- Jan 8, 2014
- 5
- 0
- 9
We have actually been raising chickens for, I just figured it out, 21 years now! My husband and I thought that our 5-acres, 2 dogs and a cat, and 5 children would be enriched by a few chickens. Fresh eggs wouldn't hurt, either.
Our kids wouldn't hear of us eating our non-producing layers, so we've been running an "old hens' home" for a long time. Right now, we have about 30 chickens, and only get 3-4 eggs/day. Since our kids are now grown, we'd like to raise some poultry for meat, as well as cull the non-layers for soup.
We'd like to find out where we can process our poultry within a reasonable driving distance, and how to determine which hens are still productive. We will always keep our friendly roosters (they're protective of the hens, and we have coyotes and foxes) as well as bantams around, and the chickens with personality. Ironically, it's the highest-producing breeds which seem to have no personality, at least in our experience. We also have 5 sheep, all pets, in pastures adjacent to our coop.
I found this site when trying to find poultry processors. It would have been a great help many years earlier! We were so green, and still are in so many ways.
Thank you!
Our kids wouldn't hear of us eating our non-producing layers, so we've been running an "old hens' home" for a long time. Right now, we have about 30 chickens, and only get 3-4 eggs/day. Since our kids are now grown, we'd like to raise some poultry for meat, as well as cull the non-layers for soup.
We'd like to find out where we can process our poultry within a reasonable driving distance, and how to determine which hens are still productive. We will always keep our friendly roosters (they're protective of the hens, and we have coyotes and foxes) as well as bantams around, and the chickens with personality. Ironically, it's the highest-producing breeds which seem to have no personality, at least in our experience. We also have 5 sheep, all pets, in pastures adjacent to our coop.
I found this site when trying to find poultry processors. It would have been a great help many years earlier! We were so green, and still are in so many ways.
Thank you!
and Welcome To BYC! You might want to post in the Meat Birds forum and your state thread about a processor. I know what you mean about the birds with the most personality seem to think that eggs are optional.
