The Old Folks Home

[ChickenCanoe]

When I was a teenager I remember breaking the code to the chicken sizing in the supermarket. A number 14 chicken was 1.4kg.Yes, I know, I am a genius, but the take home is that a 14 bird was pretty big.

Hey, how have your exported flocks been doing? Have they met your production expectations?
I answered your thread a year or two ago when you wondered if you were crazy/

 

[superchemicalgirl]

So here is Feta, our new goat








and Motza

Feta and Motza are adorable. Motza looks like she has a bit of the stubborn in her.

True

now I see why everyone say's you can't keep them in a fence though!

They do love to climb. I let mine out of their fencing every day (well not during this week, of course) and they jump on the dog house and then take flying leaps off it, and they play on Jay Leno Rock and absolutely love doing it. I have rock walls here, too, and they love to scurry along those. They do stay in the fence, though. Pippy got out a few times when I first got her because she was so skinny she could shimmy between the fence posts. But otherwise, they have stayed in. They can jump the garden fence because it's only 3 feet high and doesn't have a top bar, so they can bend it, too.

The only thing that's still growing in there is my celery, and they love to eat it right down to the ground.

I am running off to work but I have information from 100 years ago that will help us understand.

Generally yes, Cockerels over 16 weeks old will be tough and not fryers or broilers. Hens at 20 weeks.

I don't butcher that early. I wait until they're a pretty big size, usually 24 weeks or so. They can be a little chewy, but not bad, and very tasty.

 

[ozexpat]

Hey, how have your exported flocks been doing? Have they met your production expectations?
I answered your thread a year or two ago when you wondered if you were crazy/

they are doing well

I have just around 200 birds now. Most are not yet to point of lay but 40 are getting close. Once they start laying, I will be able to stabilize.

my story started on Christmas day last year. It has just shy of 4000 comments and 107,000 views so it keeps occupied.

I am crazy but I dont see that as a bad thing

 

[ronott1]

I don't butcher that early. I wait until they're a pretty big size, usually 24 weeks or so. They can be a little chewy, but not bad, and very tasty.

Ok! I am at work.

Pay attention to the sizes and ages. We have been seriously messed up by the Monster chickens sold in the stores!

Rediscovering Traditional Meats from Historic Chicken Breeds
By Gina Bisco
The chicken meat most of us take for granted today is quite different from what our grandparents
experienced. Today commercial chicken meat production is very different from methods and ideas common
before the mid-20th century. Those of us who want to conserve old chicken breeds need to understand the
traditional chicken meat classes and their excellent cooking qualities.
There are 4 traditional chicken meat classes: broiler, fryer, roaster and fowl. The traditional broiler age
range was from 7 to 12 weeks, and carcass weight from 1 to 2 1/2 lbs. (Squab broilers would be youngest and
smallest of these, typically Leghorn cockerels about 3/4 to 1 pound dressed.) The next age and weight group
was called the fryer. Traditional fryer age range was from 14 to 20 weeks, and carcass weight from 2 1/2 to 4
lbs. Traditional roaster age range was from 5 to 12 months, and carcass weight from 4 to 8 pounds. Most
roasters were butchered between 6 and 9 months. Hens and roosters 12 months and older were called “fowl” or
“stewing fowl” signifying that slow moist cooking methods were required.
These traditional meat classifications, used until the 1940s, were based on the growth patterns and carcass
qualities of the pure breeds that were commonly used throughout the U.S. to produce eggs and meat. Traditional
chicken meats were classified by butchering age because of the special product qualities associated with each
age range. Even though modern product labels and modern cookbooks still use the terms broiler, fryer and
roaster, these traditional meat classes no longer apply to the modern “meat line” chickens because of their
extremely fast growth rate. The modern “meat line” chickens grow so fast that all sizes, even the largest size,
are butchered before they are old enough to be classified as traditional fryers....

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Ron, that is very informative and makes a lot of sense. The McMurray catalogue also sells "fryers" day old and does suggest to butcher them early. We roast or make soup out of most of our birds, so I guess we naturally wanted them bigger, without knowing the "why" as stated above.

