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I have a question for this group..........

I cant imagine eating any of my chickens..........for meat..........because I know them so personally , they have names and styles etc.

but there may come a time when I have too many chickens and well

what would I do then?

Could I bring my chicken to someone here who could do the "processing"
and sell my chicken?

what if the chickens are older.........is their meat too old?

What age does one typically eat a chicken?

Keep in mind I have only 4 at this time

2 wyandottes, one NHR, and an EE and they are all wonderful and I don't want them to go anywhere.

I am just thinking when I add 5 chicks in March and then a year or more later..........some of my older girls are laying less etc. what would I do?

Maybe I just keep them until they die a natural death?

That would be okay with me.

I have ( LUCKILY) not had to see or deal with a dead chicken.........this would be very sad..........

and then purposely taking one to be killed...........whole different thing.

I understand the process and am not against it.........I do eat chicken in my meals........I just don't have a personal relationship with my dinner.

curious about your ideas around this!
 
wingstone said:
I experiment with different breed combo's but basically most of my meat birds come as day olds from the local hatcheries.....as much as we bash the big production, they really do know what they are doing with breeding these birds....

that calico sweetgrass turkey is part of my future plans, hopefully in the next 2 years...would like 2 pens for turkey,,, one with the sweetgrass and 1 with midget whites.......

Ray do you work on the side,,,, gonna need some building done ???
Click to expand...

Good one! I'm don't get my stuff done. But I always end up helping anyway. I need to come up with a jig for bending cage wire.
Coops aren't that bad to build and I use t posts and welded wire for ruins. Gates I'm not great at.
 
LisaYolkUm said:
I have a question for this group..........

I cant imagine eating any of my chickens..........for meat..........because I know them so personally , they have names and styles etc.

but there may come a time when I have too many chickens and well

what would I do then?

Could I bring my chicken to someone here who could do the "processing"
and sell my chicken?

what if the chickens are older.........is their meat too old?

What age does one typically eat a chicken?

Keep in mind I have only 4 at this time

2 wyandottes, one NHR, and an EE and they are all wonderful and I don't want them to go anywhere.

I am just thinking when I add 5 chicks in March and then a year or more later..........some of my older girls are laying less etc. what would I do?

Maybe I just keep them until they die a natural death?

That would be okay with me.

I have ( LUCKILY) not had to see or deal with a dead chicken.........this would be very sad..........

and then purposely taking one to be killed...........whole different thing.

I understand the process and am not against it.........I do eat chicken in my meals........I just don't have a personal relationship with my dinner.

curious about your ideas around this!
Click to expand...

Best answer to this may not be a direct answer but rather a reference to another thread... quite a few of us process our own birds, or raise birds for meat. Sally started a thread about the questions last year and it contains many different ways, opinions and emotional references... start of the thread is here....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ort-group-help-us-through-the-emotions-please

The decision to use birds for meat or just keep them as pets is purely a personal one, as long as the animal is kept properly and not allowed to suffer then the rest is up to you... no one else can or should tell you how to deal with your own animals.
 
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Sally, The male scovies seem much better than the girls about going in at night. When the females go broody, they seem to prefer finding their own places, instead of in the nice secure pen, even if they have individual dog houses for their nests.


Lisa YolkUm, You can eat older chickens, like extra roosters and such. Generally, older birds are tougher, but more flavorful and are best used as soup. If you only have a few extras per year, it makes more sense to eat them yourself than to sell them. Time in the freezer will help you separate that tasty chicken you're about to cook from being a specific bird running in your yard. So will choosing to eat the mean ones over the nice ones.
 
