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

[Arielle]

Quote: Great value in that hybid vigor!! Plus the caponizing. Keep us posted on when the meat goes on-- as in their age. Seems like most of the breeds are somewhat meaty by 16-18 month-- I"m looking for the meaty at 18-24 WEEKS.

Hoping you might have some meaty marans-- seems like most lines have focused on the eggs but forgot he meat part.

ANd I'm sure that LO is eye candy!! I can just imagine a big fluffy boy in lav!!

 

[BCMaraniac]

Great value in that hybid vigor!! Plus the caponizing. Keep us posted on when the meat goes on-- as in their age. Seems like most of the breeds are somewhat meaty by 16-18 month-- I"m looking for the meaty at 18-24 WEEKS.

Hoping you might have some meaty marans-- seems like most lines have focused on the eggs but forgot he meat part.

ANd I'm sure that LO is eye candy!! I can just imagine a big fluffy boy in lav!!

The breeder I got my Marans from was breeding more for the breed standard, not the egg color. Mine don't have much copper, and one didn't have good feathering on the legs....those kind of minor things, so they definitely have some meat on their bones. They are a bit scrawny right now going through their molt, and aren't laying very much......except for the ones who were broody this summer.....they are laying almost every day.....and jumbo eggs to boot.

All of the crosses are black, some with copper, some without. They are 25 weeks old. Some with feathered legs, some without. Actually some of them are barred......and I don't know where that came from......unless the marans breeder, who also had some cuckoo marans, had an accident......

What size bird are you hoping to get?

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Looking for more meat-- as these are supposed to be a meat bird as well as egg layers.

The leg feathering, the copper coloring , all is a balncing act. I kept my nearly black girl and breed her to a rooster suitable to find middle balance. Marans are hard to keep right. I have a couple roosters growing up and I will handle those to see what the meatiness is on this next generation. If I'm hatching chickens and half are boys, I want them to be worth eating.

Barring-- that usually shows up even if one gene, pretty hard to hide.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Looking for more meat-- as these are supposed to be a meat bird as well as egg layers.

The leg feathering, the copper coloring , all is a balncing act. I kept my nearly black girl and breed her to a rooster suitable to find middle balance. Marans are hard to keep right. I have a couple roosters growing up and I will handle those to see what the meatiness is on this next generation. If I'm hatching chickens and half are boys, I want them to be worth eating.

Barring-- that usually shows up even if one gene, pretty hard to hide.

I really don't care about the coloring or feathering. I just want meat. My hubby likes their eggs....swears they are richer....

When I asked about size, I was wondering what sort of weight you were hoping to get by 24 weeks?

 

[BCMaraniac]

Looking for more meat-- as these are supposed to be a meat bird as well as egg layers.

The leg feathering, the copper coloring , all is a balncing act. I kept my nearly black girl and breed her to a rooster suitable to find middle balance. Marans are hard to keep right. I have a couple roosters growing up and I will handle those to see what the meatiness is on this next generation. If I'm hatching chickens and half are boys, I want them to be worth eating.

Barring-- that usually shows up even if one gene, pretty hard to hide.

Arielle, I went and took a picture of one of my 25 week old capons:




I took the kitchen scales and weighed him just now: 8 pounds 3 ounces

 

[Arielle]

8 pounds 3 oz at 24 weeks-- that is pretty good.

Part of what I am looking for is how much meat v bones is on the carcass-- m ost people don't talk about this. To me it is an important point. Seems like all the birds put on the muscle later, often a lot more by 16 months. Guess I would like middle ground. THe look of a cornishx but at 16 weeks not 8 weeks. I"m holding back a few cornish X to mix with a mixed rooster-- of three full brothers, one is the heftier wider chested boy. I can feel a bigger breast on him than the other two. So he will get the job.

 

[BCMaraniac]

8 pounds 3 oz at 24 weeks-- that is pretty good.

Part of what I am looking for is how much meat v bones is on the carcass-- m ost people don't talk about this. To me it is an important point. Seems like all the birds put on the muscle later, often a lot more by 16 months. Guess I would like middle ground. THe look of a cornishx but at 16 weeks not 8 weeks. I"m holding back a few cornish X to mix with a mixed rooster-- of three full brothers, one is the heftier wider chested boy. I can feel a bigger breast on him than the other two. So he will get the job.

When I picked him up, he felt meatier than I expected him to be because of his large stature. I am going to be really interested to see how he plumps up over the next 3 months, because I will probably process him between 9 and 10 months of age.

Have you looked at the Malines thread? They aren't available in the US yet, but a guy who breeds is talking about shipping eggs from Canada in the spring. His name is Bart, I think....
They appear to be very meaty birds.

 

[ronott1]

8 pounds 3 oz at 24 weeks-- that is pretty good.

Part of what I am looking for is how much meat v bones is on the carcass-- m ost people don't talk about this. To me it is an important point. Seems like all the birds put on the muscle later, often a lot more by 16 months. Guess I would like middle ground. THe look of a cornishx but at 16 weeks not 8 weeks. I"m holding back a few cornish X to mix with a mixed rooster-- of three full brothers, one is the heftier wider chested boy. I can feel a bigger breast on him than the other two. So he will get the job.

Cross the Marans with Red Dorking. You would only need one Marans boy and three or four Dorking hens. That cross will make a meaty fast growing hybrids.

Very tasty too.

 

[ronott1]

Have you guys looked into finishing?

For the Bresse, at 4 months, I penned them and fed them milk soaked grains(Organic Kamut) in the morning and flock raiser in the evening for two weeks. They were nice and meaty fat at 18 weeks that way.

Also, you need to change your expectations about meat. Stop comparing them to store monsters Hybrids. They will not be like that unless you raise store monsters hybrids. Costco sells Organic monsters Hybrids for a better price than you can raise them for. Buy those if that is what you want. Otherwise, raising a Dual Purpose bird will equal less breast meat and more thigh meat.

Edited to add: I think that Store Monsters hybrids are very tasty and that they are still the healthiest protein you can get if on a limited budget. I am not trying to make anyone feel bad about buying them.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Cross the Marans with Red Dorking. You would only need one Marans boy and three or four Dorking hens. That cross will make a meaty fast growing hybrids.

Very tasty too.

I hear crossing a Marans with a Dark Cornish is a good cross as well.