Processing day!

[JeffPr]

Wife and I did 12 birds in just under 3 hours.
Around 60 lbs of protein on ice now.
Will bag/freeze tomorrow

It was a flock of thirds
4 were @ 6 lbs 13 ounces
4 were @ 5 lbs 5 ounces
4 were @ 4 lbs 13 ounces

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Wife and I did 12 birds in just under 3 hours.
Around 60 lbs of protein on ice now.
Will bag/freeze tomorrow

It was a flock of thirds
4 were @ 6 lbs 13 ounces
4 were @ 5 lbs 5 ounces
4 were @ 4 lbs 13 ounces

Nice, congrats!

What was their breed/age?
Are we talking heritage, Cornish cross, or rangers?

Did you know that you need to let rigor pass? Either before or after freezing.. hmm, I wonder if that's not true when doing Cornish cross as I know it definitely is for heritage birds.

 

[JeffPr]

7 week old CX. I was set to do them next week but they looked too big. And they could barely get up to walk. So I decided to move processing up a week.

They are in the fridge. I figure when they come out of rigors (hopefully tomorrow) i’ll shrink bag and freeze them.

We have 3 freezers going so 4 per freezer.

 

[JeffPr]

I have 2 dozen freedom rangers coming in a week or two. But next year I am definitely going to try a heritage breed like American breese, Delaware, or something like that.

I will not do the Frankenstein chickens again.

 

[JeffPr]

Official total if my math is right was
58 pounds 14 ounces.
Average weight per bird is
4 pounds 14 1/2 ounces

In retrospect I probably should have stayed with my preset 8 week processing date and I would had been in the 5 to 5 1/2 pound dressed weight average I was shooting for.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

next year I am definitely going to try a heritage breed like American breese, Delaware, or something like that.

I think the Bresse are *probably* over rated in the American version, not even giving white eggs and growth rates not on par with their French counterpart.. but I have also considered them. Noting NO french bird is ever going to give french results if not finished in the French manner which is to extra fattened. And some birds like Orpington may be just too slow growing (it varies by line).

Here is a pretty good link with some feed conversion ratios for some heritage breeds..

https://smallfarmersjournal.com/heritage-breed-broiler-chickens/

Older birds (have much more "chicken" flavor, some might call gamey instead of being virtually tasteless) take longer to rest after processing (maybe another day or two) and also require different cooking technique as they have much different texture than the grocery market mush most of us are familiar with and used to. Both proper resting and cooking are required in order for them to not be very tough.. see following link for good information..

https://www.peninsulapoultrybreeders.com/cooking.html

Quick tip about harvesting heritage birds.. do so when they aren't having tons of pin feathers (or a mini molt) as it's much harder to pluck cleanly, (I learned the hard way). making it sometimes not convenient to harvest them all at once.. bonus for me with limited freezer space and also no one to help.. but might not be as good for your goals/set up.

Another one not included in the comparison link but worth considering is Bielefelder.. plenty of growth rate (around 4# dressed at 16 weeks).. maybe a little heavy hens also later to lay than I care to keep for eggs.. but with autosexing chicks making it easy to sell off extra pullets and make back a few funds to at least cover the cost of keeping one or preferably 2 roosters the whole year.. if that's up your alley or on your radar at all..

Best wishes!

 

[FunClucks]

I have 2 dozen freedom rangers coming in a week or two. But next year I am definitely going to try a heritage breed like American breese, Delaware, or something like that.

I will not do the Frankenstein chickens again.

I've got my eye on the New Hampshires (Henry Noll's line) from Freedom Ranger Hatchery. If I switch from the Frankenchicken to a dual purpose, those are the ones I'll get. There's a few threads on this Forum about them.