May 2020 Hatch-A-Long

[FortCluck]

Cockerels=fried chicken...

Guess what tomorrow is...


It's butchering day

 

[FortCluck]

my broody hens hatched out 14 cockerels out of 16 last year, so I think Im due for a 90% pullet year. I hope you are too!

What did you do with all the Cockerels?

 

[FortCluck]

Lots of people hand turn by choice so fingers crossed you still have a great hatch!

I'm one of those people I don't even use my turner anymore. Last 4 or 5 hatches have all been by

 

[Stormer04]

Hey I am setting some quail eggs and maybe turkey eggs in a week or two. I already have a young flock of quail and I just yesterday introduced a rooster. Hopefully I will get eggs in the next day or two and some of them will be fertilized. I will not be using the first eggs that the quail lay. I have cortnix quail. The turkey eggs will be for getting their eggs but I have another plan. I will hopefully be raising white Broad Breasted Turkeys so I can have them for thanksgiving! I love hearing about y’all’s adventures and advice!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Hey I am setting some quail eggs and maybe turkey eggs in a week or two. I already have a young flock of quail and I just yesterday introduced a rooster. Hopefully I will get eggs in the next day or two and some of them will be fertilized. I will not be using the first eggs that the quail lay. I have cortnix quail. The turkey eggs will be for getting their eggs but I have another plan. I will hopefully be raising white Broad Breasted Turkeys so I can have them for thanksgiving! I love hearing about y’all’s adventures and advice!

Welcome to the hatch-a-long and good luck on your hatch! I look forward to your updates! After I hatched turkey poults I couldn't eat them, lol. They're way more personable than I expected. but I'm a softie.

 

[Stormer04]

Welcome to the hatch-a-long and good luck on your hatch! I look forward to your updates! After I hatched turkey poults I couldn't eat them, lol. They're way more personable than I expected. but I'm a softie.

Ya I’ve thought about that same problem with me. I am going to hatch a couple Of turkeys for there eggs. I have had there eggs and I truly enjoy there flavor. Once I get my little poults I will then buy more for thanksgiving.

 

[Minky]

What did you do with all the Cockerels?

Well...... I grew them all out so I could see who would be the prettiest (keeping egg colour genes in mind) and then my husband had a "rooster day " and he processed the current rooster at the time (no one liked him much) and 9 of the cockerels (are they still cockerels at 6 months?) ... so I still have 5.

I found they aren't good for much but soup..(and even then...a bit dry and stringy). If anyone has a good cockerel recipe, please share!!

I'm toying with the idea of keeping a second flock on the far side of the house, so they can wander thru the veggie garden eating bugs etc... it would be about 500 ft from the barn/coop- so I'm not sure if the flocks would stay separate or not...

Anyways, that's what I did- and I have too many roosters! But I love how fancy they are!

 

[FortCluck]

Well...... I grew them all out so I could see who would be the prettiest (keeping egg colour genes in mind) and then my husband had a "rooster day " and he processed the current rooster at the time (no one liked him much) and 9 of the cockerels (are they still cockerels at 6 months?) ... so I still have 5.

I found they aren't good for much but soup..(and even then...a bit dry and stringy). If anyone has a good cockerel recipe, please share!!

I'm toying with the idea of keeping a second flock on the far side of the house, so they can wander thru the veggie garden eating bugs etc... it would be about 500 ft from the barn/coop- so I'm not sure if the flocks would stay separate or not...

Anyways, that's what I did- and I have too many roosters! But I love how fancy they are!

Did you guys let them rest in the fridge first?

The longer you rest the better the meat. I rest for 5 days in the fridge then I put them in the freezer or cook them.

Getting an instant pot is best when you're doing.okder Cockerels (6+ months). It makes the meat tender.

It's all in how you do the entire butchering process which will give you the best meat.

 

[SueT]

I set 12 eggs in a Janoel 12 incubator this morning.
5 eggs are Spitzhauben, and 7 small ones are Sebright-Spitzhauben cross. They have the date laid written on them. The oldest would be 4-6.
So today is day zero, right?

 

[Minky]

Yes, we freeze them first.
What is an instant pot?- do you mean a slow cooker?