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

[dancingbear]

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Not necessarily. While they are definitely meaty, the fact that they do not usually brood their own young knocks them out of the sustainability category.

I have a pretty strict definition of what is and is not sustainable, for myself at least. Broodiness, while preferred, is not one of them.

The incubator is my friend.

You can have a different breed or even a different species incubate them. Chickens make fine duck moms. The incubator isn't your only alternative!

I would NOT have any kind of water fowl incubate and hatch non-water fowl. The moms tend to try to teach the babies to swim. But chickens do fine with ducks, guineas, geese, or whatever barnyard fowl you might have.

 

[comp6512]

Sustainability is what I had in mind when I started with chickens and ducks.

With all due respect to the Cornish X, they are not sustainable as in true meaning. You have to keep buying and keep buying these chicks to raise them. My idea of sustainability is to have my own chicks and not rely on the hatcheries.

I started with 20 BO on Sept 29, 2009 and 14 Cauyga ducks on Nov 23, 2009. BO were straight run, and ducks had three definite females, and the rest was straight run. The reason for ordering straight run was that I wanted to see how different sexes grow and also to reasonably expect to have both sexes in my flock. Plus, they are cheaper as a straight run.

Once they started "free ranging" - meaning having the run of the back half acre of the property, we promptly lost five chickens and six ducks to the fox or bobcat, or whoever. We tried to catch the predator, but no luck so far. Then we fenced off quarter of an acre for them and killing stopped. Ducks smartened up and are staying in the middle of the pond, only coming out on the "feeding" side of the pond.

So far we ate two roosters and one duck (unknown gender). I brined second rooster and the duck and both were delicious!

One of the chickens just started laying those cute warm eggs. Hopefully, the rest of eleven hens will join her in that venture.

Our small family needs one chicken and one duck per week to eat. That means four chickens and four ducks per month. Chickens, and I mean roosters, of BO breed mature to a nice eating bird at around four months. Ducks are ready at two months of age. Soo.... my plan is to incubate 30 - 34 chicks every three months, which statistically will yield 15 roosters and 15 hens. We wll eat the roosters and sell the hens. Incubate 20 ducks next month, eat 16 or so and keep a couple for flock renewal. That's the plan anyway. The only thing that bothers me with this plan, is potential liability selling pullets. You know, we live in a sue-happy society, so you never know. But, I cannot kill pullets. They are so darn cute and so darn small, like why bother.

I also plan a big sweet potato - squash - bean garden this year to supplement commercial feed.

My goal is to have a "renewable" flock, as someone mentioned, and to feed them as much natural, as well as balanced food, that I can produce thus lowering the cost.

Jury is still out on how this project will work out, but that's the plan anyway.

 

[comp6512]

Quote:
Jeff, what's the secret of folding these legs neatly like that? Both roosters we processed had their legs streched straight like a board. Could not bend them as much as we tried...

 

[Wifezilla]

I also plan a big sweet potato - squash - bean garden this year to supplement commercial feed.

I am gardening with my critters in mind this year. I have fenced off patches in the duck pen where I planted red and white clover. I will rotate those areas so they have an ongoing supply of greens. Excess zucchini will get shredded and frozen. The ducks LOVE shredded zucchini in a bucket of warm water on cold winter days. I am also increasing my lettuce and spinach beds. Beets are supposed to be a good fodder crop, so I may try a couple of rows. I got beet seeds for only 20¢ a packet. I am adding red wiggler worms to the compost bins. These will get fed to the ducks. The quail will also get clover in their pen and I may try raising meal worms for them. I am starting slips for sweet potatoes and I am going to try growing them in containers along my driveway fence.

Because my yard is so small I don't think I can ever get totally sustainable, but I can put a big dent in the feed bill and that is always a good thing.​

 

[sekinkead]

I want to get some ducks this year as well and I am so happy to hear about the shredded zucchini in water. I always get tons of the stuff and I do shred and freeze it so I can make zucchini bread in the winter but I can only make so much. I wonder if I can feed it to my chickens??? I am also planning to garden with my chickens in mind, I will be planting a lot more lettuce and spinach. I didn't know about the beets, I may try some of those as well.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I started......or should I say, restarted with chickens last April and we went with RIRs, because we wanted meat and eggs and easy to hatch stock. I just hatched out a bit over 4 dozen chicks. I incubated for meat purposes. I don't need the pullets and plan on selling them to help finance the rooster, possibly capon project.
I can't see the feasibility in always needing to buy my meaties from hatcheries, so if I feel I need a larger meat bird, I might be getting some white cornish hens and may put them with a white rock to see what I get. I am aware that they wouldn't get the size that the hatcheries might get, but I can't see that it wouldn't be worth my effort. But that is only a consideration we are discussing. I will also be having guineas soon and plan on using a few of them as my breeders and eating the extras. I am looking forward to trying those.
But really, between the RIRs and guineas, I probably don't need to worry myself about breeding a large meat bird.

 

[CARS]

I've been trying to read up on the Bourbon Red Turkeys, searching the turkey section only yeids 2 hits

Is everyone starting out with breeding pairs bought at an auction? Paying the $10.00 a day old chick (minimum of 15)?? Eggs might be an option in the future, but I don't have an incubator at the moment.

Is there a huge difference in hatchery stock v/s breeder stock turkeys like a lot of chicken breeds??

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
Jeff, what's the secret of folding these legs neatly like that? Both roosters we processed had their legs streched straight like a board. Could not bend them as much as we tried...

You have to let them age.... by the third day they are really loose. You notice it more on the DP breeds because their legs are so big!

 

[Buster52]

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The search engine doesn't seem to be working properly right now.

I don't know about hatchery stock, because I have only bought my turks from breeders. They do tend to cost much more than chickens, but I figure they are worth it.

PM Sandspoultry or OKCarla. I got most of my stock from Carla. A broody hen can hatch turkey eggs if that is all she is setting. Mixing them with chicken eggs will have your chicks hatching a week earlier than the poults, and that will likely make the hen abandon the latter, so make it only turkey eggs.

 

[TimG]

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I had problems with it yesterday, but figured it was just me.