Who could stand to butcher their chickens

[marvun22]

I know their are some who do it for this purpose only. I looked at a New Hampshire I own, who is very fat and would be a good meat bird. She is so nice and I coudn't imagine her getting killed for meat. In all reality, I coudn't stand one of my birds being butchered, even my mean Rhode Island Red hens and my mean EE rooster.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I get meat birds for eating my wyandottes are for eggs and no way in heck will i process my wyandotte roos even though my glw is about 8lbs.

 

[Mrs. K]

Too each their own....

Some people like having pets, they tend to keep them til they die, and feel bad when they lose them.

Some people like having flocks. To have a viable flock, new members are added, and old members removed. These people tend to keep chickens for years and even decades, but not the same chickens.

Mrs K

 

[NYREDS]

I get meat birds for eating my wyandottes are for eggs and no way in heck will i process my wyandotte roos even though my glw is about 8lbs.

So, the Wyandottes are for eggs but how many eggs do the "roos" lay for you?

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I think it depends on the number of hens, your purpose for having chickens, and your financial situation.

We have 70 hens, an adult rooster, a bunch of babies of various ages (that includes some cockerels), and 12 broilers. They are all here for different reasons.

The hens lay eggs. If they stop laying eggs, they are culled. We give them their chance by putting them on Craigslist for a week, but then they are killed. With RSL and white Leghorns, they are culled before their second winter. With heritage breeds, culled before their third winter. The only exceptions are broody hens, that get to stay as long as they still brood clutches, and pet chickens.

Pet chickens are chickens that, for some reason, amuse us. They might be extra pretty, or extra sweet and my kids like them. We don't have more than two pet chickens at a time, usually.

We raise replacements for the birds we cull. There will be cockerels in those clutches. We keep the best of the cockerels for flock roosters, and cull the rest. Some of those we eat, if we have a meat pen going at the time. Some are culled the second I can tell that they are male, because I don't want to feed a non-contributing flock member.

Flock roosters are kept as long as we want/need their genetics, or if we're particularly fond of them. I rarely keep more than four at a time, but could keep as many as seven, I suppose.

Broilers are destined for the table from day one. Our last batch this year goes to the processor on Wednesday, along with six EE cockerels that are also in the meat pen.

We have chickens because we like them. But I'm not going to lose money on them, either. I have too many hens to keep non-contributing birds around. Can you imagine how many birds you'll have, even if you start with five birds, if you keep bringing in new birds without getting rid of any? Either that, or you have a flock of non-laying birds until they die and then start over. Neither situation sounds viable to me.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

So, the Wyandottes are for eggs but how many eggs do the "roos" lay for you?

My roos give me chicks that i eat so that is there purpose my glw roo i hatch 27 out of 27 eggs from him if the pullets don't sell i process them aswell. The roos feed me with their kids.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

I keep a large laying flock but the girls are replaced every 2-3 years. They enjoy their life on the farm free ranging while they are here. I can't afford to feed a 5 year old non-laying hen. I keep a few Roos for fertile eggs and the rest of the boys get eaten, ESPECIALLY the mean ones. Why should they live when there is a perfectly nice Roo dying (literally) to get his place.

 

[NewChickPaula]

We started raising chickens this year for two purposes...eggs and meat.
Since we are new to it I am trying not to get too attached to any one bird, but I can see how it could get hard to kill a particular bird if you do.
Our chicks are about 14 weeks right now and not very friendly, at least not yet.
They come when they think I have treats or I call them to eat, but not one will let me pick it up without a fuss. Will that change? I would like to have one or two that are sweet!

I also have a few questions...out of the 23 chicks we have I am sure we have 5 roosters.
The RIR is looking like the boss so far, but I have an Australorp and a SLW that are pretty bossy.
We will grow them until they can be killed to eat.

My question is how do you decide which ones to keep for the flock?
Will I be able to keep them all together until then? The RIR grabs the back of the SWD's neck and his poor feathers, oh!

Is here a "better" age to kill them for eating. Someone told us 18 weeks, but that just doesn't seem right to me.

Thanks for the help!
Paula

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We started raising chickens this year for two purposes...eggs and meat.
Since we are new to it I am trying not to get too attached to any one bird, but I can see how it could get hard to kill a particular bird if you do.
Our chicks are about 14 weeks right now and not very friendly, at least not yet.
They come when they think I have treats or I call them to eat, but not one will let me pick it up without a fuss. Will that change? I would like to have one or two that are sweet!

I also have a few questions...out of the 23 chicks we have I am sure we have 5 roosters.
The RIR is looking like the boss so far, but I have an Australorp and a SLW that are pretty bossy.
We will grow them until they can be killed to eat.

My question is how do you decide which ones to keep for the flock?
Will I be able to keep them all together until then? The RIR grabs the back of the SWD's neck and his poor feathers, oh!

Is here a "better" age to kill them for eating. Someone told us 18 weeks, but that just doesn't seem right to me.

Thanks for the help!
Paula

They're ready to eat as soon as they crow. I butcher at 14 weeks for heritage breeds and eight weeks for broilers. You can wait until 18 weeks if you want to, but the return on investment goes down as far as pounds of meat per pounds of feed.

I personally would keep the rooster that you like the best.

And no, they won't get friendlier unless you make a concerted effort to catch them and pet them every single day, and sit in the grass and lure them over with treats patiently until they come to you. This might take months. Your birds sound like they are in default chicken mode--that's just how they act unless you put a lot of effort into it. The hens will almost magically become friendlier around point of lay, however. They still won't want to be petted, though.

 

[NewChickPaula]

Thanks for the information!
Being so new at this I am truly surprised at the 14 weeks. They don't look like they have enough meat on them for butchering.
I trust your advice, it's just the newbie in me showing. LOL.

As for the chickens not being friendly...they will come over when I have treats and they will come when I use food to get them into the coop. In the beginning they would jump up on my lap, but not lately. The RIR hens will let me hold them if I can reach down and grab one. I will have to work on my chicken skills. I would like to have a few that enjoy some people time eventually.

Again, thanks for the help.

Paula