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

[Germaine_11.20]

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
I'm launching into duck this year. What would be a good breed of goose for the table? My pond has an excellent ecosystem with lots of good things to eat. Even my turkeys and chickens wade in it for stuff. I want to take full advantage of that.

I'm doing pekin, blue sweedish, magpie, muscovy, khaki cambels, and runners.... I will let you know! Right now the pekins are towering over everyone else... I have a lot of chefs in my area that I told that I was raising ducks. Told them that I wanted to give them 1 of each and let me know who wins best of taste.... and then I guess I will go from there.


I've always had ducks for eggs and have done them for meat once or twice but never just ordered a bunch to see what I get. Ideal had a great buy for $1.50 or so a duck.... Close to you they are only a state below you.

 

[sekinkead]

I currently have Buckeyes. I have one pullet and 1 cockerel and 13 babies and more in the bator. I am also looking at dorkings, chanteclers and jersey giants. I have two things I want to accomplish. I want a sustainable flock that I can hatch out my own babies every year and I want to work with endangered breeds. Acutally, I guess I have 3 things because I want them to be a good table bird. I have heard that dorkings are a great table bird, but I don't have any first hand experience. I am also looking at Bourbon Red turkeys. I want to eventually get some ducks and geese for the freezer as well. I have raised the cornish cross. I personally did not enjoy the experience even though we only lost 2. I would also like them to be good foragers, predator savvy, and broody but not too broody.

 

[randomchick]

Quote:
I don't think they are hard to pluck at all. Lots of feathers but they come out easy. I do them myself, and it takes me about 2 minutes per bird including pin feathers to get them totally striped down. And I am not the fastest one in the family at all.

 

[smarsh]

why do so many of you choose fowl other than chicken? to me quail are too much feather for the meat, and turkey are too much meat for 2 people, and both are pretty seasonal layers aren't they? I also think a fast growing chicken may be better than the eventual size of the chicken. Jersey giants are supposed to be slow to mature aren't they? i would guess, other than personal taste (buds and opinion), the real point would be the ratio between the feed fed and the meat produced.

no real experience here

scott

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

Regarding Geese

Very economical eaters, ours made huge amounts of meat on pasture only. However it can be dark and GREASY meat if they get too much grain feed. If their meat were more palatable to the general public, I would recommend geese to all.

All the foliage goes through them quickly and frequently. You may not have to mow your lawn, but you will not be able to lie down upon it either.

Ganders can and will beat 4 year old children up. Pen ganders away from little people. Big people should watch their backsides.

Geese are extremely cold hardy.

Ours hatched their own young and protected them well.

Again, I only wish I liked the taste better. They were so easy to raise and made so much meat for so little effort and money.

Regarding Chickens

Our Delaware roosters were too mean. They tasted great.
Trying Buckeyes this year.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I'm going to follow up on some turkey questions. First, the Royal Palms are a bit small and small breasted. I would go with a Midget White if I wanted a small bird or Burbon Red, Jersey Buff or anything you want really. (I had the Jerseys and they were incredible parents, big like the Burbons, and quite docile.) If you train your babies most of the time you shouldn't have them roosting in the tree at night unless you let them get in the habit. My turkeys free range and then return at night to a converted dog kennel with corrugated metal roof and roosts.

The plusses to the heritage turkeys over the broad breasted is that they pretty much take care of themselves. They pretty much feed themselves, people really don't understand how good foragers they are. Don't get me wrong, you need to supplement thier ranging with gamebird or some other ration, but far less than if you confined them. Also, if you have a pair or trio, you can let them raise the babies, minimal work/expense.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
I don't know how they compare to commercial broilers, but I have found heritage birds to be very easy to process. So far I have processed leghorns, Cornish, White Rocks, RIR, Ameracauna, and Buff Orpington, off the top of my head. None of them was all that difficult for me. I hand pluck.

Turkeys I have found to be actually easier than chickens. My hands are on the large size and it is easier to get them inside the bird during evisceration. The exceptions have been the 50 and 45 pound BBW toms, but with a little ingenuity they were doable.

I haven't really noticed many pin feathers on many of my birds. Maybe one or two.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
That hasn't been the case in my house. We have a great meal right after cooking, then slice up the white turkey meat for sandwich meat and freeze it in small bags for later use, save some more to add to various recipes later, use the rest in soups and stews. My wife is very creative in that regard.

When we made a commitment to avoid factory farmed meat at all costs, it made for more creative and extended use of our animals.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
Well, I like the taste of turkey so that was a no-brainer. The quail was more of a fad. I actually thought I could sell the eggs to pay for the feed. I deviled thousands of quail eggs last summer and everyone loved them, but no one around here would buy them.

to me quail are too much feather for the meat, and turkey are too much meat for 2 people, and both are pretty seasonal layers aren't they?

Your right, for me cortnix (sp) was not worth the effort for meat. But you can always split a turkey in half. Yes, your Turkeys and Bobwhite quail are seasonal layers but the cortnix quail are laying machines until about 20 degrees F.

I also think a fast growing chicken may be better than the eventual size of the chicken. Jersey giants are supposed to be slow to mature aren't they? i would guess, other than personal taste (buds and opinion), the real point would be the ratio between the feed fed and the meat produced.

scott

If you are worried about the feed to pound conversion rate for meat gain, I think you are going to have to look elsewhere. We are trying to find out who is doing what with standard breed that are being kept for hatching their own and make a nice table bird.​