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It is very likely I will have the NHs available in the spring. The Delawares less likely. I am located in Massachusetts.

I detailed the results here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-attempt-at-a-dual-purpose-heritage-flock.1489689/

It is actually crazy the amount of times I have had this conversation with people that eat meat. They are like, OMG YoU Are GoNnA KiLL thTAt!? ANd Eat ItTt?!?!?!! And im just like "yea, u eat meat right" and if they say yes i say "well every time something eats, something else dies. It is up to...

Nice job documenting so far! I applaud you for cutting out the middle man for some of your sustenance. I agree with the other posters and general sentiment when I say, culling animals should never be "easy". That doesn't mean we always have to be emotional when we do it, but just recognize the...

All reports have them integrating well and laying at 16-18 weeks old.

This is an update I did not want to make. A few weeks ago around dinner time a fox got into my chicken yard. They took out about 22 birds in no time, most of them the heritage birds I have been breeding and documenting in this thread. It was really hard to see all my hard work and ideas strewn...

I totally understand your view. It doesn't make ya a wuss! I guess I handle it by reminding myself that I moved into a protected forest, that I knew was full of animals, and they have to eat too, blah blah blah. Hawks are my number 1 guinea predator, but 90% of losses happen in the winter, when...

Can't argue with that. The guineas I had yelled at each other pretty much all day. I find it endearing though. Maybe cause I have a very loud stereo system, and very good headphones lol.

I have lost guineas to hawks 2/3 their size. They just eat em right there where they catch em. I do think guineas would be a good addition for your situation though. When I moved onto my property it was tick heaven. I am taling like, 10+ ticks on the dogs every time they went outside, and...

Just one more line, then I promise I will go to rehab!

Yeah, being 17 weeks old means he is just full of hormones, and figuring out his roosterness. He may slow down a bit as he ages, but they always crow whenever they feel like it.

Totally normal. My roos crow all day...it's what they do. So..Do roosters crow at dawn and dusk? YES Do they also crow all the other time? YES lol

I was initially drawn to ground pens because, well, I love animals and want them to be happy. But extensive reading changed my mind. I prefer to control my breeding schedule is the main reasoning against a colony situation. Also, parasite load on the ground can be a problem. I am sure some...

Might I chime in and suggest rabbits as a meat source instead? Here is why... 1. No brooding needed, Mama will take care of all that, every time. 2. Rabbit poop can be direct sown into your garden, OR used to make INCREDIBLE compost. It is the true black gold, and has increased my plant yield...

I rest my birds unpackaged in a cooler. I will typically cool them off a bit in a bucket of ice after plucking, before eviscerating. So I dispatch, pluck, put plucked bird in ice water BUCKET to cool off. Then when I am done pluckin 4 or 5 I will eviscerate the ones in the water bucket and put...

Nice job! Those look delicious

You just sell them, and the buyer gets to decide if they want to use them for meat or not. 5 or 7 dollars for a hatchery quality rooster of that age is about fair. Most people can hardly give their extra roos away. It very much depends on your locale. Max adult dominique male weight is 7 lbs...

Here is a link to my pallet coop build https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pallet-scrap-wood-2x4-coop-build-8x4-coop-for-about-250-pic-heavy.1373989/

Maybe you can build a wooden stand, that fits in the brooder to hand the waterer from? Or use a heat lamp hanger that stands on its own, and hang it from that. Good luck!

My solution was to get a waterer I could hang in the brooder. I was having the same prblem. First I tried putting it up on a block of wood but that didnt work that well. Hanging it even an inch or two above the litter made a huge difference and I haven't looked back.