Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

I agree, a meatbird rooster will be way too heavy for your girls & will hurt them.

I assume you are speaking about 'Redbro/Freedom Ranger/etc. type of meat bird (not the cornish crosses, as they can't reproduce naturally - even if they lived long enough to mature)


My suggestion would be to get a 1/2 doz. or so straight run meat birds and hold back a trio (one roo, 2 girls) to keep and hatch from in subsequent years, and process the others for meat this year. I do suggest getting at least double what you want to keep (well, since we are talking small numbers, anyways), so you can pick the best/healthiest to hold back.

Good luck with the Polish - I hope the Lady has some still!

I would get Bielefelders (I asked my Vet how to pronounce that Bee-lay-felder, he is from Germany), they are a duel purpose bird and are beautiful.

Or even Brahmas, again dual purpose, and decent egg layers and gorgeous.

Though those two breed are still way too heaven even for the midnight majesty Marans I would say.

Oh gosh! I forgot to say; speaking of MM Marans, this morning I came out to feed and I heard this squeaky crow and my heart sunk - oh Shirley! I was going to bawl.

Then I looked in there and saw Mr LC duh! Of course! About time he started crowing. So there is still hope for Shirley.

Anywhoooo back to the meat birds - if I had a way to process them I would get a dozen of so Bielefelder Roos to raise for meat - sure they take longer to grow but I bet the meat is better for that. I hear Marans are also a dual purpose - anyone else hear this? They are rather uncommon here.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Two weeks is too old to try to put under a hen. Ask if the lady has any day olds.

If not find out from the feed store when they get chicks in, they likely get a shipment every week, then pop over when the shipment arrives and grab some.

Have to say I have less trouble raising them myself and integrating them than having a broody raise them, now having said that the next hen to go broody will get 2 blue eggs to hatch seeing as how I have issues breaking them, and pretty much chickened out with the chick fostering last couple times. They can sit on eggs, and I’ll rehome the chicks when they are weaned.

I would not get a meat Roo, they will be too big for your silkies. I now keep my silkies separate from the flock during the day when I am not home; having the two Roos is hard on them. When I get home they go outside and they can get away from the Roos.

If it were me I would get day old meat birds and raise them up for meat. I would skip the whole broody step, and just brood them myself and raise them.

Re: Mr Magnificent - what’s wrong with him? Is he old? I guess they get I’ll just like we do. My cousin had one who she named Spike - turned out to be a Spikette. She laid eggs every now and again.

Shenron will be 10 in December, which is considered old. The average lifespan is 8-10 years with 12 being exceptional. My last beardie died at 4 from being egg bound, she was a paralyzed rescue and couldn't lay.

I want to avoid any birds labeled "meat" and only have dual purposes. If I get straight run chicks I can keep the nicest boy regardless of his size. Hubby says he wants a bearded d'uccle or an ayam cemani/svart hona. He wants that freaky black chicken meat haha.

 

[Ponypoor]

Shenron will be 10 in December, which is considered old. The average lifespan is 8-10 years with 12 being exceptional. My last beardie died at 4 from being egg bound, she was a paralyzed rescue and couldn't lay.

I want to avoid any birds labeled "meat" and only have dual purposes. If I get straight run chicks I can keep the nicest boy regardless of his size. Hubby says he wants a bearded d'uccle or an ayam cemani/svart hona. He wants that freaky black chicken meat haha.

Well get a nice silkie Roo then black meat for sure!

 

[Ponypoor]

Shenron will be 10 in December, which is considered old. The average lifespan is 8-10 years with 12 being exceptional. My last beardie died at 4 from being egg bound, she was a paralyzed rescue and couldn't lay.

I want to avoid any birds labeled "meat" and only have dual purposes. If I get straight run chicks I can keep the nicest boy regardless of his size. Hubby says he wants a bearded d'uccle or an ayam cemani/svart hona. He wants that freaky black chicken meat haha.

Wow 10, I did not think they would live so long. He is doing well in that case! Shows he has good care

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I would get Bielefelders (I asked my Vet how to pronounce that Bee-lay-felder, he is from Germany), they are a duel purpose bird and are beautiful.

Or even Brahmas, again dual purpose, and decent egg layers and gorgeous.

Though those two breed are still way too heaven even for the midnight majesty Marans I would say.

Oh gosh! I forgot to say; speaking of MM Marans, this morning I came out to feed and I heard this squeaky crow and my heart sunk - oh Shirley! I was going to bawl.

