Crossing my Red Ranger Hens.

[Compost King]

Process day for this unlucky CX Cockerel. I let him free range with his sisters for a few minutes so I could get a picture of him next to his ration fed sisters I plan to breed. Not the best picture to see the size comparison because his 3 sisters are still scratching up crumbles at the foot of Mt Poopington (yes I name my compost piles and not my chickens) I just weighed him and he weighs 5.5 pounds at five and a half weeks. He had 24/7 access to feed. I need to hurry up and eat him so I can process the next one, and one more after that. I do not freeze meat because I do not like how meat tastes after being frozen so I am in a race to eat this guy then process the next one. I want them all done before week 7 since they had 24 hours of feed access and not 12.

The Buddy Birds I had with these girls started pecking the male CX who was too slow to defend himself so I ran them off as he visited his sisters. I will take pictures of the dressed out cockerel tonight.

 

[Compost King]

oops! I forgot to take a picture... I was bagging up the guts and stuff and half already filleted the breast and bagged up the hind quarters and then remembered to take a picture... too late. This is the 3rd process in a row where I just went straight to getting the job done and forgot to take a picture but its was a CX and plenty of those pictures around. He was 5.5 pound and had as much meat as all the others I have processed but he had it on a much smaller frame. Not a lot of space in the chest and Abdomen cavity because his organs were huge. Giant lungs for the frame size. It was tricky trying to cut into the Cavity and avoid hitting the intestines but I have gotten so good at it that I had it done, fully processed and bagged up in the fridge in under 20 minutes. If I was racing I could do it in 10.

 

[Compost King]

I just sold 3 (of 6) of my Dorking X Red Ranger hens. They eat too much and its not worth keeping 6 of them around. I kept 3 just in case something does happen to their offspring (currently all of them are in the same coop). A lady in the next Neighborhood over got them for $5 a piece. I need to reduce my feed bill so why not get 3 of my biggest eaters? I may selling my females from the Naked Neck x Red Ranger hatches soon too, after I breed a few of them.

 

[BlueBaby]

I just sold 3 (of 6) of my Dorking X Red Ranger hens. They eat too much and its not worth keeping 6 of them around. I kept 3 just in case something does happen to their offspring (currently all of them are in the same coop). A lady in the next Neighborhood over got them for $5 a piece. I need to reduce my feed bill so why not get 3 of my biggest eaters? I may selling my females from the Naked Neck x Red Ranger hatches soon too, after I breed a few of them.

Was that the Dork X or the Dork O?

 

[Kris5902]

Ahhh! I was missing notifications and have to do some major catch up reading here! I’ve gotten myself a red meat rooster of some sort of heritage breed or such. The owner wasn’t to clear on exactly what he was, but he’s in with my meat ladies now. He seems to be pretty decent with them, he’s not rough or violent. Hoping to see some fertile eggs in the near future! I’m trying to rehabilitate my squashed CX goose, who is currently not walking but is laying fairly well. She seems quite happy to mostly just sit, she would prefer to just sit and eat, but... diet and exercise plan! My two other CX and big Red (my only Red Ranger girl) are doing well with him. I mostly want to breed the first generation back to their sire or another suitable boy. Now I have to say, he is fairly small looking for a meat bird, but when I lifted him up I was surprised at how hefty he was. Puts my Barnvelder boys to shame! So things are looking up for the meat breeding program!

 

[BlueBaby]

Ahhh! I was missing notifications and have to do some major catch up reading here! I’ve gotten myself a red meat rooster of some sort of heritage breed or such. The owner wasn’t to clear on exactly what he was, but he’s in with my meat ladies now. He seems to be pretty decent with them, he’s not rough or violent. Hoping to see some fertile eggs in the near future! I’m trying to rehabilitate my squashed CX goose, who is currently not walking but is laying fairly well. She seems quite happy to mostly just sit, she would prefer to just sit and eat, but... diet and exercise plan! My two other CX and big Red (my only Red Ranger girl) are doing well with him. I mostly want to breed the first generation back to their sire or another suitable boy. Now I have to say, he is fairly small looking for a meat bird, but when I lifted him up I was surprised at how hefty he was. Puts my Barnvelder boys to shame! So things are looking up for the meat breeding program!

I see an incubator with some egg's in it for your future!

 

[Compost King]

Was that the Dork X or the Dork O?

These are the mothers of the Dork X and the Aunts of the Dork O's.

 

[Kris5902]

I see an incubator with some egg's in it for your future!

Well, I’ve sort of got a building with power on another persons property, and we are running another hatch together so... winter hatching isn’t totally impossible! I’m hoping, maybe if I can’t find work the next few weeks while DH is on farm to cover our chicken chores, that I might take some hardware cloth and wood chips over, we could do some basic building and grounds improvements there. However, I might have some work at one of the new (legal!) marijuana farms. Turns out harvesting is more work than the employees thought it would be, and 90% of them flaked out and quit. Go figure! $20 an hour for (what is comparatively for me) light harvesting? Heck yes! I will happily car camp and work as a fruit picker for that rate!

 

[BlueBaby]

Well, I’ve sort of got a building with power on another persons property, and we are running another hatch together so... winter hatching isn’t totally impossible! I’m hoping, maybe if I can’t find work the next few weeks while DH is on farm to cover our chicken chores, that I might take some hardware cloth and wood chips over, we could do some basic building and grounds improvements there. However, I might have some work at one of the new (legal!) marijuana farms. Turns out harvesting is more work than the employees thought it would be, and 90% of them flaked out and quit. Go figure! $20 an hour for (what is comparatively for me) light harvesting? Heck yes! I will happily car camp and work as a fruit picker for that rate!

That's par for the course these day's, everything is too hard for some.

 

[Compost King]

I’ve gotten myself a red meat rooster of some sort of heritage breed or such.

When/if you get around to taking a picture of him please share. I would like to see a meaty red rooster.