What's your loss rate?

[GoodEgg]

FIVE WEEKS!!! Are you serious???

I have to wonder what in the world they did to them to get them ready to butcher at five weeks?

I haven't grown my own meat birds yet, but I think about what Greyfields said. Food tastes SO different than when I was a kid, and I'm not THAT old. My grandparents raised chickens and rabbits for meat and had a large garden. Food tasted GOOD. Stuff these days has no flavor at all. My daughter has no idea what food is supposed to taste like, for the most part, though I try my best.

It is sad days we live in ...

I'm glad I started checking this are of the forum. I've been inspired over the past couple of weeks to raise our own next year, if possible. Thanks everyone!

trish

 

[greyfields]

I regularly have customers with children at the farm market. I often hear them say "that's so gross daddy" when we're talking about buying farm raised meat. If it's not in sytrofoam, plastic wrap and every piece of meat looking uniform, it's seen as low quality or undesirable.

I offer no solution, except, take your kids to witness an animal being processed so they know where their food comes from. They'll probably become vegetarians for a couple years, until the anemia catches up to them. But at the very least, they'll think twice and a third time before buying that babecue chicken burrito at the gas station.

I think a good lesson to everyone of all ages is to eat higher quality meat less often; rather than low quality meat with every meal.

 

[silkiechicken]

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Simple, pure, traditional genetic engineering... not the test tube type, just selective breeding.

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Haha, anemia catching up, that's funny.

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And the food from the gas station sounds disgusting! I

 

[GoodEgg]

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It's not that she thinks it's gross. She just can't stand the idea of eating a "pet." Which I can understand, if they are pets, but I told her up front that the chickens were for a purpose. That lasted about as long as it took to open the box from the hatchery ...

She did become a vegetarian a few years ago, and stuck with it for about a year and a half. Not because she knew about conditions at factory farms but just because she didn't like the thought of killing animals.

I don't agree with her, but I try not to force my opinions on her on things like this. She's a bit of an activist at heart.

I remember I didn't like to see my grandpa butcher my favorite rabbits either, but ... that was life on the farm.

And I was just talking this week about the possibility of raising a calf for a year ... not at my house though. I'd end up with a pet cow!

trish

 

[GoodEgg]

Quote:
Simple, pure, traditional genetic engineering... not the test tube type, just selective breeding.

Wow. Thanks for the info. I had no idea they could approach that with only selective breeding. I'm still stunned, and I don't know what to think about that.

trish

 

[homesteader]

Good Egg wrote:
It's not that she thinks it's gross. She just can't stand the idea of eating a "pet."

I guess when kids are raised from little bitty on a farm where animals are eaten, it's just normal to them. My kids love our pig, and also love to talk about how good she'll taste. The neighbor's girls came over and begged us not to eat her. They don't eat their animals. They just sell them. (Show sheep)​

 

[mamaboyd]

The bird we got were Frey's Special Dual Purpose, they are now 17 weeks old and going to the processor on Tuesday. The males are about 8 lbs now, females 6-7 lbs. They can be found here: www.freyshatchery.com

 

[Mrs. Hoppes]

We were heading home one day and as we were sitting at a red light, a truck went past. I made my husband catch up and I snapped some pictures.

Keep in mind it was also raining out that day:

It made me sick and thankful that we have the opportunity to raise and slaughter our animals in a humane way.

 

[silkiechicken]

It's interesting... it seems that all "commercial" strains of birds are white feathered. The cornishx are, meat pigeons are, meat turkeys are, meat ducks are..... Is it for the sole reason white feathers that get missed are harder to see on a dressed bird?

 

[BirdBrain]

Silkie,
I think you are precisely right.