Oh, the shame of it all . . . my meaties were so small

[BirdBrain]

Denise,
Boil them up and pick off the meat for casseroles or chicken soup. The broth you can use in everything. Don't be discouraged!! When the bones are gone no one can tell hoe meaty the bird was.

 

[Freebie]

birdbrain--you know, you are right. the meat is delicious, just not alot of it. I bet I could make some wonderful chicken and dumplins. yum Thanks for the boost.

 

[BirdBrain]

That is what we are all here for!! We just recently moved back to Alaska and I am dying to have chickens again. My DH insists that I must have a good coop and make it pretty before I can have my birds. It is driving me nuts though cause it just started snowing and I can't resonably have a coop done till May. Lastnight after making a dinner that was rejected by the masses I was wishing that I had some birds to eat up the left overs.

 

[mxpres]

Don,t feel like you lost everything,any size bird will make dumplins,dumplins taste just as good from several small birds as they would from a big bird,I know,,In fact my wife says that I am the dumplin (eatingest) person she has ever known,Take advantage of your efforts,you will be glad you did,,,

 

[fitzy]

I purchased 50 cornish X from the local college after they were through "experimenting" with them and asked the professor if corn would be a cheap way to add weight....i figure if it works for cattle, why not?

Here is his reply:

So what to feed them. Orshelns and TS sell good mixed feed, but it can be pricey. These birds, after the starter phase, should do well on grower diets with 18% protein or more. But what counts is your cost per gain, I don't care what the label is on the feed. You can figure 2.5 lbs of feed per pound of growth when the birds are about 6-7 weeks old. So if you bought a sack of 50 lbs for $10, then that's 20 cents per pound, or 50 cents to add one pound of weight to your birds (2.5 x .20). At $10/sack, that's about $400 per ton. You can very often buy feed at the coop much cheaper, so long as they don't make you buy a minimum. Some will even mix your own formula, or they will have one.

Don't worry about the label. If you can get turkey starter, or gamebird grower cheaper then that might make you the best money. Sure, the diets will be off a bit, but what matters on a small scale is how much it costs you and how big your birds grow. I have found that prices at coops and stores vary a lot, and often times a good gamebird starter is cheaper than a grower that contains fewer nutrients. Oh, and don't worry if you get starter or grower. If you feed a starter to older birds, who cares. They will get more nutrients, eat a bit more feed, or they may excrete a bit of undigested nutrients. What matters is money in your pocket.


So far, it seems to be working...i haven't weighed any of my birds, but the breasts i've cut off look like they're about twice the size of what i find in the grocery store!

 

[chicknjane]

Well this has certainly been a learning experience, the only consolation is the little old lady who does the processing only charges $1.40 per bird

And when I picked them up today, I realized they will make good soup. I just hope they taste better than they look.

Thanks for all your imput.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
Then they probably just needed more time to reach a decent weight, and even then might not look like the Frankenbirds you saw at the processor. You shouldn't feel too badly.

I raise standard Cornish knowing it will take longer for them to fill out and will never be monsters no matter how long I let them go. I'm okay with that.

 

[ChickeryChick]

Could someone tell me what "scratch" is?
When do you use it?

Thanks
ChickeryChick

 

[chicknjane]

Quote:
Scratch is just grains corn, wheat, barley that you throw on the grown to entice them to "scratch" for food. People may use just corn or a mixed grain combo, it depends on the individual. I add in peanuts and black oil sunflower seeds for the extra protein. They don't miss a single grain.

 

[farrier!]

Quote:
Wish I could find someone to do birds for that price!!!