Single breed vs mixed flock

[Hillschicks]

Actually there isnt all that much blood.. Its not nearly as bad as one would expect.. Once the feathers are gone, its not much different than a bird from the store as far as grossness

 

[Ridgerunner]

Well, maybe cleaning out the cavity for the first time, but yeah, most people find out even that's not as gross as you’d expect. There is a learning curve involved and a lot of different techniques you can use. It is something you can do.

I just put five in the freezer earlier today, skinning all of them. The two cockerels, the pullet, and even the old hen weren’t bad but I do not recommend skinning a 3 year old rooster. There is a whole lot of really well-developed connective tissue holding that skin on. He was molting so I didn’t want to pluck, not with all those pin feathers, but skinning was a challenge. At least it’s done.

 

[Katt66]

Yeah skinning out old roosters is a bit tough.

As far as the single breed VS mixed flock question, we've definitely got a mixed flock. Simply because I am envisioning one day having an assortment of gorgeous colorful eggs and some birds in the future to eat as well possibly if my Orpingtons will produce some cockerels with our goofy EE rooster. Our flock is 2 EE hens, a Buff and a Black Orpington hen, a White Leghorn hen, Welsummer hen, Speckled Sussex hen, and then the Gold and Silver Sebrights are just there because they're adorable. And our EE rooster rounds them out.

 

[Hillschicks]

This discussion has re-interested me in single breed lol.. I really enjoy having our mixed breed flock and thats not going to change.. However.. We will be adding 1 specific breed and doing our best to breed that to the best breed standards we can..

I read an article about pure breeds not being around for our next generations.. That being true or not i dont see any reason for us not too.. We have the space and time.. Now we just have to settle on a single breed for that.. While adding to our mixed flock

 

[chick2flick]

I went to a local farm today and picked up some higher protein feed and it just happened to be 'butchering day' there. They had rented the equipment from the county and were helping others butcher their birds. So I stuck around to watch and learn. The process wasn't so bad at all. They even had what I call a 'whirly bird plucker'. I don't know the real name for it, but it looked like a washing machine drum on the spin cycle. He would cut the neck vein in the killing cone and after the bird was dead, dip it in hot water a few times until the feathers loosened up and then put them in the whirly bird and they'd come out with no feathers. No plucking needed. They were even doing turkeys too. It was amazing and very little effort involved. Much different than when I was a kid and someone would hand butcher for supper.
If anyone is planning on butchering several birds at a time, I'd suggest to check with your county agent if they have the equipment available. I think around here it's like $25 for a weekend or something like that and would be worth it if you're doing a lot of birds. And the whole process from live bird to ready to cook was only about 15 minutes. The most effort was in gutting them and even that wasn't too bad.
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[sahmhomesteader]

This discussion has re-interested me in single breed lol.. I really enjoy having our mixed breed flock and thats not going to change.. However.. We will be adding 1 specific breed and doing our best to breed that to the best breed standards we can..

I read an article about pure breeds not being around for our next generations.. That being true or not i dont see any reason for us not too.. We have the space and time.. Now we just have to settle on a single breed for that.. While adding to our mixed flock

Do you think you will pick an endangered breed?

 

[Hillschicks]

Its hard to say, we probably wont settle on a breed until spring.. An endangered breed is definitely a consideration.. We want big and pretty with large eggs.. Other than that, we dont care lol

 

[lazy gardener]

I agree that it's important to help keep the heritage breeds alive. If everyone with a BYC flock who was able to keep a rooster worked to keep the gene pool strong, heritage birds would not disappear. My choice would be Dominique, however, I doubt that I will ever get serious about breeding them, but just by choosing them for my flock, I am encouraging someone else to breed them.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

I agree that it's important to help keep the heritage breeds alive.  If everyone with a BYC flock who was able to keep a rooster worked to keep the gene pool strong, heritage birds would not disappear.  My choice would be Dominique, however, I doubt that I will ever get serious about breeding them, but just by choosing them for my flock, I am encouraging someone else to breed them.

 

[Hillschicks]

I brought up breeding an endangered breed and my significant other thinks thats a good idea.. Know of a place to get a list of viable breeds to choose from??