Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[DesertChic]

@DesertChic
Question for you. Feed store has NN roosters only. Most have clean necks except a few feathers on the head. Was this the better type to get if I was to breed with my Dark Cornish or does it matter. There are a few with bow ties
Thanks.

Not desrtchic, but that would be a good cockerel to get. It would assure you of Naked Neck babies.

Yep! What @draye said.

The man knows his NNs, and he's more experienced than I am.

(This thread and the people on it are so awesome!)

 

[DesertChic]

Thank you for the luck! I will need it. I'm not in this because of food quality or family, it is vastly moral. I am trying to look at it as, it isn't as if I've never had someone else kill a chicken for me before. As long as I am eating chickens, I am killing chickens. I have just had the privilege of not seeing it in action until now. It becomes a matter of looking at how those chickens lived instead. Factory farming is disgusting, chickens are viewed poorly and treated even worse. Chickens aren't just my favorite food but my favorite animal and there are many chickens I hold very, very dearly as living things so that is an injustice I want to see stricken down within my life time. I'm not going to ignore the fact that factory farmed chicken, as the world is right now, is a cheap and necessary protein. I'm not going to be classist and condemn people for eating it because it is what they can afford... I just mean no one should be happy with factory farming as it is, everyone should want it to change for the better. I want to be part of the solution by educating, and supporting home production. I believe any food someone can reasonably produce at home, they should. It is better for the animals and the environment. I just gotta practice what I preach. That and I honestly think a lot of people who already practice home meat production specifically could do to be more humane about it, because not being factory farming on its own isn't enough. I have to set an example rather than just say that.

Just EEGGGHH... knowing they'll be scared.. and I'll have these birds for 18 - 20 weeks looking after them, knowing them, being as good as I can be to them.. it is like my fear of needles. It is less about the actual puncture and more about knowing there's hurt on the horizon. Once it's happening, I'll grit my teeth and muscle through. Not to mention I don't ever actually want it to become easier. I'm afraid of becoming someone who's numb to just how supreme an important but unconsenting sacrifice these birds are making for us to have a sustenance. I believe remaining at least some kind of tender to the process is part of it being humane.

For what it's worth, no matter how many times you go through the process I seriously doubt you will ever stopped being bothered by it. And the more you like the bird you're going to cull the harder it is. I have a pen of 6 extra cockerels, mostly NN, that I should've culled a couple months ago but just couldn't bring myself to do. They're all such beautiful and friendly birds. I just like them too much, but now that I have more than 30 chicks growing fast including some outstanding breeders, I simply have to make room. They've had a good life...lots of fresh air, sunshine, dirt to play in, girls to chase, and plenty of treats of home grown organic greens and the occasional scrap of fish....but I look into those eyes when they come over to me to be pet and my heart melts right along with my resolve. At this stage of the game my husband has actually strongly volunteered to do the deed for me. I just might take him up on it.

 

[Kassaundra]

I agree focusing on the good life they had is important. If they had been hatched in a hatchery likely they wouldn't have had this long and nice a life, even if they had hatched in the wild, they are a prey animal and only on head roo for a haram they likely would not have had the life of ease of an extra cockrel.

 

[Pensmaster]

Yep! What @draye
 said.   The man knows his NNs, and he's more experienced than I am.   (This thread and the people on it are so awesome!)

Thanks everyone

 

[nchvac]

Yep! What @draye said.

The man knows his NNs, and he's more experienced than I am.

(This thread and the people on it are so awesome!)

My NN rooster came from MM and has clean neck but only throws 25% NN when bred to my non NN hens, and they all have bowties. But the boy is very fertile and hits one hen every 25 minutes.

 

[nchvac]

For what it's worth, no matter how many times you go through the process I seriously doubt you will ever stopped being bothered by it. And the more you like the bird you're going to cull the harder it is. I have a pen of 6 extra cockerels, mostly NN, that I should've culled a couple months ago but just couldn't bring myself to do. They're all such beautiful and friendly birds. I just like them too much, but now that I have more than 30 chicks growing fast including some outstanding breeders, I simply have to make room. They've had a good life...lots of fresh air, sunshine, dirt to play in, girls to chase, and plenty of treats of home grown organic greens and the occasional scrap of fish....but I look into those eyes when they come over to me to be pet and my heart melts right along with my resolve. At this stage of the game my husband has actually strongly volunteered to do the deed for me. I just might take him up on it.

Don't name your groceries is important. Second, being I keep hens I try to make sure the chicks are used to me but not pets You don't have to baby them for them to be tame Actually seems towork opposite. My best listeners were simply fed and not scared as chicks. Babying spoils them and you.

 

[jarvis]

Whats the importance of the bowties on turkens ? Bought 6 girls at a sale and most eigther dont have one or only have a couple feathers where they should be .
The chicks i got all have good full bowties ...?
All of them are very colorful lol

 

[Kassaundra]

The way naked neck gene works is nana (no Na gene all chickens that have fully feathered neck)

Nana one Na gene chickens w/ large bow tie

NaNa both genes little to no bow tie.

