MARYLAND THREAD!

[hbhoffman]

Oh jeez, now I feel stupid but at least I know now. Thank you.

lol. You aren't the only one here who has asked that question!

And my flock/girls are living near Monrovia. Just hope I can keep them....

Finally the owl, hawk and fox are gone and we finally have olive eggs, blue eggs, chocolate eggs and shades of brown all at the same time. I will post in about a week if they need to be sold.

 

[Maeschak]

lol. You aren't the only one here who has asked that question!

And my flock/girls are living near Monrovia. Just hope I can keep them....

Finally the owl, hawk and fox are gone and we finally have olive eggs, blue eggs, chocolate eggs and shades of brown all at the same time. I will post in about a week if they need to be sold.

Oh wow, I am in Mount Airy. Not too far away!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

HI Maeschak,
Thank you! I appreciate it! Ok, So another curve ball... where I keep my chickens has a new development going in across the street. I may have to sell off my flock and I'll know in about 2 weeks. Meantime is anyone looking for POL Americaunas, Lavender Orpington, or Bielefielder pair, a trio of Crested Cream Legbars? Just starting to line up possibilities...

Are they real Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers?

 

[Wyatt0224]

I have read on here many times that a favorite chicken treat is winter squash. Would anyone here know where I could find that?

 

[MuscovyMadness]

I have read on here many times that a favorite chicken treat is winter squash. Would anyone here know where I could find that?

There are several different varieties of squash harvested in the Fall:

http://www.thekitchn.com/the-11-var...u-need-to-know-ingredient-intelligence-157857


You can also go to your local grocery store and ask the produce manager if you can have all the cut greens and fruits/vegetables that arent good enough for the shelf..... just let them know you have chickens and you would like to supplement their feed.

 

[Maeschak]

Anyone in/near central Maryland know how to caponize? I'm not sure I can actually work up the nerve to try it, but I have been kicking the idea around for awhile and just cant seem to get it out of my mind. I hatch chicks, and it would be so very nice to be able to keep all my extra roos with the main flock until butcher time instead of using a hoop coop bachelor pad where I must eventually stop them from free-ranging due to hen harassment.

So, anyone know how to do it and might be able to chat about it?

Tx!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Anyone in/near central Maryland know how to caponize? I'm not sure I can actually work up the nerve to try it, but I have been kicking the idea around for awhile and just cant seem to get it out of my mind. I hatch chicks, and it would be so very nice to be able to keep all my extra roos with the main flock until butcher time instead of using a hoop coop bachelor pad where I must eventually stop them from free-ranging due to hen harassment.

So, anyone know how to do it and might be able to chat about it?

Tx!

How old are you waiting to butcher them?

 

[Maeschak]

How old are you waiting to butcher them?

I generally wait until about 18/20- weeks... Sometimes I will wait a bit longer and butcher when I just cant stand the crowing anymore.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I generally wait until about 18/20- weeks... Sometimes I will wait a bit longer and butcher when I just cant stand the crowing anymore.

Oh, okay. I had read on here 12-16 weeks was the way to go so that's what I'm planning to do. I have 11 extra cockerels right now and plan to process 9 of them before long. I can't foresee getting a big enough gain in meat keeping them for an extra month to offset the feed and the room they are taking up. Most are at 10 weeks now (1 is 4 months old, though, and harassing my young female guineas). Do you get males with the plan to have them for meat or are they just extras from hatching and unsexed chick orders like mine are?

 

[Maeschak]

Oh, okay. I had read on here 12-16 weeks was the way to go so that's what I'm planning to do. I have 11 extra cockerels right now and plan to process 9 of them before long. I can't foresee getting a big enough gain in meat keeping them for an extra month to offset the feed and the room they are taking up. Most are at 10 weeks now (1 is 4 months old, though, and harassing my young female guineas). Do you get males with the plan to have them for meat or are they just extras from hatching and unsexed chick orders like mine are?

Well, if I could get enough meat on them by 12-16 weeks I would definitely butcher them earlier! Unfortunately, mine don't reach a good size until later, but I am working on that. I have been trying to wait until my bird is about 5 lb live weight before butchering and mine dont seem to start putting on any weight until at least 15 weeks or so (and then the weight gain is incrementally small but is pretty good around 18-20 weeks). That also gives me a little more time to decide who is a good grower with better traits, to see if I want him to be my new keeper roo for improving my flock. I am using Delawares and trying to breed for a better butcher weight at a younger age (for the males at least)... which is also why I end up with so many extra cockerels - because I keep hatching chicks looking for better stock!

I have about 2 dozen chicks in a large hoop coop brooder/grow out pen right now that are 4 weeks old - I can already tell I have waaaaay too many cockerels that I won't want to breed and maybe even too many for a grow out pen. Which is why I am very interested in learning how to caponize - so I could caponize the cockerels that I know very early on that I dont want for breeding and they can be put with my main flock without causing undue trouble to the hens and other roosters. Then my grow out pen could be used just for cockerels that I was evaluating for breeding purposes.

Good luck with your cockerels! It is tough to figure out when they are big enough to butcher vs when they are causing too much trouble in the coop. Do you sell any eggs? I have found that selling extra eggs really helps with the feed bill, so feeding my extra cockerels until being a good butcher weight isnt really that much of an issue for me - at least that takes one variable off of the table!