Recent content by melanie_s

Have you tried any yet? We butchered 28 red rangers last November -- our first harvest -- and I absolutely loved them. Great for soup.

Right! We got them August 20, 2019 and harvested them November 1, 2019. :D

Everyone, we did it! Ordered 25 chicks from Freedom Ranger hatchery last August, they sent us 28, all of which survived. Last Friday we harvested 28 birds! Thanks to my organized husband, processing took about 5 hours, plus an hour to clean, an hour to bag, then another hour to clean that up...

Interesting, thanks for the replies! So, how did you choose your breed(s)? And did you start with breeding stock from another breeder? I'm trying to figure out which breed I'd want to work with and how to get started.

Hi all! I'm fairly new to backyard chickens and just watched the movie Chicken People. :) I'm realizing there are lots of things you can do with chickens. I'm interested in 2 right now: raising meat birds and learning more about showing. My question is, why do you like showing? What's fun or...

I read that silkies are eaten as a delicacy in some places!

Don't feel bad. We are all learning and we all make mistakes. You did everything you could and you sound like an awesome chicken keeper. Out of curiosity, how old was she when she passed away?

@rjohns39 - Thank you so much for you post above. I spent the morning at Polyface (they're just an hour from my house). You're right, they were extremely helpful and accommodating. They have their summer interns doing the processing right now. The interns were so knowledgeable and patient, even...

This is great, thank you!

I am in the USA. Which hatchery are you referring to? Sorry, I scrolled back but didn't see it.

This is a great thread for me, as I'm interested in raising heritage meat birds also. Except I just want to do it for fun/interest, rather than profit. And I'm not in Ireland. Good luck to you!!

That's awesome. I emailed and they said I could help them process chickens! Excited. :) Does anyone here raise heritage chickens for meat? If so, I'm curious what everyone's breed preferences are.

They look nice, what are they mixed with?

Thank you! I've heard of Polyface but didn't realize they might be approachable. :) I'll check them out!