Langshan Thread!!!

[msladyhawke]

LOL! I plead the 5th!!!

What's best? You can keep those age groups together! LOL!! I have hens that will take a chick that is the same age or under the age of the chicks they hatch out. LOVE that in them!

yay for Violet!!! I bet she wasn't too happy with you taking her baby for picture time!

LOL, took it from her and put it in with the older chicks which are under the heat lamp in a big bin in my kitchen. She was letting it roam around in the coop when I found it, and it wasn't warm enough in there for that. She is great for staying on top of the eggs but I am not sure yet I trust her to raise them.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Aww! It's ok! She's just being a good mommy and waiting for the other eggs to hatch!

 

[thorleif]

Mrs. Hawke, I could have had chicks all year. They are THE bonus. Of course, little Langshan-babies. I would not worry about mummy letting them run around in the cold, the only go under mum to charge the system, and then they will roam, no matter how cold it is. But chicks in the kitchen! I could easily have fallen in love with you, I think. No, Mikaela, I dont know, but you would have thought so? I do apreciate that the communistic regime in the 1950's decided to rescue a rare domestic breed, maybe the intentions was there, and not the genetig understanding. Yes, it is massive, I do understand that they are trying to be a bit commercial, to make it pay for itself, and maybe/hopefully some future manager both cares and has the genetic understanding to improve the birds? As the Internet has made the world so much smaller, maybe there is some hope? There is so much information about everything available to us all now, so it should be pretty easy to improve the birds, and with the place being owned by the state, only the sky should be the limit?

 

[msladyhawke]

Mrs. Hawke, I could have had chicks all year. They are THE bonus. Of course, little Langshan-babies. I would not worry about mummy letting them run around in the cold, the only go under mum to charge the system, and then they will roam, no matter how cold it is. But chicks in the kitchen! I could easily have fallen in love with you, I think. No, Mikaela, I dont know, but you would have thought so? I do apreciate that the communistic regime in the 1950's decided to rescue a rare domestic breed, maybe the intentions was there, and not the genetig understanding. Yes, it is massive, I do understand that they are trying to be a bit commercial, to make it pay for itself, and maybe/hopefully some future manager both cares and has the genetic understanding to improve the birds? As the Internet has made the world so much smaller, maybe there is some hope? There is so much information about everything available to us all now, so it should be pretty easy to improve the birds, and with the place being owned by the state, only the sky should be the limit?

But of course! They are in a big plastic bin under a heat lamp right in the kitchen.

Yes, Langshan chicks are especially cute! My family thinks I am cuckoo, but I figure if it makes me happy, I could care less about what they think!

 

[cluckcluckluke]

These guys are up for sale should i take this - Bantam Langshan Rooster and 4 hens blacks and blus $50 the lot.

 

[langshanman]

Any pics you can email me [email protected]
also where are you located

Wil

 

[mrheinz77]

Where did it go? I posted pics of my boy I showed and the winning pullet. I'll try again later.

 

[PetRock]

Good Monday morning and belated Happy Thanksgiving wishes!

Well, we did our taste test comparing one of the black Langshans from Jim, a Silver Penciled Plymouth Rock, and a Cornish X meatie. The Langshan was 19 weeks and I wish that we could have waited a few more weeks so he could fill in a little more. He did dress out at 3.9 lb. and was one of our biggest birds that we processed. The SPPR was 20 weeks and the meatie was only around 10 weeks. They dressed out at 3.2 lb. and 3.6 lb. We roasted them and all 3 birds were moist and delicious. It wasn't a blind taste test so maybe I was biased but I liked the flavor of the Langshan meat the best. The white meat was a finer texture but the dark meat was stringier. I think that was because he had more developed leg & thigh muscles from running around my 1/3 acre backyard. The SPPRs have been at the farm in a tractor pen for 5 or 6 weeks and the meaties were kept in a coop/pen for the whole 10 weeks. Here is the report that I sent my friend who owns the farm:


