Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[Extra Java]

Re: spatchcocking...

Do you remove the keel bone or are you simply chopping it down the middle with a cleaver?

Thanks!

 

[Tuhmu]

I'm extremely glad to come across this thread, my breeds that I am going to be working with are light Sussex, buff orpingtons, and silver dorkings. I currently have 9 light Sussex and 18 buff orpingtons that are going to be my starter flock and I plan on dorkings a ways down the road. My goal is to have a main flock and breeder pens, then rotate after I get a decent number of chicks from each breed. To also have a sort of bachelor pad for my roosters, assuming they will behave with each other when they don't have any hens.

I would like to follow this plan. I take no credit for it and don't have the source anymore, i shamelessly copied it from a forum on this site a while back and just had it saved in my notes. I think it is a great method to start off with and then branch into your own ways, for us beginners.


**** I believe this to be the most practical and probably the best overall breeding system for poultry. It simply consists of breeding cocks to pullets and cockerels to hens. Yes, it requires at least two pens for each breed or variety, but it requires minimal record keeping, prevents extremes in breeding and helps to select for both vigor and uniformity. The system is also relatively forgiving of mistakes in selection or an introduction of new stock that does not combine well with an established flock. These problems will tend to correct themselves in future cycles.
Here is the formula for starting with a trio of Javas. (Note: Most old time breeders would not use less than two trios of anything, because that was not “deep enough” and preferred a “breeding” of two males and eight to ten hens).
But, in this case, we are starting with an initial trio. Let us say in a single season we raise thirty Javas (15 of each sex). From these, we would keep the three best males and eight or ten of the best females. The rest we sell or eat. The next breeding season, the old male is mated to the pullets and the best cockerel is mated to the old hens. The other two cockerels are spares and show birds. A rule of thumb is always to keep at least half as many spare males as you had breeding males and never keep less than two. This system can be expanded to any size, but when in full swing, it should have at least four males and twenty females.
The following year the two old cocks (the cockerel is over a year old now) are teamed with the 10 best pullets. The young (year old) hens join their mothers with the two best cockerels and the system is now running well.
After each season, the old birds are combined and culled to the two best cocks and the best ten hens. The best two cockerels and the ten best pullets are selected from the young birds. The pullets are teamed with the cocks and the hens with the cockerels. The breeder is ready for the following season.
Old time breeder, Bruce Lentz, would often have “side matings”. This might be unrelated stock from another breeder or culls that had one or more very desirable characteristics. He might work with these birds for years until he got them to the desired state of perfection. Then, they would be slowly worked in on the pullet and cockerel side of his regular matings.
The complaints I have heard about this system are that it is too easy; anybody can do it; it is not breeding, and it depends upon your ability to select breeders or cull.
The answer? It is easy; anybody can do it; it is breeding, and any system depends upon your ability to select breeders. This system will maintain a viable population while you develop the art. ********

 

[Arielle]

THanks for sharing-- interesting.

DOes anyone have i nformation on feeding silage to chickens? THis person is looking for info on how the birds will like it and the feeding of it. Seems like this would be an old feed that would have been tried on the farmstead birds.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/newestpost/800883

Hope I copied it correctly.

 

[HawaiianRoo]

After each season, the old birds are combined and culled to the two best cocks and the best ten hens. The best two cockerels and the ten best pullets are selected from the young birds. The pullets are teamed with the cocks and the hens with the cockerels. The breeder is ready for the following season.

I believe that breeding method is called the 'old farmers method' or 'rolling method'. I have read that you can sustain health and vigor for around a decade before the need to bring in new blood. Is anyone on the forum using this method. Your experiences?

 

[Arielle]

Don Shrieder used the rolling method to improve the strains of buckeyes collected for the ALBC project. Used serveral pens, moving pen A cckls to pen B, leaving best PenA girls in Pen A. THe write up on the ALbc site used 3 pens as I remember.

edited for spelling

 

[Fred's Hens]

The "bring in new blood" theory contains many erroneous perceptions. The very best birds have often been bred for 50 years or more without outside blood, or at least what people think outside blood means. These strains of the very best birds need an injection from a flock of the SAME strain. But, one needs a committed partner, somewhere, who also keeps the same strain. Once every 10-15-20 years, these folks exchange a trio, and the whole thing starts again.

After a partner, even one with the identical DNA as you have breeds for 10-15 years, his/her family has now taken a separate track been apart from your family for a long enough period and when the exchange is made, vigor is re-introduced to both flocks. The strains are the same. Bring in blood from an outside, unrelated strain can often import all kinds of wild card features that sets you back and will require heavy, heavy culling and perhaps many years to stabilize your results.

That an exchange or injection MAY be needed at the 10-15 year mark is mostly noticed as fertility and hatch rates sag. Hope that helps.

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

not the keel u are removing the backbone from the tail to the neck cut as close as u can to both sides of it and remove it completely...

Re: spatchcocking...

Do you remove the keel bone or are you simply chopping it down the middle with a cleaver?

Thanks!

 

[Arielle]

As someone never to waste a thing-- what do you use the back for? Collect in the freezer for soup bones??

THis is making me hungry.

 

[catdaddyfro]

As someone never to waste a thing-- what do you use the back for? Collect in the freezer for soup bones??

THis is making me hungry.

You can but the whole idea of the "spatchcocking method" is for a speedy method of cleaning and processing a carcass. You don't have to spend all the time cleaning out the hard to eviscerate innards such as the lungs, kidneys, testes ect. once you cut out the back and attachments all these get discarded too. Its just a speedier method when one has a tremendous amount to butcher, is all. Makes for great BBQuing halvsies on the spit for sure, LOL

Jeff

 

[Extra Java]

Thank you!