Self-Sustaining Meat Chickens?

[duluthralphie]

Dang!! He is huge! Nice!! I totally agree with the pure white comment. There are too many we need more color! I'm not saying white is bad, one of my favorite ducks is a Pekin, she is beautiful and a sweetheart. <3 <3

Are you willing to ship chicks? I'm in Texas.[/QUOTE

Dang!! He is huge! Nice!! I totally agree with the pure white comment. There are too many we need more color! I'm not saying white is bad, one of my favorite ducks is a Pekin, she is beautiful and a sweetheart. <3 <3

Are you willing to ship chicks? I'm in Texas.

I am NPIP and ship birds all over the country,,,My last shipment was 2 days ago.

Oops my bad,,, yep

 

[jandsferguson]

Completely agree!

If you do go to a breeder... we all have different goals with our flocks. I don't breed for show. But I do cull for faults and keep the best. But attitude is also important to me. I won't let an inferior attitude stay regardless of bird condition. Likewise, I won't let a faulted bird with a great attitude breed forward either... But we have to start with what we have.

So where do you find each breeds faults as well as conformity? I am new and I also feed my wolfdogs (hybrids) chickens. So I need 6 birds a day. They don’t like to share. lol. But I am very into their health as well as my chickens. I purchased some Cornish crosses and those little things are as mean as a rattle snake. I get bit every time I feed and water them. Since I try to get my kids to help with the chores I would also like something that my kids don’t become fearful of going into the pens with them. So that is also important to me.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

So where do you find each breeds faults as well as conformity? I am new and I also feed my wolfdogs (hybrids) chickens. So I need 6 birds a day. They don’t like to share. lol. But I am very into their health as well as my chickens. I purchased some Cornish crosses and those little things are as mean as a rattle snake. I get bit every time I feed and water them. Since I try to get my kids to help with the chores I would also like something that my kids don’t become fearful of going into the pens with them. So that is also important to me.

If there is a particular breed you are interested in then you can look at their Standard of Perfection, usually posted on sites I find through google. Here is the one I use for Marans for example...
http://www.maransofamericaclub.com/black-copper-marans.html

For Ameraucana..
http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/standard.html

There are some things that you wouldn't breed forward automatically like side sprigs on the comb, cross beak, split wing, club foot, any obvious deformities... regardless of breed standard. Then the individual breed standard can tell you things like eye/shank color, comb style, feather pattern, 4 or 5 toes, bearded or non, crested, muffed or not and so on.

So basically I google the SOP until I find a site that SEEM legitimate.

 

[jandsferguson]

If there is a particular breed you are interested in then you can look at their Standard of Perfection, usually posted on sites I find through google. Here is the one I use for Marans for example...
http://www.maransofamericaclub.com/black-copper-marans.html

For Ameraucana..
http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/standard.html

There are some things that you wouldn't breed forward automatically like side sprigs on the comb, cross beak, split wing, club foot, any obvious deformities... regardless of breed standard. Then the individual breed standard can tell you things like eye/shank color, comb style, feather pattern, 4 or 5 toes, bearded or non, crested, muffed or not and so on.

So basically I google the SOP until I find a site that SEEM legitimate.

thanks so much. I don’t quite yet understand all the terminology, but I am learning. Is there a place here where I can find breeds like the toad? Or other breeds that have been mentioned?

 

[jandsferguson]

Oops my bad,,, yep

How do I find more about your breed of chickens?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

thanks so much. I don’t quite yet understand all the terminology, but I am learning. Is there a place here where I can find breeds like the toad? Or other breeds that have been mentioned?

Yes, there can be tons to learn... but we all start somewhere. I've been raising chickens for 8 years now to get to my level of understanding, which is just barely grazing the surface. But BYC has been such a great tool!

The Toad the Ralphie is working on isn't available yet as far as I can tell. Any other breed you heard of that you wanna check out, just google it and it should pop up any hatcheries that have them.

Needing 5-6 chickens a day puts you in a special position. I don't think I could do that many on my land. Do your dogs eat the birds feathered and all?

 

[jandsferguson]

Yes, there can be tons to learn... but we all start somewhere. I've been raising chickens for 8 years now to get to my level of understanding, which is just barely grazing the surface. But BYC has been such a great tool!

The Toad the Ralphie is working on isn't available yet as far as I can tell. Any other breed you heard of that you wanna check out, just google it and it should pop up any hatcheries that have them.

Needing 5-6 chickens a day puts you in a special position. I don't think I could do that many on my land. Do your dogs eat the birds feathered and all?

Yes. The feathers are just as important as the meat and organs themselves. They floss their teeth to keep them in good working order. I only need to feed each one about 3 lbs a day and we have 6 that eat whole chickens. But purchasing the leg and thigh quarters gets expensive and also doesn’t provide them with the other things they need so we still have to purchase liver which is suppose to be 5% of their diet and other organs for another 5, 10 percent needs to be bone and the rest muscle meat. Which is why feeding entire chickens is so much better for them. Their ratios are more natural this way. Even tho they don’t just eat chicken. We are going to try our hand at rabbits also. My husband and I just lost out jobs so becoming self sustaining is becoming more of a necessity than a hobby unfortunately.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

My husband and I just lost out jobs so becoming self sustaining is becoming more of a necessity than a hobby unfortunately.

Great info, thanks for sharing!

Job loss sounds stressful.

I have somebody that processes Silkie cockerels for my family. But it seems like they are ALWAYS extra. Do you keep your eye open for free chickens in the farm and garden section of your local craigslist? Or maybe even post you own add that you will take extra roosters for free as a community service.

I hope this adventure fill your life with joy!

 

[jandsferguson]

I have yet to cull my first bird. I am an animal lover of all kinds. We have everything well almost. We have wolfers, coons, turtles, hedges, chickens and ducks. And my husband wants goats. So if anyone has any good advice for a first time culler I would greatly appreciate it. Everyone (my family) says I won’t be able to do it. But I am going to have to. However I am trying to talk myself into it since I have 8 that are ready lol

 

[jandsferguson]

Great info, thanks for sharing!

Job loss sounds stressful.

I have somebody that processes Silkie cockerels for my family. But it seems like they are ALWAYS extra. Do you keep your eye open for free chickens in the farm and garden section of your local craigslist? Or maybe even post you own add that you will take extra roosters for free as a community service.

I hope this adventure fill your life with joy!

Yes it is scary. Never been here before. And I didn’t know that about Craig’s list. Thanks for the info.