To eat or not to eat

[crankster76]

Quote:

thats right. my point was dont feel bad about it. thats just the way it is.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

Quote:

thats right. my point was dont feel bad about it. thats just the way it is.

Sorry...I clicked on the wrong thing, did it again, and then had another thought

BUT IT IS the same thought you had

Kind of...I'm a loser on the computer sometimes with my "clicky fingers"

 

[Minniechickmama]

I will let you in on a little secret,
If you don't want to have to raise your extras for several months to put some meat on them, but you don't want to have to deal with the CRX, try Purebred Cornish.
I got 15 White Laced Red Cornish to try out and see their quality for breeding (from McMurray Hatchery). They weren't the quality I was looking for to breed to standard, but the boys dressed out REAL nice. The girls are decent layers, though I sold all of those when I decided I had too many breeds around to keep them. They lay a medium brown egg, are great foragers, and they are very sturdy, hardy birds.
Here is one of the boys I cooked up from the ones I had butchered:

Here is what they WLRs look like alive:

They sort of have a mean look to their eye, but they really aren't. You don't want to keep more than one or two roos together, but the girls are very nice birds. I have Dark Cornish and some Blue Laced Red project birds and I love them. There is a lot more to them than you find in other breeds. You pick them up and they are solid!

Just a suggestion.

P.S. The pictures of them alive was about 6-weeks before they went to be butchered. And they all got along well since they weren't fully mature yet.

 

[skunknchatter]

Quote:
I am slowly learning this. I grew up a "city girl" and married a farm boy. He has been very patient with me in regards to the animals. In the end they are for utilitarian purposes. I can at least feel good that they had clean, healthy living conditions

Don't know if I'll ever be able to process them myself but I'll cook 'em if he kills 'em!

I don't have a lot of room to keep roos separate and whatnot...

I would like to start hatching some of my own so I don't have to keep ordering. Is it worth it? And where to get quality chicks? This is new territory for me so forgive my many questions.

 

[galanie]

There are quality eggs for sale here on BYC auction site, though the breed you want may not be available at all times. Chicks from good breeders are hard to come by unless you live close to them and can pick them up. Your initial birds will be more expensive than hatchery birds either way, whether because of the work of hatching yourself or cost of getting chicks. But plenty worth it.

I have Orpingtons. My first were Buff Orps that were hatchery birds. Now I have some breeder ones. The hatchery hens average 4 1/2 lbs full grown, the breeder orp hens are 7 lbs average and not all are even full grown yet. Two are only 5 months old and already 6 lbs. My cockerel, at 9 months, was almost 10 lbs. (haven't weighed him lately) He wasn't even the biggest cockerel that hatched, just the one I liked best.

HinkJC, if you're interested in Orps, often puts "auctions" up here to get on their list for spring hatching eggs. Mailed eggs are notoriously bad for hatching because of the ride they get but I got 50% hatch on their eggs, which is about the best I've ever gotten. There's auctions both here and on eBay at times for quality breeder eggs but you really have to watch it on eBay and be sure you really are dealing with a good breeder.

 

[kukupecpec]

I see my ladies and pets but have no problem flicking the switch to eating them. I am just starting and plan to eat the older ladies as they stop laying, and the boys before they get too noisey from my own hatches.
BUT - I was wondering if any of you have any ideas for convincing others of this? My DH simply can't imagine eating our "pets" - even though he rarely has anything to do with them! I'm not sure why he's so freaked out, but he won't even eat their delicious eggs! I'll be "taking care" of the appropriate ones regardless of his protests, but any suggestions in swaying him would be REALLY helpful!

 

[CowgirlPenny]

I am coming to this same discussion with my husband. My hens are only two years old. They have completely stopped laying for the year (just as they did last September) and they did not start again until almost March. That was 5 months of feed I fed 14 hens who gave me zero eggs, and several are bred to lay all year!

