Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[BCMaraniac]

Which ever fits!!! lol

BCM-- what are your meat birds?? Marans??

I have Marans and Bresse, but am currently growing out Marans/Lavender Orpington crosses because the LO was the only rooster of breeding age I had when my Marans hens went broody. They turned out to be big birds. So I have capons and poulards from that cross.

 

[gryeyes]

Which ever fits!!! lol BCM-- what are your meat birds?? Marans??

I have Marans and Bresse, but am currently growing out Marans/Lavender Orpington crosses because the LO was the only rooster of breeding age I had when my Marans hens went broody. They turned out to be big birds. So I have capons and poulards from that cross.

I know what capons are, but poulards?!?! Sure I could look it up, but the wisdom from the members impresses me much more than non-poultry experts. What can be done to pullets (I am just guessing it involves pullets) to make them... Well.. What?

 

[GD91]

The man can hold a grudge.  In the spring, he stopped saying "no" to chickens, but didn't actually say "yes."  Apparently he's still butt-hurt about that.  Well, dude...I work full-time, bring in 50% of the income, have 50% of say in the house, and the wishy-washy stuff doesn't fly with me.  I researched the heck out of everything, learned to use powertools, learned to load wood in my car like a pro, built an awesome, beautiful coop (by myself with no help from him) and got the dang chickens.  It's about time to get over it.  All summer it was all about how the birds were useless, not producing anything but poop everywhere, giant money drains, etc....  Now, the laying breeds are laying, the meat is in the fridge, he's had to lift nary a finger for any of it.  Yeah, typing this out I'm getting seriously annoyed.  Hahaha.  Tofu parmesan it'll be, for him.  Though, dang, that sounds good.  I actually like tofu when it's prepared well. 

Good on you, my DH is exactly the same.
I to built the coop, bought the incubater & the eggs, monitored the eggs & raised the chicks alone whilst he sat & basically pulled faces & moaned like a child about money spent.
My culled pekin is now wasted on him because he won't eat it incase it "kills" him.
I'm just leaving him to it, Its me who does all the housework, DIY, manages the animals etc while he can't even pick up his dirty clothes & put them in the wash . Never has he mopped the floor or worked a washing machine.
He works, apparently this entitles him to be lazy at home. Once his mother stopped doing things for him, it fell to me instead, if I don't do it everything just builds up & you can't move while he continues to sit & moan about it.

 

[BCMaraniac]

I know what capons are, but poulards?!?! Sure

I could look it up, but the wisdom from the members impresses me much more than non-poultry experts.

What can be done to pullets (I am just guessing it involves pullets) to make them... Well.. What?

A poulard is a castrated pullet. There are two ways of poulardizing. The first involves removing the ovary....pullets/hens only have one located on the left side......and part of the oviduct. This is what the Chinese do, and it is done at 4 weeks of age. The other involves removing the section of the oviduct closest to the ovary, which prevents the ovary from developing. Once a pullet is castrated, she focuses all of her energy on growing flesh and fat within the muscle. Although she is generally smaller than a capon, she will plump up more and actually look better on the table. The odd thing about the poulard is that they quite often take on characteristics of a rooster......but with very short legs. She doesn't crow, of course. Here is a photo of a poulard that was sent to me by Chinese Capons, a member of the forum from China:

See how plump they are??

I don't know if mine were successfully poulardized, but some of them are 25 weeks old, and are fatter than my hens. Their combs are enlarging and the feathering appears to be longer than intact pullets, but I am not ready to declare them a success. I am going to wait a few more weeks.

 

[pipemum]

Good on you, my DH is exactly the same.
I to built the coop, bought the incubater & the eggs, monitored the eggs & raised the chicks alone whilst he sat & basically pulled faces & moaned like a child about money spent.
My culled pekin is now wasted on him because he won't eat it incase it "kills" him.
I'm just leaving him to it, Its me who does all the housework, DIY, manages the animals etc while he can't even pick up his dirty clothes & put them in the wash . Never has he mopped the floor or worked a washing machine.
He works, apparently this entitles him to be lazy at home. Once his mother stopped doing things for him, it fell to me instead, if I don't do it everything just builds up & you can't move while he continues to sit & moan about it.

How horrible, he won't even eat the bird you raised? Just cook the bird--sounds like he's never in the kitchen and wouldn't be any wiser as to which chicken you used (store-bought versus yours).

Well, my husband does complain greatly about the chickens, the expenses, and the time I spend hanging out with them...but he lived on his own for 10 years before I met him and can take care of himself. Thank goodness! I'll admit that while he is a major chicken hater, he cooks and cleans and is a great father. He's pretty great, which is why the chicken thing is a mystery.

 

[pipemum]

Wow, that poulard bird totally does look like a roo. I can make an educated guess on why the female takes on male characteristics, but why the short legs?

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Sounds like you have meaty marans, or that lav was supersized!!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: What happens if you don't clean his work clothes?? Maybe that will inspire him!!

I already teach my boys to do the chores, and that includes laundry and dishes. OF course I don't have any girls, so no way to push the work on the girls. DH grew up with a stay at home father that did all the cooking and laundry so he and his brothers all do such chores too.

When we build around here, I do the designing, then DH does most of the work as he likes to build. I pitch in when he will let me. I put the roof on the new coop-- lordy was I scared standing up on that roof. THe kind of scared that keeps your mind on the task at hand and prevents falls. I put up most of the walls and collected the material from second hand sources.

We women can handle power tools-- just helps to have a skilled instructor show us the ropes.

BOys and DH help with processing here-- help out on the farm. THe boys groan but do it. ANd eat it.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Sounds like you have meaty marans, or that lav was supersized!!

The LO is a big guy, very broad in the chest, about 15-16 months old, but the capons are actually bigger than he is frame wise, but not as much flesh yet.... My marans have a good bit of meat on them, but nothing excessive. I have been very surprised at how big the capons are. I guess I just lucked up and got a good cross.....hybrid vigor. The Marans and the LO came from the same breeder, and I think the Marans hens didn't fit her breeding program. I think she had some really good LO breed stock, 4th or 5th generation of the people who developed the breed(I just got him and his hatchmate because I thought he was pretty and I wanted a flock protector....LOL) My good fortune, I guess.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Wow, that poulard bird totally does look like a roo. I can make an educated guess on why the female takes on male characteristics, but why the short legs?

If you look at pullets/hens, they have shorter legs than rooster, and I think all of the male plumage just accentuates it......at least that is what it seems like to me.