There is no moving the coop closer, It is a long way from the 75 unit townhouse community for a reason! It is located down a valley near the highway,which is why I still have the four roos, no one can hear them over the highway. Families, hunters, recreational riders go down and see the chickens. It's our own little farm show. One young neighbor said, "Ray I went down there to see the chickens and heard something in the bushes and ran back up the hill!" Probably my chickens!
And yes If I ever fell in the run, they wouldn't find me for days. My wife has no interest in my chickens, They'd find my half eaten carcass hidden under the hay. You all know what I'm talking about. They can be stark raving lunatics, when they are hungry! You think they are giving you that stink eye, they are just sizing you up for dinner! LOL
 
I am reading another thread right now..and some had posted this back in November..so funny!!
1476493_254347528048942_1751024875_n.jpg
....going to have to put this on the coop front door!! hahaha
wink.png
 
fisherlady said:
Beautiful bird!

Wing, with you selling meat birds like you do.... do you hatch out your own or do you buy eggs or get day olds? I know you have posted about finding deals on day olds and such, but didn't know if you had other sources for your stock.

On another note... the Silver Pencil rock hens we have are progressing very nicely, one is smaller in body type, the other 4 are getting a nice round shape with a wide back... if that makes sense? They are much heavier when picked up than they look like they should be, they are holding good position in the pecking order without being nasty and they are getting more and more people friendly as they mature. I am really wishing I had kept that rooster I accidentally gave away when they were peeps and will be looking for an adult rooster probably in the spring for them. The Buckeyes we have are finally getting some size to them, they are about 19 weeks, not laying yet, but caught one of the pullets joining in with the egg song sing along yesterday, so seems like they should be soon. Couple of the buckeye cockrels are pretty aggressive, the other two are much more laid back, so I think we will be doing soup with at least 2 or 3 of them soon.
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Will have SPPR eggs in a few weeks if you want to hatch some. Where did you get them.
 
wingstone said:
LMP.....when I get the pics for Blarney, I will try to get a few of the CX that hatched on dec 16....you can get a visual of what they will look like......it ain't pretty....

are you planning to process yourself, or take them out ....you are welcome to stop by when you are in the area if you need a processing class.

and I do grow wonder chickens,,, this is my selling point,,,,,I grow large birds, not what you see in the store,,,,I sell around the 9 pound mark.......you can't buy that at the store,,,,,feeds a large family with left overs



as far as what is in your food that is bought,,,,,most would starve if they knew.
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Looking forward to the pics!! ..haha DH has been hovering..hahhaa ..wants to see too...Yes, we are planning to process ourselves...would LOVE to get pointers from you..you've only done this a few times
wink.png
....would like to have some "homegrown" wonders ourselves!!..hahaa..and I had to pick Todd up off the floor when he read the 9 lbs for a back yard bird!!! He grew up around commercial egg/meat chickens so....this will be awesome!! Will get in touch with you on when our next visit will happen. Thank you for your offer Wing!!

Ray...we were looking at Narragansetts.(heritage and still quicker to grow out), BUT...WOW...that bird **Wing just showed ...sweetgrass?..I.have seen the name on other threads, but didn't know what they looked like....very nice!!! Todd liked the colors! how are they for growing out?...we are looking to get turkeys in spring to be able to process end of Oct. beginning Nov...before Thanksgiving...The Turkeys do not have to be monsters for us..it is only company and Todd eating them anyway.

***Our plan for spring....I think we are getting the Cornish x(a couple) and the Turkeys(a couple)..not sure NOW which
roll.png
., Narrag. or sweetgrass.. all at the same time so they can be penned in the same area for awhile. Then we will separate. We are doing our own processing.
 
Sally Sunshine said:
BAG Balm REGROWs HAIR!

I am FINALLY sitting to read ingredients of the Bag Balm wing! look here! DH can use it muwahhahhhaaaaa

8-hydroxyquinoline Sulfate Side Effects

There is some evidence that the active ingredient in Bag Balm, 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate, can help regrow hair. A small study using Bag Balm to relieve dry skin due to male pattern baldness showed that some men started to regrow hair in the affected location. (Reference 3) There are no other reported side effects of 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/137586-bag-balm-side-effects/
Click to expand...

Sally
Huber's animal health supplies in Myerstown would have it
 

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