How long to raise Naked-necks?
We just butchered our 15 Naked-necks at 12 weeks old (as this is the age they stated in an article to butcher) and they seemed really small to me. I know grocery store birds are bigger due to breed and...
View ArticleWe're REALLY late
We have 15 CC that we're really late getting culled. We have an appt with the Amish farm that does it for us for the 25th. They'll be 14 weeks. I feel terrible for them. How can I help them till this...
View ArticleSapphire Splash Rooster
I ended up with one sapphire splash rooster. How old should he be when I butcher him? I don’t need a rooster.
View ArticleCleaning a chicken
Hello, I've encountered this video on YouTube and I wonder if this method can be used to chickens as well. Thanks in advance (27) Cleaning a Pheasant In Seconds with NO TOOLS - “Heel Peel” method -...
View ArticleMeat chickens
What is the best meat chicken to raise? We have buff orpingtions. They are on the small side but they still work. Just looking for a bigger size.
View ArticleHas Anyone Raised Murray McMurray's Delaware Broilers?
I'm wondering how they are as both meat birds and dual-purpose layers and how they compare to other, ordinary hatchery Delawares. Anyone have any experience with them?
View ArticleIs it ok to eat a chicken with Bumblefoot?
I butchered the first hen I had that had bumblefoot before i knew what it was. The second hen I "operated" on but apparently didn't cut deep enough and it has come back a little. I have other reasons...
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How would this turn out? j giant x indian game
Hi I am thinking of hatching some jersey giants and indian/cornish game large fow. I would be keeping a jersy giant cockerel and the indian game hens to breed from so I would get a large bodie table...
View ArticleAnyone crossed a Cornish Roo over an Australorp hen?
Wondering if anyone has done this and if so, what the resulting bird was like for meat? How long it grew out, etc? Thanks in advance.
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Experimental Meat Bird cross thread.
Will be doing an experimental cross breeding of a hefty, meaty hen(EE/Brahma), to a Malay rooster next year. Goal is a small/medium Turkey sized bird, with a decent amount of breast meat. Growth rate,...
View Articleany strategies to fatten up layer roos
Hello, we have raised meat birds; but now I have some Orphington X Layer roos that are coming of age and we're looking to process them. Do you have any strategies for "fattening them up"? They look...
View ArticlePlucking machine???
Buy or build the Wizz bang? What is best? How good do the factory machines hold up?
View ArticleRaising Meat Birds in the Burbs- A How To Guide
Live in the Suburbs? Wish you could raise your own Chicken? This is the post for you. My husband and I have been raising Cornish X meaties now for 2 seasons. and we do it with not much space. This is a...
View ArticleFeed to increase weight last week turkeys
Have 2 turkeys getting ready to go into processing. What should I feed to really pack on the weight this last week? They refuse to eat corn so I've been mixing meatbird crumble with turkey pellets with...
View ArticleRanger chicken(s) crowing at 5.5 weeks
Well, this is something I did not plan for. I've only raised CX in the past and have never had anyone crow before processing day. This morning, I go out to feed and water my nearly 6 week old Rainbow...
View ArticleBest Plucker
For those who have pluckers what plucker do y'all have and what do you like or dislike about it? It's a big expense and a lot seem to get bad reviews or good reviews until the second season when they...
View ArticleHas anyone here mixed the genetics of meat birds with layers?
We butchered some roosters we had and they had basically zero fat. Fully free range, so maybe that's the reason, but they were cochin / olive egger mix. We were thinking maybe we should introduce a...
View ArticleSeven weeks old Cornish roasters, temps dropping soon
Hello, We have been raising meat birds for the first time this fall. They’ve been outside in a tractor for almost 3 weeks now but it’s been unseasonably warm here in Wisconsin. They are 7, going on 8...
View ArticleOpinions on sex of Easter Egger
It is almost 12 weeks and has been significany larger than all of its flock mates since about week 6 or 7. The rest of them barely have any comb to speak of that are of similar breeding. I’m thinking...
View ArticleI own chickens for eggs and pets and had to cull a rooster what will the...
I recently culled my first chicken ever he was a rooster that was 24 weeks old and an Olive egger, he wasn’t the biggest but had some meat. What will the flavor and texture be?
View ArticleProcessed my first quail today
My last lot of hatchlings had some very small quail adults, they were getting picked on by my other quail too. (The otehr adults were twice their size) I'd decided last week the humane thing would be...
View Articlehow to sell chicken, duck and rabbit meat legally in NH
Hi, I live in NH and I want to sell meat locally possibly organically down the road. But I know their are some laws and regulations I just want to do it by the book so I don't have problems down the...
View ArticleFirst time processing
Hello everyone! Come spring I think I am going to raise some meat birds. I plan on starting with some chickens, then eventually working my way to ducks and turkeys. However, I have a few questions. The...
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What color are your Cornish Crosses legs?? McMurray failed! Rant...
My friend and I ordered some Broilers from one of the hatcheries, and they just aren't as big as we think they should be. Some are half the size of the others, and the big ones aren't that big. And...
