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

[Partyfowl]

I have raised a Cornishx free range till it started laying eggs.(almost daily) She looked super fat. We called her starches! I only supplemented with broiler feed in the pm 1 scoop and 1 scoop corn for 30 chickens. The rest the had to fend for them self. I was late butchering her i think 23 -25 weeks but all said and done she finished out at 13 pounds and NO fat on her!! Probably from running through 45 acres of wheat a day she was nice a juicey not chewy at all! In retropect I should have incubated those eggs. By Delaware was always mating with her. It would have been a great combo.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
What is that, Bee?

Unpastuerized apple cider vinegar....just a cheap and efficient probiotic every now and again added to their water to keep them bright and zippy!

McNugget: I do have a question. Out of the 17 hens I do have, how can I tell which are laying and which are not?

There are a few ways to supposedly tell if a hen is currently laying but I've only found one fool proof method.....and you ain't gonna like it......

Some folks say that, if you can place two fingers in the space below the vent that this indicates a widened pelvis, thus a laying hen~I have found this to not be always true.

Some folks say that a moist, open vent is a sure indicator....not always true. Some say if their legs are pale and combs are red, you have a layer....not always true.

Now comes the messy part~if you glove up with latex and do a digital exam during the roosting time, you can actually feel the next day's egg in the canal....go easy and don't press on it. Now, some chickens don't lay each day and so, this method should be tried on two consecutive evenings.

I allow a bird that lays every other day in my flock....anything less than that is a freeloader unless she is an old favorite. Even then she is on borrowed time. When she stops producing altogether she is a chicken pot pie.

ETA: McNugget....check Other Livestock for a bee thread. So let it be written, so let it be done!

 

[OurFarm]

We are raising egg layers & Freedom Rangers. I got my first Freedom Rangers last year, they grew great! Unfortunately, they are hybrids & don't reproduce true. We just put in our order for 100 more Freedom Rangers. We're looking for a dual purpose bird that will grow large enough for my partner to sell broilers. We're getting some Jersey Giants to try.
I'd be totally delighted to find out what's working for others. I'm not totally happy w/ the Freedom Rangers. I can't have our banties hatch eggs to perpetuate the flock. We're hatching out some eggs from the Freedom Rangers, to see if they're offspring are better than some of the other birds we try.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Quote:
I was really just trying to keep the discussion of ordering a hatchery Cornish X and butchering it at 8 weeks. If you are using older Cornish X's to breed though, that is fine (like Jeff's project). Standard Cornish is absolutely fine and is a great choice to cross with other breeds (from what I have read).

Actually I only have the Dark Cornish, no Cornish X. Hey Buster! Do you sell eggs? I need some of those big Roos you are talking about. Mine are so small it is embarrasing. Good to know that they aren't tough. I am tired of chicken soup.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
There are a few ways to supposedly tell if a hen is currently laying but I've only found one fool proof method.....and you ain't gonna like it......

Now comes the messy part~if you glove up with latex and do a digital exam during the roosting time, you can actually feel the next day's egg in the canal....go easy and don't press on it. Now, some chickens don't lay each day and so, this method should be tried on two consecutive evenings.

I isolate hens in a separate pen, with a nest box, and wait and see if she lays eggs. This is also how I get hatching eggs from specific hens.

McNugget, are you waiting for them to start laying, or checking to see if they've outlived laying?

 

[Beekissed]

When I isolate a hen that is not a broody, she becomes very anxious. I would bet my gals wouldn't lay under those circumstances for awhile. I'd have to isolate each of my flock of 25, wait until she settled down to the circumstance and started laying once more. Quicker and more accurate to do an exam for me!

 

[dancingbear]

If I had to isolate each of my 47 hens, it would take quite awhile. But, I know certain ones are in fact laying, because I see them in the nest boxes a lot. Some I've seen actually drop the eggs. So I only need to test the ones that I either haven't caught in the act, or look alike, so that I'm not sure who's who. I can band the legs with color coded bands when I do find out for sure one is or isn't laying. Also, it's easier for me to isolate because they don't all have to be completely alone. I can put a known green egg layer in with a known brown egg layer, because I'll know by the color who laid it. My iso pen is right by the regular run, so who ever's in there can see and hear all the others. As long as I toss in some fresh picked greens or other treats, they don't seem to mind all that much. It helps that it's a good sized pen, too, so she's not cramped.

I can't use it right now because I have the death row roosters in there. I'm hoping to have time to process them all this weekend, except one big pretty boy (buff Brahma/Cornish/EE mix) who's getting a new home, through a pal of mine.

Besides, the thought of putting my fingers up a hen's hooha just creeps me out! More power to ya for being able to do that!

 

[Beekissed]

I think it helps that I am a nurse and I do it to humans all the time!

It NEVER feels pleasant, that's for sure......

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Given the choice of 24 to 48 hrs isolation , and being caught and probed , I know which one makes me more nervous .

 

[Beekissed]

I'd be reeeeeeaaaaal gentle!

Now....assume the position...

...don't be such a sissy!