Why meat birds?

[Morrigan]

How much CX is in the broody? I'm kinda of amazed that a CX went broody. That's pretty awesome.

 

[Molpet]

How much CX is in the broody? I'm kinda of amazed that a CX went broody. That's pretty awesome.

about 1/2 cx ..3rd generation of breeding offspring.
I get 3 colors. White which are poor layers and the meatest, but have heart issues. Barred which are fair layers , not bad on meat and none have died. Oldest from 2017 .. Blacks which are great layers and still have more meat than a full heritage.
I have had 4/20 white cx mix go broody... 6/6 barred cx mix and I am not sure how many of the black.
cockerels dress out at 16 wks usually 5-7 lbs

 

[Morrigan]

about 1/2 cx ..3rd generation of breeding offspring.
I get 3 colors. White which are poor layers and the meatest, but have heart issues. Barred which are fair layers , not bad on meat and none have died. Oldest from 2017 .. Blacks which are great layers and still have more meat than a full heritage.
I have had 4/20 white cx mix go broody... 6/6 barred cx mix and I am not sure how many of the black.
cockerels dress out at 16 wks usually 5-7 lbs

What a great program you've got going. Those are some very nice weights for 15 wk cockerels. What breed of roosters have you been using?

 

[Molpet]

What a great program you've got going. Those are some very nice weights for 15 wk cockerels. What breed of roosters have you been using?

I used what I had with the cx hen. A barnyard mix I had gotten in 2015. I hatched 3 cockerels and a pullet. Put a cockerel over all the hens that would submit. They were out of the barnyard roo and the mothers were br and BJG.. The next year I used an uncle over the offspring. I used an old English orp and a son last year. This year I am using a barred offspring from 2017 and one from 2018. Trying the dark Cornish next year

 

[oldrooster]

But that is my point. I don't want to feed my dog any of that junk.

You never stated that it was not up to YOUR standards, just that it was not up to to human consumption standards. There is a difference there. Please state what you mean, I can't read minds, I can on;y read what is typed here, they did not go into mid reading in the public schools here....

 

[Morrigan]

I used what I had with the cx hen. A barnyard mix I had gotten in 2015. I hatched 3 cockerels and a pullet. Put a cockerel over all the hens that would submit. They were out of the barnyard roo and the mothers were br and BJG.. The next year I used an uncle over the offspring. I used an old English orp and a son last year. This year I am using a barred offspring from 2017 and one from 2018. Trying the dark Cornish next year

A lot of good, big, dual purpose birds in the mix. Some of those old EO get pretty big. Thanks for all the details.

 

[LilyD]

I never said edible did I? to eat the male parts from cows or pigs, snake meat, brains from pork or beef. are not foods I think are edible but what WE think and what IS are 2 different things, Also as I pointed out HUMAN and PET grade are different things and unfortunately PET in the USA is HIGHER. Also I think jello is inedible, but many people live the junk, Asparagus, Brussal sprouts brawnswager (however it's spelled) all tastes like something that ought to be flushed IMHO. But they are considered by the government and many people addible and are inspected and pass the bar for human grade food..

Going to have to agree to disagree on this one dog food is controlled by the same regulatory board as that that controls livestock feed and it is very under regulated. A lot of the regulations that are in place are not followed which is why you can get dog food that has phenobarbital in it from euthanized animals which is supposed to be illegal. Also chicken meal and meat meal while it provides a much higher protein level on the charts loses more than 90% of its other minerals and nutrients so has less value as a food source than protein fresh from the animal.

The government doesn't regulate what goes into dog food at all. As far as the FDA is concerned it is perfectly acceptable to put waste materials from animals into livestock feeds which include dog food and as long as when they chemically test it it meets the dogs nutrient needs it passes. Doesn't matter if I use an old boot and motor oil with sawdust shavings to meet those needs and just add vitamins to fill in the gaps as long as it shows the proper nutrient levels it will pass. Not nearly as regulated as they would like JoeQ Consumer to think it is.

 

[Newyorkrita]

You never stated that it was not up to YOUR standards, just that it was not up to to human consumption standards. There is a difference there. Please state what you mean, I can't read minds, I can on;y read what is typed here, they did not go into mid reading in the public schools here....

Let's just all choose the brands of dog food that suits us as we can't seem to agree as to which standards apply.

 

[LilyD]

about 1/2 cx ..3rd generation of breeding offspring.
I get 3 colors. White which are poor layers and the meatest, but have heart issues. Barred which are fair layers , not bad on meat and none have died. Oldest from 2017 .. Blacks which are great layers and still have more meat than a full heritage.
I have had 4/20 white cx mix go broody... 6/6 barred cx mix and I am not sure how many of the black.
cockerels dress out at 16 wks usually 5-7 lbs

Sounds amazing some day I will get there. Mine are still chicks currently but are looking nice and beefy already. I can feel their breasts already. They hatched out the Saturday before Memorial day so are 3 weeks old and looking very nice. I have 24 more in the incubator that are also heritage orps. Owner said that his roosters are usually between 10-14 lbs and hens are usually between 8-10 depending on the bird. I will keep the ones I like the most and go from there. Next year breeding two incubators full and keeping the top hens out of that breeding. Fingers crossed.

Do you still limit feed on your CRX mixes to help with the heart issues or are they okay on their own without limiting?

 

[Molpet]

Do you still limit feed on your CRX mixes to help with the heart issues or are they okay on their own without limiting?

Food isn't as critical as with a full cx, but my losses are after winter when they just start getting more exercise. Most don't sit in front of the feeder like a cx
I let them run out of food during the day. If I try to pick up after 10-20 min the low rankers and littles don't get a chance to eat. Also I have turkeys and chickens running together and the turkeys are slow eaters. The older chickens will not let 2 of the turkeys with broods come up to eat until they are done. The other turkey with a brood eats first. I have several food stations for each poultry yard. Easier to get everyone up by the coops for lockup if I feed an hour before dark and they are hungry. Turkeys want to roost in the trees.