Texas

[Raine06]

I think im about ready to start focusing on one breed...once this last batch gets integrity ill be set on my layer flock. Next will be to decide on a breed and work towards SOP for showing...anyone have any reccomendations for a texas weather breed? I really dont want to do ameracaunas...id rather something a little more exotic but still dual purpose so my culls will still be of use to the fam.

I only have one naked neck, she is one of the best layers, very sweet, eats out of our hands, I can go and pet her, and less feathers to pluck. I love that you can move their feathers aside and see how full the breast is. Most of the other hens are already molting like crazy and she isn't, still getting an egg every day from her, she normally skips one day a week, sometimes two. I know they aren't the prettiest but, in this TX heat the lack of feathers helps them a lot.

 

[back2simplelife]

I think the difference is farmers vs. breeders...farmers love their animals...those mass producing plants don't worry about the comfort or kindness! of the living creatures

aren't factory farmers called "farmers"? I think the difference you may mean is factory farmer verses small farmer

 

[Raine06]

Thats exactly kinda where i wanted to go with this! Thank you tammy! I have read about redcaps before...the only issue is actually getting some to start with. Im not exactly "hooked up" in th chicken world so too rare is hard to come by, lol!

Hubs went to a new feed store recently and said they had a Red Cap Roo there. I have been intreaged by them for awhile myself, didn't get him though. I have a big enough miss mesh myself right now. When I get a larger place I want to have a few coops so I can have my layers/meaties, my dorkings, and every one else gets one for a breed of their choice. Can the future be here already!?! LOL DH keeps offering to get me some now, but a move with lots of chickens wont be fun, only planning on keeping a few.

 

[TammyTX]

The only draw back for these little fur balls is that they can not be free ranged. Easy pickens for hawks.

Ahhhhh. So what you are saying is that I need to build another coop????

 

[Zootopia]

"There is something inherently creepy about [growing meat in labs]," Specter told NPR's Terry Gross at the time. "But there is something more inherently creepy about the way we deal with the animals that we eat. ... They live a horrible life, and they often die quite cruelly. So the idea of being able to eliminate some of that is extremely exciting for a lot of people."

Creepy, but think of the benefits.  They are producing meat cells/fibers in a lab rather than in a living, breathing animal.  The downside is it will eliminate completely, at least in the US, farm animals.  That's a big downside.

HaHa, all these people fussing about GMO grains, but these same people think it's ok to make, market, sell and consume artificial "Meat" ????
My grandfather had A Dairy herd when I was young, raised Hereford and Shorthorn beef cattle, Suffolk sheep and feeder pigs. He kept a radio on in the barns, clean water, good pasture and loafing sheds. They processed at the local locker and I can tell you the animals in our freezer had a few bad minutes in their entire lifetime.
Farmers and Ranchers treat their animals with respect as a rule. We all know that stressed animals dont gain weight, breed or reproduce efficiently. When the bottom line is your pocketbook you take care of your animals.

 

[jajeanpierre]

HaHa, all these people fussing about GMO grains, but these same people think it's ok to make, market, sell and consume artificial "Meat" ????
My grandfather had A Dairy herd when I was young, raised Hereford and Shorthorn beef cattle, Suffolk sheep and feeder pigs. He kept a radio on in the barns, clean water, good pasture and loafing sheds. They processed at the local locker and I can tell you the animals in our freezer had a few bad minutes in their entire lifetime.
Farmers and Ranchers treat their animals with respect as a rule. We all know that stressed animals dont gain weight, breed or reproduce efficiently. When the bottom line is your pocketbook you take care of your animals.

Meat made in a test tube is not GMO--it is identical to real meat since it is made from stem cells. It's not the same thing as GMO at all.

Please, don't compare your grandfather's animal husbandry practices with factory farming, which is where most of the meat comes from. They are miles apart. There are lots of ways to make animals gain weight besides kind, humane treatment. Drugs and how an animal is fed make a difference.

 

[Heidisgran]

Quote: probably!

 

[Heidisgran]

Quote: nobody asked me and I've been ill for the last few days so my thinking isn't clear so words don't come to me....you can't know everything your food is exposed to unless your growing every bit of it yourself! you don't actually know all the chemicals that were used when anything is planted fertilized etc...all you know for sure is what was someone wanted you to either know or think!!

 

[Heidisgran]

Quote: probably!
I've actually seen with my eyes the difference in the way the animals are treat...government standards are pretty low as to how well they are treated and they live in nauseating filth

 

[back2simplelife]

I've actually seen with my eyes the difference in the way the animals are treat...government standards are pretty low as to how well they are treated and they live in nauseating filth

agree.. and same here! Between how they are treated and what goes in to them.. well.. let's just say after my mom passed of colon cancer we decided to go vegan until we can afford organic grass fed products from a small rancher! We never touched eggs until we moved here and started watching over a flock (that led to our now addiction.. lol) Most of our veggies we grow ourselves as well and buy local organic when we have to.
What is sad to me.. is I have seen way too many small farmers and ranchers who I have known all my life who could no longer stand the pressure and sold out to the big guys.. sigh..