The Svart Hona (Swedish Black Hen) Thread!

[birdman55]

I'm about to pack up about 20 breeder rooster with no flaws. To the freezer camp.

 

[HonaHelp]

@birdman55
Well, I hate to hear that!!
I guess that's the life when ..the boys outnumber the girls. Really......even, what ?---5 to one would be
bad for the roosters, huh?

 

[Zoomie]

Yeah it is sad to see, but on the other hand, it's part of life with chickens. I checked Craigslist last night and there are SO many roosters available right now, and of some very rare breeds! It's just crazy! Really great gorgeous chickens... most likely destined for the freezer. Maybe we should be happy about this? It does make me think very hard about the ones I will keep, instead of just automatically keeping them all. Probably better to be selective like that.

 

[NordicChick]

I personally can't wait to raise up some of these Svarthönas that I'm hatching now so that I can cull a couple of cockerels & see what they taste like! I have never tried the meat of a fibromelanistic bird yet (silkies just don't seem worth the effort

 

[HonaHelp]

Well...I may get to that point.

Right now--as a new chicken mama---2 months into raising these chicks,
I could not fathom killing them and definitely not eating them.
I know farming is a way of life and there is the life cycle and all, but..I want a backyard pet
flock... I'm sure my little hens will be rolling around with walkers one day because I can't
bear to kill them. Kidding...but--I know they don't have real long lives...I plan on spoiling them as long as possible.

I can hear all the old-time chicken people chuckling and imagine them rolling their eyes
, but-I'm sure many of you started out the same.

 

[Kindercare]

I personally can't wait to raise up some of these Svarthönas that I'm hatching now so that I can cull a couple of cockerels & see what they taste like! I have never tried the meat of a fibromelanistic bird yet (silkies just don't seem worth the effort

See my post (#489) and a couple of others on page 17 of this thread. Svarthona tastes like chicken (surprise!), maybe a little gamey like all dark meat. I recommend curries or soup to start. It took my kids some getting used to.

 

[NordicChick]

Lol...Well I figured it would taste a little bit like chicken
Have you eaten only the cockerels, or the hens too?
I just wonder if it's a bit gamey across the board or more like some cockerels in general can be.
I may try Caponizing one for comparison to see if it makes much difference.
Yeah, my girls will likely be a little turned off by the color at first too

 

[Kindercare]

I've only eaten excess cockerels so far, so that may be a biased sample.

 

[kaywould]

Here is some pictures from when I smoked an extra rooster. Was super juicy and tasted just like any other smoked chicken. Was probably 6-7 months old. Had a crossed beak so couldn't keep him for breeding and nobody wanted to buy him.

top two pictures are before it was smoked.

 

[Zoomie]

Wow, @kaywould that is fascinating! Looks very interesting! What a great use, too. I do have a smoker, that sounds delicious actually.

Thanks very much for the pictures!