Then I looked in there and saw Mr LC duh! Of course! About time he started crowing. So there is still hope for Shirley.

Anywhoooo back to the meat birds - if I had a way to process them I would get a dozen of so Bielefelder Roos to raise for meat - sure they take longer to grow but I bet the meat is better for that. I hear Marans are also a dual purpose - anyone else hear this? They are rather uncommon here.

Yay Mr Little Chicken. Sing the song of your people to the world loud and proud!!!

Marans are considered dual purpose. In their native country they are considered a delicacy. They are one of the top 3 breeds used for fine dining. Do not ask me how they taste, cannot do it, will not do it with my own birds. Now, if you are feeding your family they will not be ready as early as meat birds. Both hens and roosters get good sized, just not as quickly. Spare roo's the youngest I would send to freezer camp would be 5 to 6 months, closer to 6 if I did process my birds. You would have a really nice sized bird if you waited until they were a year. The boys finish maturing at around a year and a half. Now, as far as crosses go. I have several Marans cross hens and have kept some cross boys until they were 4 to 5 months old in trying to place them. With the exception of the Marans x silkie crosses they grew faster and the ones I kept are actually bigger then their parents. It is something to think about. You could either invest in a Marans roo who I personally have found to be well mannered to cross over some large fowl hens. You could also get a different roo and find a few Marans hens to achieve the same result.

Now another option, and this is coming from other people and what I have read as this would again never ever happen with me. If you and your family enjoy dark meat, in china silkies are a delicacy. If I am correct in my thinking the entire bird is considered dark meat which I personally hate. My friend up the road who I got my first silkie eggs from, she ordered 15 silkies from a hatchery. 9 of them were cockerels. She sometimes processes her own chickens so she ate 8 of them. She claimed while small they were delicious. She at the time was feeding a family of 6, 4 teenage boys. To make a nice meal and have leftovers the following day she cooked 2 at a time.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Yay Mr Little Chicken. Sing the song of your people to the world loud and proud!!!

Marans are considered dual purpose. In their native country they are considered a delicacy. They are one of the top 3 breeds used for fine dining. Do not ask me how they taste, cannot do it, will not do it with my own birds. Now, if you are feeding your family they will not be ready as early as meat birds. Both hens and roosters get good sized, just not as quickly. Spare roo's the youngest I would send to freezer camp would be 5 to 6 months, closer to 6 if I did process my birds. You would have a really nice sized bird if you waited until they were a year. The boys finish maturing at around a year and a half. Now, as far as crosses go. I have several Marans cross hens and have kept some cross boys until they were 4 to 5 months old in trying to place them. With the exception of the Marans x silkie crosses they grew faster and the ones I kept are actually bigger then their parents. It is something to think about. You could either invest in a Marans roo who I personally have found to be well mannered to cross over some large fowl hens. You could also get a different roo and find a few Marans hens to achieve the same result.

Now another option, and this is coming from other people and what I have read as this would again never ever happen with me. If you and your family enjoy dark meat, in china silkies are a delicacy. If I am correct in my thinking the entire bird is considered dark meat which I personally hate. My friend up the road who I got my first silkie eggs from, she ordered 15 silkies from a hatchery. 9 of them were cockerels. She sometimes processes her own chickens so she ate 8 of them. She claimed while small they were delicious. She at the time was feeding a family of 6, 4 teenage boys. To make a nice meal and have leftovers the following day she cooked 2 at a time.

Thanks for the information. When we raised meat birds as a kid I had a blind barred rock chicken named Peeps, and even though I begged to keep her she was sent to the processor with the rest. 4 months old my family did ours, barred rocks, California white (which was a meat bird in the 1990s) and the last year we had buff orpingtons as well. We gave a few orpingtons to my bestie for egg layers, her mom said they were excellent layers. So I'm used to eating pet type critters. Hubby isn't, it'll be hard for him.
But we need to be able to raise food, it's getting harder to justify the nasty lives and flavor of cornish cross from the store.
Would a wyandotte be a good choice? I'm absolutely looking for a marans roo because Shep is an amazing chicken and has me hooked on Marans. But non hybrids are still hard to find out here. I dunno, I always end up just getting something available, rather than my original plans haha.

 

[Ponypoor]

Yay Mr Little Chicken. Sing the song of your people to the world loud and proud!!!

