|
Survival and Preparations Long and short term survival and 'prepping'. |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
||||
|
||||
Raising Chickens for Meat
Chicken watch 2013 Begins on page 6, post #206
2012 I've noticed a lot of interest in the last few months about growing your own food in gardens and as livestock, so I thought some of you might like to watch the progress of our meat birds. We currently have 5 Cornish Cross that we will be slaughtering within a week or two, which are the industry standard for meat birds in the US, they grow extremely fast and get very large( they make up 95%+ of the commercial meat chicken flock). Because of these characteristics and the way they are bread they have inherent problems, they usually will not live past 3-4 months of age and often will not make it that long, they grow too quickly for their internal organs. Not problems for the commercial grower. That being said they are still a great choice for meat birds, however in this thread I will show you our experience using heritage breed roosters for meat over the coming weeks. We have decided to try heritage breeds because they can naturally reproduce, they are very good scavengers, they have no problem living many years if you don't get around to slaughtering them on time. Heritage breeds do take longer to get to slaughter weight and will not get as large as Cornish Cross, but supposedly have better flavor. We want to eventually breed our own meat birds. I have grown up raising chickens for eggs and sometimes meat, in recent years we have decided we want to know exactly where all our meat comes from. So we are not new to chickens but we are new to raising heritage breeds for meat. We ordered 25 roosters or various breeds from Murry McMurry Hatchery http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html, they arrived at the post office on Monday July 9th at about 8:30 am. All chicks arrived alive and in great health, all were very lively and had lots of energy and where eager to eat and drink water immediately. The hatchery even threw in 2 extra meat birds and a "rare exotic chick" for free. So total of 28 birds, probably will keep the top hat chick that they threw in for free, so 27 meat birds. All chicks are roosters, roosters typically grow faster than hens and will be slaughtering weight before they start crowing and fighting. And roosters are dramatically cheaper than hens. We chose the following breeds based on much research, all of these breeds were popular choices for meat birds before the introduction of the Cornish Cross. We have as follows: 5 Silver Gray Dorking 6 White Rock 6 White Wyandotte 5 Delaware 5 Dark Cornish Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to help you, I am no expert but I have been around chickens my whole life. Picture Taken 7/10/12 Chicks are 4 days old Uploaded with ImageShack.us Last edited by toyotaguy; 04-13-2013 at 5:46 PM.. |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
Looking forward to a great thread. Thanks!
__________________
Free Loan Modification Review and Short Sale Info for any Calgunners in Socal. PM me for details 15% commission rebate and 5% donation to Calguns Foundation for any closed home sale by a Calgunner or referral. PM for details*subject to lender approval |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
Good Luck on your endeavor. I have Black Giants and Rhode Island reds. We harvest the roosters out of a hatch at 8 months and we allow the hens to produce eggs for one complete year before harvesting. We incubate only because we get the birds a lot cheaper by collecting our own eggs. I have one or two hens a year that sneak off and have a clutch but they won't roost at night in the secure house and the fox and raccon have a pretty good harvest rate themselves.
We raise almost 80 percent of our meet and still drink unpastuerized milk. Flavors are so different than store bought. |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
Tagged
Also, because you got better birds, the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids will be lower or equal to the amount of monounsaturated and saturated fats. It should also have higher protein content, if it gets to eat many bugs. |
#7
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
The limits on livestock varies city to city, so I dont know for sure about where you live, but some areas allow only hens, others dont allow any at all. However based on a quick google search, it appears that LA is chicken friendly! As long as the birds are at least 25 feet from your dwelling and 35 feet from any other building. I would call your local county extension office, or zoning office and check to be sure though. http://ucanr.org/blogs/losangelesagr...gname=chickens By interbreed I assume you mean will the different breeds mix, and yes all heritage breed chickens(non hybrid) can and will breed with each other, if you want to raise your own chicks and keep them true to their respective breeds you must separate the hens from the roosters of all but their own breeds when you want to hatch the chicks, but they can live together most of the year except for a couple of weeks while you are letting the hens lay eggs fertilized by the specific rooster you want. You only need to separate the hens from the other roosters for like a week to get any fertilization from the others out of their systems. If you don't care about keeping the breeds separate you can just leave them all together all year, some breeds are much better mothers than others and will hatch and raise their own young. Certain breeds will not hatch their own chicks, so incubators or hens of other breeds can be used to hatch those chicks. We have used both hens and incubators, i prefer using hens because they don't require electricity or your constant attention. |
#8
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
|
#9
|
||||
|
||||
Also if you let them free range in grass or other green forage their meat will contain Omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for you!
