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

[CARS]

Quote:
I started this thread and I am lost

But when cross breeding to get nice big birds at as young as age as possible do I need to have birds that don't feather out fast so that the energy goes into the meat and not the feathering? Should I be breeding slow feathering birds together?

That is a theory I haven't heard yet. Makes sense to me. I would much rather pluck my (taboo word for this thread) Cornish X's than a 20 week old Leghorn.

We keep talking about crossing for size, but what about ease of processing and meat gain?? Is there a connection???

Great question Rusty's woman! Hopefully the BS wont hinder you from adding to the conversation after you get caught up with the other 18 pages

 

[Beekissed]

Can't believe I've missed this thread! Great topic!

I confess I haven't read all the pages but will contribute what I've been trying to do and what I will experiment with this year.

I have always had mixed flocks of dual-purpose breeds and chose hardy, heritage breeds for the most part. I now have the roo that I want for breeding my own stock with the desired traits....great laying, winter-hardy, thrifty, good foragers, meaty breasts and thighs.

I don't use any type of meds for deworming or treatment and I do cull vigorously for egg-laying and desired traits. I encourage broodiness to replenish my flock and for rooster culls for the freezer or to can. I free range all year long. I do treat my flock with UP/ACV and the occasional garlic juice in their water. I also feed pumpkins as a supplemental feed/deworming agent.

My roo is a Partridge Rock in his second year, a steady and gentle breeder, hardly ever crows and when he does it is muted. He is large and beautifully proportioned, has never shown aggressive tendencies towards humans and is a good flock master so far.

My hens are White Rock, New Hampshire Reds, Austrolorps, Dominiques, and a few production reds that I adopted. I am very impressed with the size, laying and hardiness of both the White Rocks, NHRs and Aussies that I have. The production reds are also a meaty, large bird with good laying tendencies.

This year I would like to purchase 25 Colored Ranger chicks and retain 5 hens for breeding purposes. I intend to continue to breed, incubate/brood and eat the results of breeding my PR roo over the CR hens and the resulting mixed breeds.

I have culled females that are too docile, like the BOs that I originally purchased...they constantly had raw backs, they were not consistent layers and they ate more than the others. True that they were meaty and big, but so are the WRs and NHRs.

I don't need pet chickens, I need good mothers, good foragers, good producers. I need a flock that doesn't need to be medicated to stay alive. Slowly but surely I expect that my methods will produce a very sustainable flock of hardy birds that have the desired traits. So far, so good.

I am using the same methods for my sheep and will do so with the honeybees I will be getting this spring. Sustainability is the goal for all my animal husbandry methods.

 

[CARS]

Welcome to the conversation Beekissed!!! Great to hear of your plans. In fact, other than I don't understand how you can manipulate honey bees I think your plan sounds exactly what I wanted to hear

How the heck can you cull honeybees anyway? don't they just do their thing

 

[Beekissed]

They actually just cull themselves....I don't have to do a thing.

Honeybees can be plagued with a number of parasites and diseases, not to mention the mysterious CCD that is happening now. I plan to let the weaker colonies die if they must...no treatments, meds, supplemental feeding (if I can avoid it). By retaining and capturing my own swarms from the hardy survivors, I hope to perpetuate their genetics until I have a truly sustainable(as much as that is possible) strain of bee.

The people who are practicing this method of beekeeping are the ones who are not suffering big yearly losses to CCD, parasites, etc. I think there is a growing idea that it may be the extreme manipulation by beekeepers all these many years that have produced a very weak gene pool among bees. They have produced bees that must be coddled, medicated, requeened and fed to stay alive and reproduce.

Somewhat like the commercial beef, poultry, hog and sheep industry....in the rush to produce more in a shorter amount of time, humans have produced animals that are dependent upon chemicals to sustain life.

I'm all about the long way around and the slow but steady approach.

 

[CARS]

I would have never thought that about bees. I thought we were just going to live by their rules. I did plant many more flowers for them in the last few years though

How much meat is in a bee anyway?

(just kidding)

 

[Beekissed]

They are the only livestock that make their own food, store it for the winter and clean out their own quarters! And the meat is "sweet" meat....

Not to mention they are the only livestock I will have that I don't mind getting into the garden! With a 50% increase in crop production, they not only will increase my yields but will be making me honey while they do so.....if only ALL our livestock could be so obliging.

 

[Partyfowl]

Hello all,
I have been following this thread, and am also on the road to a self suffienct life. I am currently breeding my buckeye and delawares. To try for the ultimate DP bird!

 

[CARS]

Quote:
How are you doing it? Buckeye Roos to Delaware Hens or the other way around??

 

[Wifezilla]

I think there is a growing idea that it may be the extreme manipulation by beekeepers all these many years that have produced a very weak gene pool among bees. They have produced bees that must be coddled, medicated, requeened and fed to stay alive and reproduce.

Somewhat like the commercial beef, poultry, hog and sheep industry....in the rush to produce more in a shorter amount of time, humans have produced animals that are dependent upon chemicals to sustain life.

Exactly!

I also wonder how much the practice of using high fructose corn syrup as a supplemental feed has contributed to CCD.​

 

[dadof4]

Last year, I was trying something out and tried a few diffrent crosses out. One was a Welsummer roo to a GL Wyandotte. I consistantly got very large roos-much larger than their parent stock. Unfortantly, I lost the roo, wound up giving the hen to my brother and scraping the plan. I plan to try to re create it this year.
One of my other tries was with a production red roo and some silver laced wyandottes, they make a nice sex-linked bird. The hens are starting to lay well this year and the roos got off to a fast start- however seemed to fizzle out and just become average with size.
I will admit, it's not soo bad when you can just eat your mistakes.

I'd say the Wellsummer X's weight out at about 4-5 lbs at 14 weeks.