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fisherlady said:
MotorcycleChick said:
Fisherlady, how much do your cockerels dress out at? Steven makes me hungry when I look at him. :-D
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The BY mixes are usually in the 3.5-4 lb range, but we process them by 18-20 weeks, some even earlier if they are a pain with the hens. Is Steven misbehaving that you are eying him up? If so I can arrange to get you another fellow, even a pencil rock, a barred rock or a light sussex if you want a pure bred. I have the speckled mix roo (he is in the pics from yesterday) who is also available, since he isn't needed here.
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Oh, no. He's great! And so handsome. He's just so fluffy! I actually had a local woman buy my WhiteRocks last year because I commented about wanting to just bite right into them. She was appalled! Ha ha!
 
dheltzel said:
I find the CG's very nervous and flighty, as much as leghorns, but that's with just 1 batch of chicks. I admit I never handle them, so they should be much better if raised in a small group with frequent handling. Even white leghorns can be calm and tame if raised and socialized properly. I bought 25 pullets from Privett during the summer. They haven't started laying yet, but I have high hopes for them.

If you want a calm, white egg layer, try Barred Hollands. They are heavier and have a temperment like our New Hampshires and Rhodebars, even if not handled. BH's are rare and hard to find, except in PA, where there are several breeders. msladyhawke has them, and I believe there is a breeder in the western side of the state also.
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That's interesting. Because I have seen people who tried to cross barred rock to leghorn to create their own "California Grey", actually had some chicks more like California White. So I thought CG has more barred rock in it and should behavior more like barred rock but lays white eggs. Anyway, because we will have a small flock, so hopefully I can handle it enough to make it not too flighty.
 
MotorcycleChick said:
Oh, no. He's great! And so handsome. He's just so fluffy! I actually had a local woman buy my WhiteRocks last year because I commented about wanting to just bite right into them. She was appalled! Ha ha!
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Ok, good, glad he didn't turn...he is the second mix we sent on to a new home this year and the other is doing great also, so seems we are able to get a good idea of their personality by teen weeks. (based on last few years also)
 
stake said:
Howdy TillyPeeps:

Welcome to the board.....your English is fine....and we can help you fill that coop....
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I'll be in big trouble if that coop is full in the first year.
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I was told only 4 for the first time, and 2 more each year after. But who gonna count the chickens? Maybe a neighbor's chick will sneak into our coop
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Question for the turkey folks... I weighed one of my girls today and despite looking really big, she's only 11 pounds. They hit 28 weeks in mid-September, I thought hens were supposed to be around 14lbs by that age. Is this because I wasn't feeding enough protein (22% protein feed was the highest I could find until recently and they actually often steal the chicken food which is only 16%) or was I not feeding them enough? I have another 6 weeks until slaughter and I did find some higher protein feed at Agway. How much can I expect them to gain in these last 6 weeks if I make sure to always have plenty of the high protein feed available? We plan on butchering two hens for Thanksgiving and they will be about 9 months old then.
 
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emorems0 said:
Question for the turkey folks... I weighed one of my girls today and despite looking really big, she's only 11 pounds. They hit 28 weeks in mid-September, I thought hens were supposed to be around 14lbs by that age. Is this because I wasn't feeding enough protein (22% protein feed was the highest I could find until recently and they actually often steal the chicken food which is only 16%) or was I not feeding them enough? I have another 6 weeks until slaughter and I did find some higher protein feed at Agway. How much can I expect them to gain in these last 6 weeks if I make sure to always have plenty of the high protein feed available? We plan on butchering two hens for Thanksgiving and they will be about 9 months old then.
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I just did a quick Yahoo search for standard Bourbon Red weights and it doesn't seem like your hen is underweight at all. On the website http://bourbonred.com/about/ I found this "Standard weights for Bourbon Reds are 23 pounds for young toms and 14 pounds for young hens. Since, however, the Bourbon Red has not been selected for production attributes, including weight gain, for years, many birds may be smaller than the standard." So 11 lbs as a young adult doesn't seem like its off. As far as adding weight goes maybe switch there feed to a finisher type of feed (I know they make a finisher type feed for meat chickens, don't know about turkeys) and maybe limit there outdoor/free-range time. By limiting there outdoor/free-range time they can't use up all the calories that they are in taking so they just sit around and get fat.
 
emorems0 said:
Question for the turkey folks... I weighed one of my girls today and despite looking really big, she's only 11 pounds. They hit 28 weeks in mid-September, I thought hens were supposed to be around 14lbs by that age. Is this because I wasn't feeding enough protein (22% protein feed was the highest I could find until recently and they actually often steal the chicken food which is only 16%) or was I not feeding them enough? I have another 6 weeks until slaughter and I did find some higher protein feed at Agway. How much can I expect them to gain in these last 6 weeks if I make sure to always have plenty of the high protein feed available? We plan on butchering two hens for Thanksgiving and they will be about 9 months old then.
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I have 2 blue slate boys that are also on the smaller side but they're only about 6-6 1/2 months old. Since my turkey vests that I had planned to make failed, I think I'm going to keep them all confined for all of November to protect them from the hunters but I'm going to try to use that time to plump them up a bit. I'm going to have to go out and with them to see exactly where they are now though.

Those of you who butcher fresh for thanksgiving, how soon before the day do you butcher to make sure the meat is ready on time?
 

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