HERE is where we are going to talk about a sustainable meat bird flock

[they'reHISchickens]

Flock sustainability is not something I even thought of when we started this venture 2 years ago. Now, the thought of having to raise chicks for months before i can tell the boys from the girls and plus not having the boys have any decent meat on them, just goes against my PA Dutch farming nature. We plan on increasing the orpington numbers and adding marans so that the extra roos we would hatch are worth the trouble of raising. The EEs are decent layers and the eggs are pretty, but I want to see more meat on their bones. Something tells me I should look twice at Delawares too.
Great reading thread! Thanks CARS!

 

[Teach97]

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I was actually trying to not scare him!!!

He is a fun guy! I like folks that think different than me...keeps me thinking.

by the way...I think I found my roo! I know...it is a crazy cross but...color of feathers is important for some silly reason. Kinda like when I bought my truck...It had to be maroon!

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Here is my conclusion at the end of the day.
We need eggs and meat.
In general, you are not going to get the best of both in one breed.

So, the plan is this. We will choose a new layer that will be suitable for meat/stewing at the end of their egg laying stage.
A sort of dual purpose if you will, just not at the same age or time.
We will probably continue to raise a few Xs, to suppliment this.
They will free ranged during the day, and tractored at night and at times we are gone, such as Sunday.
And by a few, I mean not more then a dozen at a time.

We will also keep an eye on what Jeff is working on.

 

[ericsplls]

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I feel sorry for the poor hen, until you get some more to take up the slack. One hen and a randy RIR cock?! Oy!!

They had their first date tonight. I'm going to let her out in the morning and leave him in the tractor. Then put her up with him tomorrow evening before he goes too roost. She wasn't too happy about the situation.

 

[CARS]

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I will go along with that other than I am off the farm for 12 hours a day... free ranging is not an option. I do have the option to rotationally graze within fenced areas though. gonna have to work for me!

 

[dancingbear]

Hi Jim, sorry about that, I get annoyed with folks tossing out unexplained initials all the time, then I do it myself! Thanks for the reminder!

Thanks to all for the compliments, I'm glad I wrote something people liked.

Cars, I left out all kinds of stuff. I didn't even start on the Khaki Campbells, or the guineas. Future plans for grass-fed beef, and a milk beast of some kind. I tease my DH about wanting to get a milk-camel, but really, a cow or a goat would do just fine. Too hot here in the summer, for yaks.

I'll be doing great if I can keep up with the combination birds and manage to have a good market garden this year. My peppers, tomatoes, cukes, and squash rarely fail to produce enough for us, and for everybody we know to start dodging us if they see us with a bag in hand, so I shouldn't have any trouble producing at least that much. We'll see what else grows enough to sell. I have seeds for darn near everything, and nearly all of it will be seed-savable, (not the squash or melons, the cross too readily, and I'm growing more than one kind of each) or most of what does well, will be. That's gonna be a job in itself, come fall.

Teach, I have some Large Fowl light Brahmas, that are like that. They are wonderful moms! I have a couple, that if I have incubator chicks, I don't even have to sneak them in. I can just turn them loose nearby, and they take them in with their own chicks, They don't even have to be the same age, they just adopt anything that peeps within their personal orbits. I have a pretty mixed breed, not sure what she is, that practically broods non-stop. She's been broody about 5 weeks now. Once I clear out the rest of the current extra roos, I'm gonna let her keep a few eggs to hatch. She's worn me down!

I bet a bantam Cornish roo with a bantam Brahma hen would make some really nice mini-meat birds. If the hens quit brooding long enough to lay some eggs, anyway!

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

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I will go along with that other than I am off the farm for 12 hours a day... free ranging is not an option. I do have the option to rotationally graze within fenced areas though. gonna have to work for me!

If you have tractors that they will not get cramped in, those can solve that issue. Just move them morning and evening.

 

[CARS]

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Well, the thread isn't locked yet. You get some sleep and tell us about your other meat ventures!

I bet a bantam Cornish roo with a bantam Brahma hen would make some really nice mini-meat birds. If the hens quit brooding long enough to lay some eggs, anyway!

Can't even imagine that. Like a game hen size??? Seriously???? That would be cool. Larger than a quail but "personal pan sized"

 

[DaKid]

Brunty_Farms
HERE is where we are going to talk about a sustainable meat bird flockpringle wrote:
Are you kidding me?Well then wont it come with some losses and unneeded cruelty though?I mean wont the legs give out or something?And if you have to artificially inseminate them im out,ughh rather have em do it the naturall way instead of some tube of some sort
Dead serious... where did you get the hogwash from? I don't have to AI anything... they breed just as natural as any other chicken... Cochins have lower fertility rates than the hens I'm dealing with.

The legs will not give out? Again where did you here that from? "some tube of some sort" Come on... they are chickens not lab rats.

All natural here... what point would I have if I didn't do things the natural way?

Ok I have also raise some x-rocks for eatting but I too have keep a few x-rocks hens that I breed with my LT. Branham Roo , size of the chicks well I did see that the reg Lt Branhan breast where smaller and the size was smaller them the Crosses of LT. Branham X-Rocks that I raise .




any way I been also crossing my TRUE Lt Branham with my RIR in which they been laying really great all yr long even this winter , and the size of the bird is good too, but I need to see if I can increase the breast size a bit more like adding the Cornish to da mix



Alan​

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Cool thread

I'm working on Delaware's, although from this thread that may not be the best idea for sustaining a meat flock

I have been focusing on breeding larger birds with each new hatch though. I have culled mercilessly this last year! To the point that I am down to 4 birds. I get enough eggs to incubate, so I'm going with it for now. I haven't butchered yet but likely will in about 12 more weeks when the first batch of birds are grown out a bit. I'll let ya know how it goes if this thread is still going by then.

I also have Jumbo Brown coturnix I am working with and again have not butchered yet.

My turkeys are Eastern Wild...dunno how that'll go either.

SOOOOO since I don't know enough to really contribute yet....I'll just watch..