Faverolles Thread

[comerspoultry]

HI All, I enjoy hearing from everyone about their Birds, I have a few nice breeder birds and a few hatchery- some that are decent and some that are just characters with all kinds of markings.....no one should worry about theirs. We each have different ideas of what we hope for and what works for us....Please Piper send us a picture or 2 as your project goes along, one of these days i will get some up of mine....I have a new boy that i really like from Jeanine,(Thankyou !) sweet with attitude, only 4 months??? but as big as everyone here except my biggest hen.

I think sharing allows us to discover the possibilities...

Lovely Boy Leisha, Good Luck to You and everyone going to the show.......

eliz

Thanks, if i remember I'll take some pics.

 

[mame1616]

Are any of you attending the Lucasville Show this coming weekend. I am going as a spectator, but would like to meet some breeders. Since I hatched a couple of Jeanine's eggs this year I was hoping she would be there. Are any of you attending the Ohio Nationals in Columbus?

Couldn't make it to Lucasville - same as Jeanine, financial constraints. I will be at the Ohio Nationals, though.

 

[ashandvine]

There's been a push lately toward getting them back to more of a meat bird, because that's what they were originally bred for, and a lot of the exhibition lines have gotten away from that.

I have eaten a Fav side by side with a Cochin, and there were subtle differences. One probably wouldn't notice it if they weren't side by side, but if you're looking for the differences, they are there. HUGE differences, of course, as compared to the frankenchickens one would buy at the grocery store....

So... they 'got away' and became just pretty birds?
I have eaten a few birds here and on other farms where I lived but they were not heritage birds... not that I can recall anyway. Would you mind explaining what you think the huge differences were? IDK if i am offending Fav keepers here by talking about eating them but I know that is what any cull here will be for. How many of you raise for meat or for show... or just for cute and fluffy fun? I need to make a living with my birds or at least a means for my family as well as have fun with the fluff so i thought I would ask. I understand not everyone eats their birds. Not trying to upset those of you who don't.

 

[hcammack]

So... they 'got away' and became just pretty birds?
I have eaten a few birds here and on other farms where I lived but they were not heritage birds... not that I can recall anyway. Would you mind explaining what you think the huge differences were? IDK if i am offending Fav keepers here by talking about eating them but I know that is what any cull here will be for. How many of you raise for meat or for show... or just for cute and fluffy fun? I need to make a living with my birds or at least a means for my family as well as have fun with the fluff so i thought I would ask. I understand not everyone eats their birds. Not trying to upset those of you who don't.

I know Melissa (Pasofinofarm) has faverolles and she processes all the culls. She said they are the best tasting out of the breeds she has : Marans, Ameraucanas, and faverolles. She told me they could be pretty good meat birds compared with those other breeds. I will be eating my culls from hatching this spring. I think its a great use of the extra males. Faverolles should be meaty enough to make good eating as that was their original purpose as well as being fairly good egg layers. I think they did slip by and became mostly show stock as did most other traditional table fowl when the Cornish X rolled around.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote: I don't think you'll offend anyone on this thread when you talk about eating your birds, many of us do it, and those that don't, mostly realize that since that was the Favs original purpose, that they're going to hear about it, want to or not.

Side by side with the Cochin, the Fav just had a deeper, richer flavor (they were both amazing, being home grown though). I did a slow crock pot cook with both of them, and after trying them both (which was the point of cooking them at the same time) ended up shredding all the meat together, made a huge pot of the tastiest chicken soup I've ever had (NO seasoning except salt required) and had shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches.

I haven't eaten very many of my birds yet, because I don't have a lot of extra room to grow them out to butcher weight. But I grow out more each time, and plan to continue...

 

[ashandvine]

How long do you grow them out till-- weight or age?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

How long do you grow them out till-- weight or age?

I try to do age, and go 5 months. Some of my boys are at a good butcher size by 4 months, but it seems a shame to not grow them out that extra month to get the extra weight on them...

 

[n8ivetxn]

I would love to see pics! LF or bantam..I am excited to see what my tiny babies will look like grown up. Will take a while though, those two blues, especially one, is very tiny. I have been watching to make sure it is drinking and eating..*she* is.

I want blues! I can't imagine how tiny a bantam must be, the LF are tiny enough! - But boy, they get around! They run so fast they look like little fuzz bunnies rolling around in the run area

I was noticing this morning that my little hatchery girls have a little of the black in their beards, just like your little hen! One of them has "toddler legs" - short and stubby!

 

[n8ivetxn]

There's been a push lately toward getting them back to more of a meat bird, because that's what they were originally bred for, and a lot of the exhibition lines have gotten away from that.

I have eaten a Fav side by side with a Cochin, and there were subtle differences. One probably wouldn't notice it if they weren't side by side, but if you're looking for the differences, they are there. HUGE differences, of course, as compared to the frankenchickens one would buy at the grocery store....

"Frankenchickens" - my favorite term right now!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote: Yeah, it's a funny term, but it's so very sad when you look at the stats... it's crazy what people will do for "quick and easy"...