Is there such thing as a NON-GMO bird

[Dona Worry]

Buying LOCAL is much more impactful than buying organic, and I say this as an organic farmer.

 

[oldrooster]

OP I think I understand now what you want, you do not want the hatchery version of a supermarket chicken because of their specific breeding that produce an animal that has issues on many levels. There are several "ranger" varieties that produce similar sized birds on a slower more reasonable scale. also there are DP (dual purpose) breeds that get very large but at a much slower pace. Jersey Giants is one example.

 

[shedinator]

Wow thank you all for your help. Ok its selective breading I was wanting to stay away from I guess not the non-gmo. I'm kinda afraid to ask but hear it goes. Let's say I want to quit buying chicken feed. What all plants should I grow to feed my chickens and give them a good amount of protein?

I'm still not fully clear here... Given that all chickens are selectively bred, do you mean you don't want a meat bird whose breeding can have the side effect of eating itself to death? If that's it, check out Rangers or other specialty broilers.

Or do you mean you want a chicken whose chicks will be the same breed? Rangers don't fit the bill, but Brahmas, Jersey Giants, Dominiques, and most other dual purpose chickens do.

Or, as mentioned by several folks above, to avoid all human selection you could get a permit to raise wild fowl in captivity. I don't know if that's an option with the jungle fowl ancestor of chickens, but wild turkeys might be an option.

As far as raising your own food goes, it really depends on your climate and the amount of land you can access. I would suggest rather than trying to grow the grains needed to mill your own commercial feed, you find a local homesteader who's raising chickens primarily on forage and scraps like folks used to do back in the day, and see if she'll sell you some chicks from her spring hatch. Those birds will be suited for your area, and you won't have to grow acres of grain to support your chicken operation.

 

[Briani]

OP I think I understand now what you want, you do not want the hatchery version of a supermarket chicken because of their specific breeding that produce an animal that has issues on many levels. There are several "ranger" varieties that produce similar sized birds on a slower more reasonable scale. also there are DP (dual purpose) breeds that get very large but at a much slower pace. Jersey Giants is one example.

exactly!

 

[Briani]

I'm still not fully clear here... Given that all chickens are selectively bred, do you mean you don't want a meat bird whose breeding can have the side effect of eating itself to death? If that's it, check out Rangers or other specialty broilers.

Or do you mean you want a chicken whose chicks will be the same breed? Rangers don't fit the bill, but Brahmas, Jersey Giants, Dominiques, and most other dual purpose chickens do.

Or, as mentioned by several folks above, to avoid all human selection you could get a permit to raise wild fowl in captivity. I don't know if that's an option with the jungle fowl ancestor of chickens, but wild turkeys might be an option.

As far as raising your own food goes, it really depends on your climate and the amount of land you can access. I would suggest rather than trying to grow the grains needed to mill your own commercial feed, you find a local homesteader who's raising chickens primarily on forage and scraps like folks used to do back in the day, and see if she'll sell you some chicks from her spring hatch. Those birds will be suited for your area, and you won't have to grow acres of grain to support your chicken operation.

what kind of scraps can you feed a chicken?

 

[shedinator]

what kind of scraps can you feed a chicken?

Most things, honestly. They're omnivores. For the most part, what's good for you is probably good for them, with a few exceptions. Making an exhaustive list would be pretty much impossible - I would suggest just searching the forums if there's a specific food you're wondering about.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

If you want the best tasting chicken, raise the Cornish cross on an all organic diet and free range diet. If you want tough, stringy, shoe leather chicken, then raise any other chicken and try eating it.

 

[shedinator]

If you want the best tasting chicken, raise the Cornish cross on an all organic diet and free range diet. If you want tough, stringy, shoe leather chicken, then raise any other chicken and try eating it.

I wouldn't go that far. I just roasted a barnyard hybrid rooster the other night and he was delicious. My freedom rangers are also consistently good. In my opinion, mature birds have a depth of flavor the Cornish X just can't match at standard processing age.

They are definitely different, though. The first time we made chicken fajitas with a mature chicken, we did it the same way we would do a CX, and it was the chewiest chicken/rubber I've ever put in my mouth. Working with older birds requires very different cooking techniques.

 

[Mosey2003]

what kind of scraps can you feed a chicken?

Can and should are a bit different. We all have our opinions. Do search up what you *can't* feed a chicken though. They shouldn't have citrus, or the greens from tomatoes/potatoes/peppers, potato skins, few other things. Too much salt isn't good for them either.

Personally, I'm all about the protein so I'm conservative about what I give as "treats" or scraps. Any carcass left over from dinner they get (Thanksgiving turkey, pork chop and steak bones, ham bones, etc). They pick the little bits of meat off quite well. They get any cracked or excessively soiled eggs, and they get some vegetable garden waste, just not a ton at a time. In the summer I'll give them watermelon rinds, in the fall they might get a pumpkin if I've bought one for decoration.

 

[aart]

Some great discussion here...but...
Curious if @Briani has ever eaten a home grown chicken?
CX and/or Ranger type and/or layer breed?