|
#10
|
||||
|
||||
Definetly interested in this thread.
I have a question. Since you said the roosters are real loud I couldn`t have one in my nieghborhood. But I was thinking of just buying the chicks and raising them. How much do the chicks cost and where would I buy them? |
#11
|
||||
|
||||
I just got a few chicks this past March at TSC. They cost $2-3 each, as I recall. They just started laying last week and can be a bit noisy when they are working on an egg, but quiet most of the time. Ours are basically just for eggs and entertainment.
I am in a rural area and my neighbor has about 100 roosters (not for meat), they make noise all day and all night. I have gotten used to them over the past 15 years and honestly don't even hear them anymore. I guess it would be like living next to a freeway. After a while, you just tune out the noise of the traffic.
__________________
Just taking up space in (what is no longer) the second-worst small town in California. |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOpAjKE0cLk |
#16
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Chickens are a great way to turn weeds into eggs. As a protein source, they are a waste of time, unless you have a couple hundred. I don't think any city person can imagine the amount of forage or feed that many chickens can put away.
__________________
*REMOVE THIS PART BEFORE POSTING* |
#17
|
||||
|
||||
Actually it is very easy as long as they free range (on a side note of that, we have not had any rattle snake problems since we got the chickens either, I have seen my birds play tug a war with more than one). We toss our 22 birds some table scaps every now and then, but they do real well other wise. All of ours are Americanas, I went with that breed mainly because they can fly to avoid preditors. We currently have two hens that are nesting and so for 2 chicks have hatched in the past week, a first for us. We have not bought eggs in two years. We mainly raise for eggs, we have butchered two roasters, mainly just to then the flock a bit.
|
#21
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
The hen has a "sperm depository" within her egg construction assembly line. The yolk is made first, then fertilized if available. Then the white and membrane is added, with the shell coming last just before laying. She completes this process about once every 24 hours during her prime. Pretty freaking incredible, actually. If the hen has been fertilized, she may become "broody", meaning she will lay a bunch of fertilized eggs over the course of several days, and when done will begin to sit on them. The fertilized eggs will not begin to develop until they all reach a certain "broody" temperature. This insures that they will all hatch around the same time, even if laid days apart. Fertilized eggs will not develop if removed from the coop and put into the refrigerator. They are just like any other egg when it comes to cooking and eating them.
__________________
Just taking up space in (what is no longer) the second-worst small town in California. |
#22
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
__________________
*REMOVE THIS PART BEFORE POSTING* |
#23
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
For eggs, a steady source of calcium would also be beneficial (for shell creation).
__________________
Just taking up space in (what is no longer) the second-worst small town in California. |
#24
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Many people let their birds free range all day every day, this doesn't work for us as my bird dog likes the chickens a little too much. Video, Polyface farms does some really really cool stuff, and they have some great videos of the chicken butchering process from start to finish. Last edited by toyotaguy; 07-11-2012 at 4:53 PM.. |
#25
|
||||
|
||||
The chickens do get a certain amount of calcium from eating green grass, plus they are more than happy eat their own egg shells after your done with them, as well as any and all table scraps.
|
#26
|
||||
|
||||
Female chicks usually cost $3-6 each depending on breed and where you buy them. You should still be able to find them at your local feed store, or your local tractor supply may have them, but it is getting late in the year for them to be in stock, otherwise you might try contacting your local 4h club and see if they know anyone selling baby chicks.
|
#28
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
They do like bananas, cabbage and other greens. Anything resembling fresh meat entering the run doesn't last long. Beetles, worms, frogs, snakes, etc.
