VTChickenQueen
In the Brooder
- Apr 22, 2015
- 16
- 4
- 24
I disagree. They are great birds providing that they are not raised like meat birds and they come from a hatchery with a good breeding program like Purely Poultry.
Here is what I have discovered about those "nasty" birds.
1) They are intelligent. My meaties know when feed time is and they stalk me until I feed them. They are also friendly.
2) They do not have to be fed around the clock. I currently feed my flock of 13 about half a 10 gallon pail once a day. During the winter months I fed them a whole pail once a day. This also cut down on the amount of poop and stench.
3) I can feed them layer food.
4) They are winter hardy! I fed my birds (then 24 before processing some) a whole 10 gallon pail only once a day, gave them one heat lamp and did not insulate the coop apart from stopping air leeks. I only lost one and she was at the bottom of the pecking order.
5) My birds LOVE to free range and their good at it on the contrary to what you read about x rocks.
6) They are decent egg layers. I have between two to five eggs everyday with the average being three. I believe that they lay eggs every other day which would make sense.
7) They do other things than poop and eat. They forage, they mate, they chase each other and they explore.
8) The hens are a little broody. At least one hen out of ten is "trying" to build a clutch and she sits on them. She keeps laying eggs in the tall grass of my old garden and she defends it. Almost hate to take them from her.
9) My eggs are fertilizing, yet to master incubation but I'm experimenting with hatching.
10) The roosters don't mate well and can cause the hens massive injury and death. I've lost three hens while they were mating. The roosters are just too heavy and awkward to mate safely. I'm killing off the rest of the roosters this weekend apart from my non meaty rooster who will hopefully continue to service the hens.
11) They mate with my Chantecler rooster. They love him better than the fatty "men".
12) They do grow slower, but slowing down their growth rate allows them to reach maturity and lay eggs. My birds reached processing size only two months ago when they were five months old.
I raised them like layers and I got healthy birds. When I process them I find that their hearts are in perfect condition. There is no fluid around the heart, nor fatty tissue around it. It was not enlarged or too small, and the color was right on for a heart. My flocks I kept last summer and process were treated like the "manual" said too and their hearts were unhealthy compared to the firm, strong hearts my birds have now and are going on eight months old. Very old for a x rock but healthy as can be.
The only major issue I've had with these guys is that they do poop a lot and their poop big globs so it can be a little frustrating to deal with but limiting food intake helps as well as free ranging during the day. I also utilize the deep litter method in their coop because it is a lot of work to clean it out. Surprising thing about the deep litter method is that it actually raises healthier birds! Just pile the bedding on top of the old and the stink is gone!!!!!!!
I think it's all in how you raise them.
My friend up the road raises the same meat birds as I do but she raises them and processes them in 8 weeks and they are lazy, stinky fat birds that die often of heart attacks and they are either scared of humans or attack them. Complete opposite of mine.
Here is what I have discovered about those "nasty" birds.
1) They are intelligent. My meaties know when feed time is and they stalk me until I feed them. They are also friendly.
2) They do not have to be fed around the clock. I currently feed my flock of 13 about half a 10 gallon pail once a day. During the winter months I fed them a whole pail once a day. This also cut down on the amount of poop and stench.
3) I can feed them layer food.
4) They are winter hardy! I fed my birds (then 24 before processing some) a whole 10 gallon pail only once a day, gave them one heat lamp and did not insulate the coop apart from stopping air leeks. I only lost one and she was at the bottom of the pecking order.
5) My birds LOVE to free range and their good at it on the contrary to what you read about x rocks.
6) They are decent egg layers. I have between two to five eggs everyday with the average being three. I believe that they lay eggs every other day which would make sense.
7) They do other things than poop and eat. They forage, they mate, they chase each other and they explore.
8) The hens are a little broody. At least one hen out of ten is "trying" to build a clutch and she sits on them. She keeps laying eggs in the tall grass of my old garden and she defends it. Almost hate to take them from her.
9) My eggs are fertilizing, yet to master incubation but I'm experimenting with hatching.
10) The roosters don't mate well and can cause the hens massive injury and death. I've lost three hens while they were mating. The roosters are just too heavy and awkward to mate safely. I'm killing off the rest of the roosters this weekend apart from my non meaty rooster who will hopefully continue to service the hens.
11) They mate with my Chantecler rooster. They love him better than the fatty "men".
12) They do grow slower, but slowing down their growth rate allows them to reach maturity and lay eggs. My birds reached processing size only two months ago when they were five months old.
I raised them like layers and I got healthy birds. When I process them I find that their hearts are in perfect condition. There is no fluid around the heart, nor fatty tissue around it. It was not enlarged or too small, and the color was right on for a heart. My flocks I kept last summer and process were treated like the "manual" said too and their hearts were unhealthy compared to the firm, strong hearts my birds have now and are going on eight months old. Very old for a x rock but healthy as can be.
The only major issue I've had with these guys is that they do poop a lot and their poop big globs so it can be a little frustrating to deal with but limiting food intake helps as well as free ranging during the day. I also utilize the deep litter method in their coop because it is a lot of work to clean it out. Surprising thing about the deep litter method is that it actually raises healthier birds! Just pile the bedding on top of the old and the stink is gone!!!!!!!
I think it's all in how you raise them.
My friend up the road raises the same meat birds as I do but she raises them and processes them in 8 weeks and they are lazy, stinky fat birds that die often of heart attacks and they are either scared of humans or attack them. Complete opposite of mine.