I do know I don't want to eat or be part of the Franken-Chicken traditional Cornish X. If my birds can't be healthy or live a long life if I decide I can't butcher them, then I don't want them.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

they are doing well

I have just around 200 birds now. Most are not yet to point of lay but 40 are getting close. Once they start laying, I will be able to stabilize.

my story started on Christmas day last year. It has just shy of 4000 comments and 107,000 views so it keeps occupied.

I am crazy but I dont see that as a bad thing

I think I was the first to answer and I said you weren't. I thought it was a good idea.

 

[chickadoodles]

I am running off to work but I have information from 100 years ago that will help us understand.

Generally yes, Cockerels over 16 weeks old will be tough and not fryers or broilers. Hens at 20 weeks.

Thanks Ron. Have a great day.

 

[ronott1]

Ron, that is very informative and makes a lot of sense. The McMurray catalogue also sells "fryers" day old and does suggest to butcher them early. We roast or make soup out of most of our birds, so I guess we naturally wanted them bigger, without knowing the "why" as stated above.

I do know I don't want to eat or be part of the Franken-Chicken traditional Cornish X. If my birds can't be healthy or live a long life if I decide I can't butcher them, then I don't want them.

Yes, it does make a difference to let them grow longer. There is a lot of flavor to a 20 week plus cockerel. They are not going to be good cooked at high temps but slow cooking makes them tender and tasty.

 

[Highcotton]

I noticed that this is a thread for middle aged people. I may be too old. i just made it under the wire for the beginning of the baby boom. I am 6 monthes older than George W. Bush and 7 months older than Bill Clinton.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Ok! I am at work.

Pay attention to the sizes and ages. We have been seriously messed up by the Monster chickens sold in the stores!

Rediscovering Traditional Meats from Historic Chicken Breeds
By Gina Bisco
The chicken meat most of us take for granted today is quite different from what our grandparents
experienced. ...
The traditional broiler age range was from 7 to 12 weeks, and carcass weight from 1 to 2 1/2 lbs. (Squab broilers would be youngest and
smallest of these, typically Leghorn cockerels about 3/4 to 1 pound dressed.) The next age and weight group
was called the fryer. Traditional fryer age range was from 14 to 20 weeks, and carcass weight from 2 1/2 to 4
lbs. Traditional roaster age range was from 5 to 12 months, and carcass weight from 4 to 8 pounds. Most
roasters were butchered between 6 and 9 months. Hens and roosters 12 months and older were called “fowl” or
“stewing fowl” signifying that slow moist cooking methods were required.
...
Even though modern product labels and modern cookbooks still use the terms broiler, fryer and
roaster, these traditional meat classes no longer apply to the modern “meat line” chickens because of their
extremely fast growth rate. The modern “meat line” chickens grow so fast that all sizes, even the largest size,
are butchered before they are old enough to be classified as traditional fryers....

Modern cookbooks are based on these young Cornish rocks.
Throw out the cooking temps and times when preparing a traditional/heritage bird that is older.
Low heat and slow cooking time is important also for the traditional roaster - 6 to 9 months. Roasting breast down in the broth will keep it from drying out while waiting for the legs to cook. I usually use 200 degrees for about 4 or 5 hours till the leg meat separates from the bone.

Ron, that is very informative and makes a lot of sense. The McMurray catalogue also sells "fryers" day old and does suggest to butcher them early. We roast or make soup out of most of our birds, so I guess we naturally wanted them bigger, without knowing the "why" as stated above.

I do know I don't want to eat or be part of the Franken-Chicken traditional Cornish X. If my birds can't be healthy or live a long life if I decide I can't butcher them, then I don't want them.

Anything that uses its muscles rather than sit next to a feeder will have firmer meat. Another technique is to free range till 2 or 3 weeks before butcher and confine the birds to let the legs get a little more tender.
Research how Poulet Bresse are raised for meat. During that confinement period they are fed dairy and grain.