Dual purpose

[Chaerie]

I have 4 jersey giant layers at 14 months and 6 ameruacana at 2 weeks. Plan is to butcher at 2 years and rotate. We will also be doing meat birds in the future to butcher, I'm acquiring a French maran rooster for breeding purposes, but this is my plan for my egg flock. Should I be having my hens on feed other than the laying kind? Any other suggestions? Thank you

 

[Pork Pie]

Maybe try all flock feed with oyster shell in a separate feeder. All flock feed will have a slightly higher protein content. It has the additional benefit of allowing you to integrate your chicks into the main flock without worrying about having two different types of feed

 

[Birdinhand]

so far, my conclusion is that dual purpose birds are not so good for eating, particularly after they have been laying for a while. I have gotten spoiled by the tender, juicy meat of a CX that was raised for the purpose.

 

[Chaerie]

so far, my conclusion is that dual purpose birds are not so good for eating, particularly after they have been laying for a while. I have gotten spoiled by the tender, juicy meat of a CX that was raised for the purpose.

Yes, I am aware this is an issue. These will be my stewing/ soup birds. Like I said, will also be doing meat birds, but I'm just starting out with eggs.

 

[Pork Pie]

I replace my laying flock every 18 months. Fortunately, older birds are prized in my neck of the woods, so it works for me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are just so many different ways you can do this. Some of that depends on how you manage them, do yours forage for a lot of their food or do you buy practically everything they eat for example. That can affect the economics.

Since you are using the hen's for stew/soup I'd suggest you feed them as you would laying chickens only. Let your meat birds take care of your meat needs. I'm canning chicken broth today, just taking a short break after lunch. I'm using dual purpose chickens raised for eggs, nothing special for meat. The broth flavor is tremendous. And I'm picking meat off the bones from the carcasses, that usually goes to sandwiches for my lunch but works for tacos, casseroles, or soups.

My main laying/breeding flock is one rooster and about 8 hens. I hatch a bunch for meat each year and select four replacement pullets each year. Pullets often skip the molt their first fall/winter and continue laying throughout the winter. I'll keep these the following laying season, feed then through their first adult molt, and keep them the next laying season. Then they go to the freezer when they start to molt. So I take four adults hens and four pullets through each winter and I pretty much always have eggs.

Some people do it exactly like you are thinking, replace the entire laying flock every two years. Just try it and see how you like it. If it works for you, great. If not, be flexible and try something else.

Good luck!

 

[Chaerie]

There are just so many different ways you can do this. Some of that depends on how you manage them, do yours forage for a lot of their food or do you buy practically everything they eat for example. That can affect the economics.

Since you are using the hen's for stew/soup I'd suggest you feed them as you would laying chickens only. Let your meat birds take care of your meat needs. I'm canning chicken broth today, just taking a short break after lunch. I'm using dual purpose chickens raised for eggs, nothing special for meat. The broth flavor is tremendous. And I'm picking meat off the bones from the carcasses, that usually goes to sandwiches for my lunch but works for tacos, casseroles, or soups.

My main laying/breeding flock is one rooster and about 8 hens. I hatch a bunch for meat each year and select four replacement pullets each year. Pullets often skip the molt their first fall/winter and continue laying throughout the winter. I'll keep these the following laying season, feed then through their first adult molt, and keep them the next laying season. Then they go to the freezer when they start to molt. So I take four adults hens and four pullets through each winter and I pretty much always have eggs.

Some people do it exactly like you are thinking, replace the entire laying flock every two years. Just try it and see how you like it. If it works for you, great. If not, be flexible and try something else.

Good luck!

I really like this idea too. Point is, eggs and meat, all the time, most economical. We'll be doing some free range once I get a bigger coop built, but it seems like too much free range can affect egg production...? Also, what breed(s) do you raise? Thanks so much for the info, I've got some stuff to mull over!

I'm going to have to break out my pressure canner and try canning broth. I haven't used it before because I'm scared!! Haha!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't raise breeds, I raise a barnyard mix. They have Speckled Sussex, Australorp, Orpington, Delaware. Ameraucana (from a breeder so they really were Ameraucana), and Buff Rock in them. I keep the ones I want to keep and eat the rest.

If they hide a nest from you while free ranging your egg production can drop for sure. The size of the egg could be a bit smaller, probably not much and maybe not even noticeable, if they forage for a lot of their food, but that food is free. But egg production shouldn't suffer that much if the quality of forage where they are free ranging is pretty good. By quality of forage I mean different grasses and weeds, grass and weed seeds, various creepy crawlies, and maybe some leaf litter to scratch in.

If you are here in the States you can contact your county extension office and talk to them about inspecting your pressure canner. They'll check it out to see if the gauge is working properly and if the parts are undamaged. That might raise your confidence level in the pressure canner. I canned 18 pints of broth today.

 

[Chaerie]

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[GCFFH]

so far, my conclusion is that dual purpose birds are not so good for eating, particularly after they have been laying for a while. I have gotten spoiled by the tender, juicy meat of a CX that was raised for the purpose.

I'm new and learning.... What is CX?