Besides the look, the big difference is how often they will pass the gene, NaNa will always pass the gene, Nana will pass it 50% and nana can't pass what they don't have.

 

[DesertChic]

Don't name your groceries is important. Second, being I keep hens I try to make sure the chicks are used to me but not pets You don't have to baby them for them to be tame Actually seems towork opposite. My best listeners were simply fed and not scared as chicks. Babying spoils them and you.

Yeah....I name nearly all of them. It's how I keep track of them. I tried numbering them, but then their number became their name. Honestly, the naming isn't the issue for me. I've got Poppet, Jester, Tika and Gingy still in the freezer right now. My problem is that I'm truly a sucker for their cuteness and overt affection. And for whatever reason those little cockerels are typically more affectionate with me than the pullets until the hormones kick in and turn their cuteness into "You'd better straighten up or I'm going to eat you!"

That's why I've only culled the boys to date. The meaner and more annoying they become the easier it is for me to invite them to dinner. The few boys I have that have become pets never changed in their affection not only for me, but for my husband and son as well. My guys spend very little time with the chickens, and really want only to never have to worry about being attacked when they walk out into the yard. But I have a couple roosters that are so friendly and affectionate that they woo my guys into picking them up and petting them on a routine basis, almost acting like happy puppies that really, really missed them since the last time they ventured into the yard. I am forbidden from culling those guys unless this country takes a major dump and they're the difference between eating and starving.

All of that said, I've only named one of the Austra White cockerels I bought for caponizing, and he was named only because he was badly injured by the bachelors after escaping his pen and had to live in the house with me for several weeks while he healed. He became very attached to me and followed me wherever I went, but now that he's integrated back into the flock and ignores me much of the time, I'm no longer worried about re-inserting him into the program. Carl's just another future dinner again.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

For what it's worth, no matter how many times you go through the process I seriously doubt you will ever stopped being bothered by it. And the more you like the bird you're going to cull the harder it is. I have a pen of 6 extra cockerels, mostly NN, that I should've culled a couple months ago but just couldn't bring myself to do. They're all such beautiful and friendly birds. I just like them too much, but now that I have more than 30 chicks growing fast including some outstanding breeders, I simply have to make room. They've had a good life...lots of fresh air, sunshine, dirt to play in, girls to chase, and plenty of treats of home grown organic greens and the occasional scrap of fish....but I look into those eyes when they come over to me to be pet and my heart melts right along with my resolve. At this stage of the game my husband has actually strongly volunteered to do the deed for me. I just might take him up on it.

Way behind - just caught up. Yeah, I have some culling to do. I know I can do it, and it was always in the plan (and nobody has names), but it'll still be hard. It was easier to cull Apoc, since he attacked me. Harder to cull those that just "aren't in the plan".

But I agree with Kassaundra - it's good to remind ourselves of what a great life they've had. I actually try not to think of ANYTHING expect the mechanics of getting it done when I'm doing it (it makes me better at doing it, which is better and more quick and painless for them), but if upset before or after, I think about that...

I have a bunch of Cream Legbar cockerels who are being totally obnoxious to the girls at 13 weeks that have GOT to go. The harder ones will be the four Aloha Naked Neck boys - they are really lovely. But they are small, and I am coming to the conclusion that I can't support that separate project with ANOTHER breeding group (and most are related to the two pullets anyway). They are also smaller than I'd like. I'm keeping the two pullets, and will put them with Tank (I need to cull a couple of his Speckled Sussex girls without enough "spottiness" to create room for them - I'm not attached to them, but it'll be hard to cull pullets). I have decided I need to just back off of all the color excitement (I don't have the space or time), and focus on a smaller number of things. I will always have my Cream Legbars. I have some Blue Copper Maran chicks that I'm not sure what I'll do with (breed vs keep pullets for eggs). But the primary NN project will be German New Hampshires crossed with NNs (presuming I continue to be pleased with the GNHs - I am so far. Six week old babies are little bricks).

I have what looks like 3 pullets and 4 cockerels among the German New Hampshire chicks. Unfortunately, they are siblings. I need to get weights on them, but the thought is to cross the girls with Tank (NN phenotype black-tailed red), and cross one of the boys (whomever I keep) with Sweetie (Tank's female counterpart). When it comes down to it. Tank and Sweetie are the standouts in my current adult NN flock - excellent disposition, good size and growth, both NN phenotype, so added benefit when crossing. I may also put Buffy and Puppy (Nn phenotype Black-tailed buff girls) with the GNH rooster. I will also plan to raise chick from the cross of Snape and Trinity (black) and Mystique (dark partridge).

Sooooo... PLANNING!!! But I'm TRYING to curb my plans at least for now, to something that's manageable. (Aren't you all proud of me?!

)

- Ant Farm