__________________
Just taking up space in (what is no longer) the second-worst small town in California. |
#29
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Animals are cannibals. While we are at it., Fido will be has happy gnawing on my leg bone as any other. And I hers, if push comes to shove.
__________________
*REMOVE THIS PART BEFORE POSTING* |
#31
|
||||
|
||||
yep, we feed ours their shells right back to them, they eat them up like popcorn.
Last edited by xgi1991; 07-11-2012 at 5:52 PM.. |
#32
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
|
#33
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Still, not encouraging them to eat their own eggs.
__________________
Just taking up space in (what is no longer) the second-worst small town in California. |
#34
|
||||
|
||||
My uncle has a chicken farm, sells eggs where ever he can drive.
makes a few k a month. Be careful of city ordinances, some cities dont allow chickens. theres a site called backayardchickens.com goto http://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/3/Laws/tag/64448/ http://www.batchgeo.com/map/5415c78a...37531ae6683df6 I went to my cities meeting and they told me they will need at least 6 months before even starting any study to move forward to allowing citizens to have chickens. another uncle has a few hens for eggs, I just got a few chicks 1.5 months ago they are growing bigger and bigger. My hens are pretty quiet though for now. I built a chicken coop 3x4x3 and a chicken run thats all enclosed with chicken wire. Feed is about 20$ or so a month and can last 3-4 hens 1-1.5 months Chickens eats bugs, good for your home area, chicken poop is good fertilizer, your eggs will be fresh, healthy as your chickens wont have growth hormones or steroids. Rhode Island Red, Americana, and black astralorp all lay 5 large brown eggs a week Americana lays 3 blue green eggs.
__________________
2 HANDGUNS STOLEN! 1 RECOVERED READ HERE Chickens Want to get into Ham Radio? Click here http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=202581 Last edited by Darklyte27; 07-11-2012 at 7:39 PM.. |
#36
|
|||
|
|||
My son raises 5 hens in Oakland, 5 max hens no roosters. He would let them free range in the yard a couple hours a day. They removedmost vegitation within reach, No free range during vegetable growing season. My Grand kids love feed and collect eggs.
The sound they make is not a factor to the neighbors. |
#37
|
||||
|
||||
nice set up toyotaguy. how big is your lot ?
im in city limits in Livermore. we have 7 hens ( in livermore up to 10 allowed, no roosters), for eggs. we get between 2 and 7 eggs a day. my 2 kids eat 3 a day between them 7 days a week. we give away eggs to our frineds and family. a 10# sack of crushed oyster shell will last a long time. a 50# sack of Purena crumbles lasts about 6 weeks and we also throw them table scraps, but no chicken meat. they free range, and i just have my garden protected. i had to buy a pressure washer to keep the patio cleaned, I blast the chicken crap every few days. my great grandfather was a commercial egg rancher in the 1900s in hollister, my grandma says they had a flock of about 700-1000. he would deliver eggs all the way to san fran. we had birds when i was a kid growing in san jose in the late 70s and 80s. fresh eggs are so much better. every few days i get the salad bar fixings the guys are throwing out from the cafe in my building in downtown san fran and cary home a glad trash bag full of greens on BART... the birds will eat it all in a day. i also dump all my lawn mover trimmings in my bird pen and they will eat it all in a day or 2. |
#38
|
||||
|
||||
Cool thread for sure.
__________________
"Just leave me alone, I know what to do." - Kimi Raikkonen The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.' and that `Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty.' - John Adams http://www.usdebtclock.org/ |
#40
|
||||
|
||||
Hens lay eggs until they run out, no rooster necessary.
__________________
Just taking up space in (what is no longer) the second-worst small town in California. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|