Official BYC Poll: How Important Is It That You Get Eggs From Your Chickens?

[suburbanfarmermi]

I chose "Very important" Generally speaking we provide for the chickens and expect them to do the same in return.

We are still new to keeping chickens and have not decided if we are going to add light this winter. We have yet to cull a chicken that is not producing but assume I will... again I have only kept chickens for 6 months or so. So my feelings on these topics are not firmed up yet.

I work many jobs and my wife is homeschooling our children... I see lots of people that keep chickens as pets and I say what ever floats your boat.. more power to ya.... We have a dog, she also serves a purpose. She is a affectionate compainion and she assistes in our homes security. My wife loves her cats, so much so that if she had to chose between me and the cats I think I would lose. In summary we would not keep chickens if they did not provide for us.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hmmm, I voted before reading the description - let me know if I should change my vote! I put “Very Important” because I wouldn’t have chickens if I didn’t get eggs from them. However, they aren’t really production breeds, though they are laying breeds, plus I don’t use artificial lights or cull free loaders.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I don't eat older hens, but this year I'm making an exception; one of our Chantie hens bites, hard, when she's in a nest. Not broody, just seriously defending her space. I'm over it...
Mary

I have multiple hens that are happy to bite me! We’ve been breeding for olive eggers and I think it’s the Ameracana stock that diluted the much easier going black copper marans temperament. The Ameraucanas themselves just run from me, but the OE crosses and their babies tend to have the fearfullness of the Ameracaunas tempered with the willingness of the BCM to stand their ground and I end up with some hard biters! Oh and I have one single, gorgeous East Frisian Gull hen that gives the most impossibly hard bite! Now I keep work gloves near the nest boxes…

 

[Folly's place]

That Chantie hen is still here, and I too wear leather gloves if I need to disturb her in a nest box.
Mary

 

[Ascholten]

If they start biting to the point of drawing blood, then it's time for the stewpot. Pressure cooking can make the toughest witch, tender with some carrots and taters.

Aaron

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I voted "other" only because: I buy heritage breeds instead of production, and I use artificial lighting only in fall/winter. We keep chickens for dual purpose. We hatch and raise our own chicks --- pullets go into the main flock, 16-18 wk old cockerels go in the freezer, and old/non-productive birds are culled about twice a year. We sell the eggs to several regular customers. I haven't bought eggs or any form of chicken meat from a store in a few years.

 

[Ascholten]

I voted "other" only because: I buy heritage breeds instead of production, and I use artificial lighting only in fall/winter. We keep chickens for dual purpose. We hatch and raise our own chicks --- pullets go into the main flock, 16-18 wk old cockerels go in the freezer, and old/non-productive birds are culled about twice a year. We sell the eggs to several regular customers. I haven't bought eggs or any form of chicken meat from a store in a few years.

What do you do with the older ones you cull., Obviously tough. Compost them, eat them, if so how do you cook them?

Aaron

 

[Battlepants]

What do you do with the older ones you cull., Obviously tough. Compost them, eat them, if so how do you cook them?

I haven't attempted this with an old bird yet, but in some of the cheaper cuts of meat that I buy, I tend to find that temperature plays a lot into the toughness of the meat. For this, I like to sous vide at just over 140F for a few hours, preferably in some butter. Takes the toughest cuts and makes them very juicy and rather tender.

 

[Ascholten]

I like to sous vide at just over 140F for a few hours, preferably in some butter.

I am SO glad to see you say that. Not a lot of people do this / know about it, or think it's just for beef / higher end cuts of meat. NO NO NO !!! It's for anything really and is absolutely wonderful for getting the most tender cut of meat out of a tough piece of leather you can imagine. Spice it up, Seal it up, Weigh it down and let it stew for 4 or 5 hours at your desired temperature and you are golden ! It will work great for your tough birds too. Something about being stewed in their own juices and oils makes the meat both tender AND more flavorful. Putting in stew, the water, can tend to remove some of the flavor out of the meat IMO. Yes it's in the stew but diluted. Sous vide now, it's ALL there.

Aaron

 

[AgnesGray]

What do you do with the older ones you cull., Obviously tough. Compost them, eat them, if so how do you cook them?

Aaron

I sell them. Can't keep them in stock. The people buying them prefer them to young meat birds for flavor and make soup, stock, and stuff with them, but also sausage, tacos, etc.