Illinois...

[ChicagoClucker]

We did an incubator test & here are the hatch results:
Dad = English lavender orpington
x
Moms= Black Orpington(2), Coronation Sussex(3- all look lavender), Crested Cream Legbar (1), Easter Egger (3; 2 may have blk & wht feathers; the other has cheeks)




so, 3 lav, 3 black, 1 black with cheeks, 2 might be black & white.
Straight run. None of the parents came from hatcheries

The hatches we do this year are part of my daughter's 4H project. We are not planning on keeping any of the chicks.
They are beyond cute & friendly, so the sooner we sell them, the easier it will be for my daughter to give them up.
Hatched March 18-19, 2015

If interested, please PM me. We live in the western suburbs of Chicago.

I pm you from the traders thread. I would love some of lavenders.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Came across this article today. Scientist in Germany figures out how to sex a chicken embryo.
http://www.news24.com/Green/News/Ch...ugh-earns-award-for-German-scientist-20150324

I am sure it will be an expensive machine that will be out of my reach, but here is to hoping!

Ok, did some searching. Found this article, but just copied the explanation of the test.

But now a motley crew of animal-rights groups and academic researchers at institutions such as the University of Leipzig in Germany are working on innovative alternatives. Their most practical solution, which may come to a factory farm near you in just a couple of years’ time, is essentially the chicken version of gender-selective abortion. The technology, which has been successfully tested in labs, allows hatcheries to determine with extreme accuracy a chick’s gender even before it hatches. This is how it works: Nine days into an egg’s 21-day incubation period, the farmer — or more likely, a machine — makes a tiny hole in the egg and extracts a small amount of fluid. A quick genetic analysis resembling the amniocentesis performed on human embryos to discover infections and genetic abnormalities determines whether the egg will become a female chick, in which case it will be allowed to incubate until it hatches. If it would become a male, the egg is discarded and can be used as animal feed. Because 9-day-old eggs don’t experience pain, the practice causes fewer ethical dilemmas than the killing of chicks.

At Catholic University in the Belgian city of Leuven, a team of researchers added an additional twist with an egg-gender test that doesn’t involve extracting fluid. “Male and female chickens’ feathers have different colors, so we’ve developed a technology using special light rays that illuminate the eggs and shows which ones are male and female,” reports team leader Dr. Bart De Ketelaere. “After nine days incubation, we can determine the gender of the egg with 95 percent accuracy. After 11 days, the accuracy is 99 percent.” The catch? “It only works for brown eggs. Our technology is ready to go on the market if we find hatcheries that are fine with just gender-testing brown eggs."

 

[cavemanrich]

Whats wrong with the old fashioned way of sexing after hatching, raising both genders separately , and eating the roosters???? Roosters dont fight until mature, and the tastiest tender meat is before that.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Whats wrong with the old fashioned way of sexing after hatching, raising both genders separately , and eating the roosters???? Roosters dont fight until mature, and the tastiest tender meat is before that.

I agree! I came across this article and figured I would share. I had no idea that hatcheries sent the cockerels to a grinding machine. So sad.

 

[jerryse]

I agree! I came across this article and figured I would share. I had no idea that hatcheries sent the cockerels to a grinding machine. So sad.

Sadly the customers do not want cockerels . Way too many people will not butcher their birds . Finding someone to do it for you is difficult . Plus many are used to commercial chickens and will not eat the lean chickens . Many live where they can not have roosters . They would sell the cockerels if there was a market . They used to sell leghorn cockerels as frying pan specials really cheap . Few want a skinny fryer at any price . I butcher my cockerels . I prefer these leaner home raised birds . Commercial chickens are very greasy . Almost no fat in home raised birds . I am getting into auto sexing breeds due to this . I hatch and sell a few chicks and people want sexed pullets . In my case I raise the cockerels for meat .

 

[cavemanrich]

Quote:
I agree with you TOTALLY Here in Chicago there are a handful of FRESH POULTRY butchers. The 3 that I have gone to looking to buy live hens. This is what I observed. They carry the cornish rock x. and the rest of the chickens are mostly roosters.

 

[Faraday40]

I agree with you TOTALLY Here in Chicago there are a handful of FRESH POULTRY butchers. The 3 that I have gone to looking to buy live hens. This is what I observed. They carry the cornish rock x. and the rest of the chickens are mostly roosters.

Do you know if the butchers will process a bird you bring to them? In most areas, you must have a license to butcher your own animals. Our town specifically states that we may not slaughter our own chickens. (animal cruelty or something, I guess) Processing a chicken is a skill I'd really like to learn, but I just can't do mine after making the rookie mistake of naming them. LOL

I definitely agree that raising the roos makes a lot of sense if you have the space. They can have a great life with just only one bad day.

 

[cavemanrich]

Quote: I'm sure they can. They are licensed as well. In Chicago, slaughtering your chickens is not allowed, I agree with that for various reasons. This butcher can do it properly , so he is allowed a license. You go in there and pick out the one you want. They weigh it live and you pay by the live weight. In about 10 minutes you are walking out with meat in bag. They are set up with all equipment. I'm not here to advertise them, so PM me and I can give you all the details as to where they are. I have their phone as well.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I'm sure they can. They are licensed as well. In Chicago, slaughtering your chickens is not allowed, I agree with that for various reasons. This butcher can do it properly , so he is allowed a license. You go in there and pick out the one you want. They weigh it live and you pay by the live weight. In about 10 minutes you are walking out with meat in bag. They are set up with all equipment. I'm not here to advertise them, so PM me and I can give you all the details as to where they are. I have their phone as well.

Do you know if the butchers will process a bird you bring to them? In most areas, you must have a license to butcher your own animals. Our town specifically states that we may not slaughter our own chickens. (animal cruelty or something, I guess) Processing a chicken is a skill I'd really like to learn, but I just can't do mine after making the rookie mistake of naming them. LOL

I definitely agree that raising the roos makes a lot of sense if you have the space. They can have a great life with just only one bad day.

I was told yes you could bring in your chickens to be butchered. I personally can't do it, my DH on the other hands says it wouldn't be a problem. My DD says she will never eat chicken again if we started doing that. She wouldn't know if it was someone she liked or a stranger she was eating, haha teenagers.

On a scary, but happy note. I noticed 1 of my CCL behind a bush this morning not moving, all fluffed up and tail down. She didn't look right and kept an eye on her throughout the day. Put out some cabbage and later apples for the girls and she didn't move. I was thinking egg bound. So I jumped on the site and did a search. Love this site, so helpful. Filled a warm bath, broke up a tums then pet her and massaged her sides and within a half hour she passed a shell less egg. Dried her off and put her in the mud room to rest. She couldn't drink enough water from the dogs bowl. She jumped up on the child safety gate so I new she was ok. Back out with the other girls for the night.

 

[snaffle]

I have butchered my own chickens and taken others to a butcher.

We have been raising our own beef for the last couple of years. We send them to a butcher.

I would rather eat our own chickens and beef because I know what we are feeding them and it sure beats the heck out of that stuff in the meat department at the local grocery stores.


Little chicks and baby calves are adorable and so cute... we never eat them when they are little and cute but by the time they get to the butcher size... I dont have much of an attachment..

especially to a 1600 pound steer that wants to rub on my fence posts and attracts a lot of flies.