We did our taste test on Wed! We roasted 1 of each of the 3 breeds with just sea salt, a sprinkling of pepper, and part of an onion in the body cavities. We cooked them for a little more than 1 hour starting with the temperature at 410, flipped them from side to side every 15 min ending with breasts up, and decreased the heat to 350 for the last 15-20 min. Then we tented them with foil breasts down for 10-15 min. The smell in the house was wonderful! George carved them and placed the meat on 3 different plates for us to taste. We rated the taste of both the white meat and the dark meat from 1 (best) to 3. All 3 were very juicy but the SPPR was the juiciest and also had the most fat which is where most of the juice probably came from.

George (my DH) and I both rated the white meat the same:

1) Langshan - the best flavor and the finest texture.
2) Silver Penciled Plymouth Rock - a slightly stronger flavor and a little bit more stringy. Still very, very good.
3) Cornish X/meatie - very good but less taste than the other 2.

Monet (11 yr. old daughter) preferred the taste of the SPPR over the other 2 with Langshan second.

We rated the dark meat a little differently. I'm not a big fan of dark meat due to the texture and squeakiness in my teeth but the flavor was excellent in all 3. We taste tested thigh meat which might have made a difference in the texture. Here were my ratings:

1) Langshan - the flavor was the best but the meat was stringy probably due to the fact that they had been running all over my backyard since they were 7 weeks old. There was way more meat on his wings and the SPPR wings than the meatie had.
2) SPPR - very good flavor and slightly less stringy.
3) Meatie - good flavor but more bland than the other 2.

George's dark meat rating:

1) SPPR - chosen because it was less stringy even though he thought the Langshan tasted the best.
2) Meatie
3) Langshan - rated 3rd due to texture of meat.

I was surprised that I had no qualms eating my black boy and that he tasted so good! I wonder if the plain yogurt that I feed them contributed to the fine texture of his meat?! Those expensive Bresse chickens in France are fed milk and it supposedly helps distribute their fat throughout the meat instead of under the skin. A Langshan breeder that I know in South Wales, UK also feeds his chickens milk and he thinks that it helps with the flavor of the meat. He is the one who told me that he never processes his extra boys until they are past 30 weeks. He says that they are still tender at that age and good for roasting. He also said that he processes the older hens at 5-6 years and they are very tender & delicious. Interesting, huh? All 3 were excellent tasting. The meatie of course had more breast meat but we got more than I expected off the other 2. I roasted them all in the same pan and used the combined juices to make gravy. Talk about delicious! I think that it was the best chicken gravy that I can remember having!

 

[PetRock]

.

A Langshan breeder that I know in South Wales, UK also feeds his chickens milk and he thinks that it helps with the flavor of the meat. He is the one who told me that he never processes his extra boys until they are past 30 weeks. He says that they are still tender at that age and good for roasting. He also said that he processes the older hens at 5-6 years and they are very tender & delicious.

Is this correct, Thorleif? I don't want to misquote you to my friend! Of course, now she wants to know exactly what you feed your birds including what kind and how much milk! She has a milk cow and is thinking about adding milk to her meat birds diet. We would appreciate it greatly if you can give us some additional information on what you feed your chickens. Thank you!

 

[thorleif]

First of all, I let the young Langshan cocks live until 13-14 months. I dont think their breasts fill out properly until then. As for feeding, I chuck all sorts in to them, but I do make sure I pick some grass every day if they are penned. I give them the milk I have, but I am sure yoghurt is just as fine. The point I think is the animal-proteins you find in milk, chickens are natural omnivores. I find that no other breed has as fine and tender meat as the Langshan, but if you find them a bit tough, there is nothing stopping you cooking longer on a lower heat, and then increase the temp. the last half hour, so the skin gets extra crisp. After eating the birds, I chuck all bones in a pan, boil it for a couple of hours. Get lovely stock then. Portion it and freeze it, use it for all sorts, sauces, soups....