Marans are considered dual purpose. In their native country they are considered a delicacy. They are one of the top 3 breeds used for fine dining. Do not ask me how they taste, cannot do it, will not do it with my own birds. Now, if you are feeding your family they will not be ready as early as meat birds. Both hens and roosters get good sized, just not as quickly. Spare roo's the youngest I would send to freezer camp would be 5 to 6 months, closer to 6 if I did process my birds. You would have a really nice sized bird if you waited until they were a year. The boys finish maturing at around a year and a half. Now, as far as crosses go. I have several Marans cross hens and have kept some cross boys until they were 4 to 5 months old in trying to place them. With the exception of the Marans x silkie crosses they grew faster and the ones I kept are actually bigger then their parents. It is something to think about. You could either invest in a Marans roo who I personally have found to be well mannered to cross over some large fowl hens. You could also get a different roo and find a few Marans hens to achieve the same result.

Now another option, and this is coming from other people and what I have read as this would again never ever happen with me. If you and your family enjoy dark meat, in china silkies are a delicacy. If I am correct in my thinking the entire bird is considered dark meat which I personally hate. My friend up the road who I got my first silkie eggs from, she ordered 15 silkies from a hatchery. 9 of them were cockerels. She sometimes processes her own chickens so she ate 8 of them. She claimed while small they were delicious. She at the time was feeding a family of 6, 4 teenage boys. To make a nice meal and have leftovers the following day she cooked 2 at a time.

I processed those two half silkie Roos along with the other barn yard mix cockerel and gave the meat away. I also cannot eat my own birds. My uncle and aunt took the one half silkie which they both did not like, I think it had more to do with the fact it was my birds I had raised.

My aunt said it was because the meat was dark (not black but it was dark), she doesn’t like dark meat.

Funny how we get about our pets.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Definitely. My mom says she will not eat Morinth when it is her time to go, she'll "have to be dog food." She has black skin and a black tongue, so her meat will be grey I think...I think she's going to stick around past her laying years as "momma hen" if she successfully raises babies! I want a wise ol broody haha.
The more I think about it, the more I want to get a silkie/polish cockerel or just get some straight run bantams and keep a boy from that. Worry about the meat birds next year, this year just get those decorative birds and a couple new layers...

 

[SimpleJenn]

If this was double the size I'd buy it in a HEARTBEAT.
I laughed so hard when I saw it, showed it to hubby and he started laughing too. Chicken camper!

I bet my dad could build us one...if he ever got the free time to do so...

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Thanks for the information. When we raised meat birds as a kid I had a blind barred rock chicken named Peeps, and even though I begged to keep her she was sent to the processor with the rest. 4 months old my family did ours, barred rocks, California white (which was a meat bird in the 1990s) and the last year we had buff orpingtons as well. We gave a few orpingtons to my bestie for egg layers, her mom said they were excellent layers. So I'm used to eating pet type critters. Hubby isn't, it'll be hard for him.
But we need to be able to raise food, it's getting harder to justify the nasty lives and flavor of cornish cross from the store.
Would a wyandotte be a good choice? I'm absolutely looking for a marans roo because Shep is an amazing chicken and has me hooked on Marans. But non hybrids are still hard to find out here. I dunno, I always end up just getting something available, rather than my original plans haha.

Interesting on your past birds raised for meat.
My 3 heaviest hens are Squirrel, Karen and Raven, all Marans crosses.
Squirrel and Raven are roughly the same size with Karen maybe being half a pound shy of them. Squirrel is a Marans x Buff orp mix. Karen is Squirrels daughter crossed back to a Maran. Raven, now Raven would be considered a Mutt but she IS half Marans thanks to her dad. Her mom was a EE x Wyandotte mix. I raise my flock for eggs, but just about every family member I have or friends have either raised chickens for meat in the past or doing so now. Those 3 ladies are the subject to the long standing comment of "Chicken and dumplings walking" . They serve my purpose very well though. Big eggs, reliable layers without going to production levels and they take care of themselves by going broody and giving their body a break. Everyone but Squirrel that is, she is following in momma Butter's footsteps and lets others raise her offspring. I feel very justified in keeping these girls. They are pets first and foremost, but if worse come to worse, my family has a steady supply of eggs to eat. Now if I did not have any close neighbors I would have a pig, several actually, 2 a year. Over the last 10 years or so I have drifted away from eating chicken. If I do it has to be boneless, skinless chicken breast, anything else does not agree with me. Pork on the other hand, that is my go to. Home raised pork, it is right up there with my personal favorite venison. I can raise a pig and not get attached. Pigs stink, pig pens stink no matter how much space and how often you clean. Bacon and Pork Chop would be raised with love and care and have 1 bad day no problem. That I have done in the past several, several times.