicken that your grandparents did. You'll start hording pre 1950's cooking books, like I do, since they give you better advice on how to prepare poultry before all the industrialization took place.