Since they have stopped again this year just like they did last year, my husband wants to go ahead and process most of them in November, keep 3 or 4 and take a break this winter and start with new hens next year. In theory, I have no problem processing a chicken. We've processed two extra roosters before and it was nothing. I hated the first rooster so he was easy. I teared up a bit with Big Red because he was a good boy. We just had too many roosters.


But these are my girls. They have names, personalities, favorite people and more. I keep telling myself they WILL die regardless. That it's better to live two, three years here with us eating a variety of delicious foods, feed, bugs, grass and more. Feeling the snow, rain, dirt and sun. Fresh air and loving owners. Much better than a life in a warehouse or worse. That they have given what they were created to do. Plus what if they die during the night one day and the meat spoils when we could have just processed them and fed my family? Ah. So much to consider. Just know that I too am in the same boat.

 

[angelbabyamy]

I processed my first meat chickens this year. I've had chickens for about 5 years- I started with a few silkies, then some layers and then started to purchase and hatch chicks with an incubator last year so I could get that "rainbow basket". A few years ago I would have never believed I could kill and butcher a chicken.

I started looking at the meat bird forum on here out of curiosity. When I was at 'Chick Days" this spring, I bought my first 5 Cornish X chicks. After doing those, I purchased 12 more and also butchered 5 roosters. I was so proud of myself! It was so satisfying to raise, butcher and eat my own food!

9 of my hens are now 31/2 years old. They are 7 Silver Laced Wyandottes and 2 Easter Eggers. They are still laying,but I am worried about making the decision to butcher them or continue to feed less productive hens. I don't keep a light on my chickens during the winter, so they don't lay a lot. I have 43 hens now and the price of feed has went up quite a bit.

I was looking at them happily running around today and laying in the flowers and really don't want to do it. The practical side of me says I should, but emotionally, I don't want to. It was easy to do the Cornish X because that is what I bought them for and I gave them a good life and I was so sick of the roosters' behavior they weren't hard either. My SLW don't have names, they are pretty hard to tell apart, but they have been such good hens- laid well, never went broody, always went to the house to roost without problems. It doesn't feel right.

 

[southernmomma]

I will let you in on a little secret,
If you don't want to have to raise your extras for several months to put some meat on them, but you don't want to have to deal with the CRX, try Purebred Cornish.
I got 15 White Laced Red Cornish to try out and see their quality for breeding (from McMurray Hatchery). They weren't the quality I was looking for to breed to standard, but the boys dressed out REAL nice. The girls are decent layers, though I sold all of those when I decided I had too many breeds around to keep them. They lay a medium brown egg, are great foragers, and they are very sturdy, hardy birds.
Here is one of the boys I cooked up from the ones I had butchered:

Here is what they WLRs look like alive:

They sort of have a mean look to their eye, but they really aren't. You don't want to keep more than one or two roos together, but the girls are very nice birds. I have Dark Cornish and some Blue Laced Red project birds and I love them. There is a lot more to them than you find in other breeds. You pick them up and they are solid!

Just a suggestion.

P.S. The pictures of them alive was about 6-weeks before they went to be butchered. And they all got along well since they weren't fully mature yet.

Snap!! Funny that I found this picture while doing a google search for broody Dark Cornish.
Question~ did the WLR from MM show any sign of broodiness or did you sell them before that could have happened? The MM dark cornish have a rep for brooding.....

M

 

[Minniechickmama]

Snap!! Funny that I found this picture while doing a google search for broody Dark Cornish.
Question~ did the WLR from MM show any sign of broodiness or did you sell them before that could have happened? The MM dark cornish have a rep for brooding.....

M

They weren't here long enough. I ate some of the cockerels and sold off the pullets. It was just for me to gauge the quality or lack of from MM on the Cornish. I wasn't finding any good quality breeder stock that I could buy, so was looking. I know have some that I bought from a breeder 2-years ago and I am working with. I have some WLR that need some work, but much better than the hatchery birds every would be, and I had all 3 WLR hens go broody on me a couple of weeks ago. That was about 30# all packed in the same next box too, so I booted them to an outdoor pen to break them.