Crossing my Red Ranger Hens.

[BlueBaby]

I do not have the equipment to weigh the dressed out bird. I may in the future if someone wants to recommend a decent kitchen scale on Amazon.
I want to keep the Naked Neck Trait with my crosses but I also want to keep the longer breast bone of the Dorking. Maybe I will end up with some sort of cross between Dorking's and Naked Necks then cross that with a meat bird hen. I definitely want to spread the naked neck gene around because I feel that less feathers is a benefit overall. Less protein goes towards feathers so I assume more goes towards meat and egg production. Another plus was how fast this guy got to 5 pounds. 12 weeks is pretty fast.

And having to grow back less feathering during molting should also be better on the egg laying hen's!

 

[Kris5902]

View attachment 1824731
The first of the Naked Neck x Red Rangers to be processed. The breast bone is not as long as the Dorking x Rangers, Thigh and drum stick are of decent size, Very easy to process due to less feathers getting in the way. He weighed 5.4 pounds before the dirty deed was done. This was the youngest one I have processed (12 weeks). Previously I was doing it at week 18.

I like the thigh and drumstick size on him... looks nice and clean!

 

[Kris5902]

If I may ask, why are you breeding for the longer Brest bone rather than breadth?

 

[Molpet]

If I may ask, why are you breeding for the longer Brest bone rather than breadth?

X2
the longer keel don't fit in the pot as well

 

[Egghead_Jr]

View attachment 1824731
He weighed 5.4 pounds before the dirty deed was done. This was the youngest one I have processed (12 weeks). Previously I was doing it at week 18.

Good weight for a tender bird. 5.4 live is easy 4lbs dressed.

Digital requires an electrical cord. Kinda bulky to move around. Just not a fan of digital scales for backyard use. Veggies and birds are easily weighed on a cheap spring scale like this:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Starfrit...hguid=a31ee2aa-33d-16b93e591728e8&athena=true

Mine is similar, think it was a Mainstay and doesn't loop around to weigh over 5 lbs. You get the idea. Portable to butcher table or to coop to weigh live birds and works as a kitchen or garden scale. Unbreakable, adjustable to zero and just make sense.

 

[Morrigan]

Veggies and birds are easily weighed on a cheap spring scale like this:

I've got a spring scale as well - it goes up to 30 lbs. After I bag my birds for the freezer, I weigh and label.

 

[Molpet]

Good weight for a tender bird. 5.4 live is easy 4lbs dressed.

Digital requires an electrical cord. Kinda bulky to move around. Just not a fan of digital scales for backyard use. Veggies and birds are easily weighed on a cheap spring scale like this:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Starfrit...hguid=a31ee2aa-33d-16b93e591728e8&athena=true

Mine is similar, think it was a Mainstay and doesn't loop around to weigh over 5 lbs. You get the idea. Portable to butcher table or to coop to weigh live birds and works as a kitchen or garden scale. Unbreakable, adjustable to zero and just make sense.

my postal scale has a battery, weighs up to 80lbs , Which is more than my turkeys.
Has a hold, so you can put something bigger than the scale and still get a reading.

a con is it's plastic and electronics so I am sure it's not as durable. Also needs to be on a levelish surface
I have had mine a couple of years

 

[Kris5902]

Good weight for a tender bird. 5.4 live is easy 4lbs dressed.

Digital requires an electrical cord. Kinda bulky to move around. Just not a fan of digital scales for backyard use. Veggies and birds are easily weighed on a cheap spring scale like this:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Starfrit...hguid=a31ee2aa-33d-16b93e591728e8&athena=true

Mine is similar, think it was a Mainstay and doesn't loop around to weigh over 5 lbs. You get the idea. Portable to butcher table or to coop to weigh live birds and works as a kitchen or garden scale. Unbreakable, adjustable to zero and just make sense.

I just use a cheap $15 Starfrit kitchen scale for most things, it’s digital, has batteries, and is fairly accurate. I don’t have power at my barn so batteries are important. I tested it against my really expensive ($300) digital scale I got about 10 years ago for weighing dried herbs. Sure, I wouldn’t use it for fine chemistry, but it’s suited our needs for chickens, and in my pre-farm life weighing out hot tub chemicals.

Anything over 5 lbs though has to go down to the slaughterhouse with the large pricing scale, which is accurate to 2 grams. What do you guys use for live weights, that’s the one I find hardest, even with the sick rescue hens... “now stand still on this little plastic thing so I can figure out how much medicine to give you”. I can’t put a live bird on the slaughterhouse food-safe scale. I really like the postal scale idea, they have to be accurate for trade and 80lbs is a great maximum.

 

[Morrigan]

I just use a cheap $15 Starfrit kitchen scale for most things, it’s digital, has batteries, and is fairly accurate. I don’t have power at my barn so batteries are important. I tested it against my really expensive ($300) digital scale I got about 10 years ago for weighing dried herbs. Sure, I wouldn’t use it for fine chemistry, but it’s suited our needs for chickens, and in my pre-farm life weighing out hot tub chemicals.

Anything over 5 lbs though has to go down to the slaughterhouse with the large pricing scale, which is accurate to 2 grams. What do you guys use for live weights, that’s the one I find hardest, even with the sick rescue hens... “now stand still on this little plastic thing so I can figure out how much medicine to give you”. I can’t put a live bird on the slaughterhouse food-safe scale. I really like the postal scale idea, they have to be accurate for trade and 80lbs is a great maximum.

I've never weighed an adult, live bird, but if I had to, I think I would take the bathroom scale to the coop, weigh myself, weigh myself holding the chicken, and do the math. That's how I weigh my dogs at home, at least.

 

[Molpet]

I've never weighed an adult, live bird, but if I had to, I think I would take the bathroom scale to the coop, weigh myself, weigh myself holding the chicken, and do the math. That's how I weigh my dogs at home, at least.

I have done this
Now I put them in a small pet carrier on the postal scale. It has a setting that you put the empty carrier, push the tare and it zeros to that weight. Push the hold and Put the bird in the carrier and put it on the scale right away. ... the right away is the issue.... easier to weigh the crate and subtract