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Processing Bresse chicken & found this
We were processing Bresse Rooster, Age almost 6 months old. After 45-60 second dunk in 150 degree water, during plucking we saw this. Is it was fat from feather cuticles? Or worms? Thank you
View ArticleSuper fatty chicken experience
So we raised some Deleware birds. roos went for meet and hens are starting to lay. We processed last week and these are the fattiest birds I've ever processed. Their skins were very fatty, I'd liken it...
View ArticleJust started processing chickens and have a question
Hi there, my wife and I got laying hens last year and incubated a bunch of the eggs for meat birds this spring. We began processing them yesterday and were able to get through 4 of them before my wife...
View ArticleThe American Bresse...
Who here raises them? Who here raises them using the "official" protocol? And who here has actually eaten them? Just for kicks...is there anyone who has eaten them raised "officially" and has also had...
View ArticleProcess Freedom Rangers, age
I have 20 Feeedom Rangers hatched first week of September. I'd get them processed now but the two processors in my area are booked up with turkey orders so it might be a few more weeks. Apart from just...
View ArticleLikelihood that California will ban the sale of chickens?
I'm in the state of California and just a few years ago they banned the sale of rabbits at pet stores. What is the likelihood that this crazy state will eventually ban the sale of chickens at feed/pet...
View ArticleMeat Bird crossing?
I have read people keeping meat birds back and trying to raise them. Some with better success than others. Everything I have read is breeding like Freedom Ranger Rooster to Freedom Ranger hens. I have...
View ArticleCanning turkey
My husband processed 2 Tom's thus morning and have been on ice bath. I was wonderin g if I could go ahead and cook them low and slow all night and clean the meat off tmrw to be canned. I don't think...
View ArticleMurray McMurray Delaware Broilers
Just tried to order some. They will not have any this year for sure. Their barn with them got avian flu and they are trying to rebuild their flock. So non to be had this year.
View Articletough chicken
i tried Delaware's for the first time. let them grow to 16 weeks, butchered them the same way i always do with cornish cross. soak in a ice cold water bath before bagging and freezing, and my GOD is it...
View ArticleNeed Input HELP!! Final Clean after Butchering
Final cleaning and getting ready to package and came across green meat when dividing breasts. Location was not actual Breast but the area running on each side of breast bone... What is going on?? It...
View Articlemeat bird hatching eggs + rooster issue
Hello there. I am trying to get about 20-25 chickens for meat. I cannot find any fertile eggs, baby chicks, or young chickens. stores only have these starting in february. this is not feasible for us,...
View ArticleI don't know if I can do this...
So, we're raising 18 chickens for butcher this summer. They are about 10/12 weeks old now. Today when I put them to bed, my 4 year old daughter wanted to help me. She was out in the run herding them in...
View ArticleSorry could use answer ASAP
We butchered 40 Birds this past Saturday November 11th between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.. birds were kept on Ice until we got them into the refrigerator after 2:00. They have been in the...
View ArticleBest Free Range Bird for Meat
Hi! After raising chickens for fun for the last few years, I have started the journey into sustainability and raising my own chickens for meat as well as eggs. I started with a small seperate flock of...
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Keel bone without cartilage
I butchered a batch of mutt cockerels this week, just skinned and took out the breast, thigh, and leg. After cooking, I realized one of the birds had a very long keel bone without any of the usual...
View ArticleBlow torch on ducks small pin feathers?
I'm processing some ducks and didn't do the waxing method like I had in the past. Is it true that I can take a blow torch to the skin and it will burn all the tiny pin feathers. My birds have a lot of...
View ArticleDraining blood from a chicken that's already dead
Hi, I'm writing a scene for a novel but, never having reared or culled chickens, I'm hoping you can help me get it right. It may seem frivolous to be asking hypothetical questions in a forum but we...
View ArticleButcher roos
I butchered two roos yesterday and just had them in my roasting pan with icy water and it wouldn't fit in my refrigerator so I just rinsed it off and bagged and then put them on the fridge. I just went...
View ArticleMaintaining my Cornish crosses til I can process them
Is there any particular way to maintain the weight of my Cornish cross meat birds while waiting to process them. They are 6 lb on average at this point and I need another 7 days of time till I can...
View ArticleDisease questions
Should I be worried about butchering older hens with possible diseases? Would that affect anything?
View ArticleHow to Feed Cornish Game Hen chicks?
Hi, I'm picking up some CGH chicks tomorrow (hatched yesterday) along with some layer pullets and need some advice on care and feeding the Cornish, please? The layers will have regular chick starter...
View ArticleCornish Rock Meat Bird Breeding Project
Ok I've read a lot of posts at BYC about breeding with the Cornish Rock or Cornish cross aka CX. I've actually accomplished crossing other varieties to CX hens, that's easy. I want to try a few...
View ArticleIs the broomstick method as foolproof as it seems?
I've been watching a lot of videos on this method and I think I can do this. I've never killed an animal. Usually I try to save animals but why buy those tortured store chickens when I can raise my own...
View ArticleIt Has To Be The Environment
I ordered 16 Cornish Cross from a breeder and gave 8 to my daughter. We fed, housed and treated our own 8 basically the same. At 6 weeks we brought them back together to finish growing in a tractor....
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