tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post6373446355312971966..comments2023-12-15T02:04:08.213-08:00Comments on meat: Managing a breeding chicken flock & sexing chicksBruce Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-5318974722178436942010-12-12T12:13:27.578-08:002010-12-12T12:13:27.578-08:00You have a nice informative website. Please read m...You have a nice informative website. Please read mine. http://roostershamblin.wordpress.com/Dennis Daryl Shamblinhttp://roostershamblin.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-89983000646838795062010-11-29T09:59:33.431-08:002010-11-29T09:59:33.431-08:00see if you get something out of itsee if you get something out of itAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-31564147958122648542009-06-03T08:46:16.879-07:002009-06-03T08:46:16.879-07:00my male calki campbell duck thinks hes a rooster a...my male calki campbell duck thinks hes a rooster and has been tring to mate with my chickens. what should i do?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-25535016722504398632009-04-26T20:47:00.000-07:002009-04-26T20:47:00.000-07:00I think you can get the best results by weighing t...I think you can get the best results by weighing the live bird and killing at a given weight, not an age. This allows for things like weather, or poor forage or other conditions. If you kill on a calendar basis you'll have smaller birds sometimes, larger other times. If you kill when the bird is ready you get a more consistent result. <br /><br />For fryers, I like a 4-5lb live weight bird. This results in a smaller carcass that will fry completely without overcooking the outside. for roasting or smoking, i prefer a 6-8lb live weight bird. <br /><br />If you are doing a special dish that calls for an "old" rooster, like coq au vin, you want a bird that is a year or more old, and weighs in at 8-10lbs. <br /><br />Most of the time my birds get to the "eating weight" of between 4 and 6lbs in about 6 months. At 4 months they're close to full sized by not very meaty.Bruce Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-42429765544315207782009-04-26T19:40:00.000-07:002009-04-26T19:40:00.000-07:00Hello,
I just started some Black Australorps and...Hello, <br /><br />I just started some Black Australorps and they are the sweetest chicks ever. I wanted to know what age is good to slaughter some of the roosters. I want them to be pretty big but not left to long. Want fryers not soup pot chickens. Right now at 4 weeks they are only about 1 lb.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-89197491978627301412009-03-25T12:50:00.000-07:002009-03-25T12:50:00.000-07:00For me, a broody hen is a defect. The hen math go...For me, a broody hen is a defect. The hen math goes like this; if she takes a 10 days to lay 10 eggs, then starts sitting on them. She then sits on them for 20 days or so until they hatch; some won't, so figure you get 8 chicks out of it, and she won't go back to laying for a month or two after that at a minimum while she raises her chicks or if you take the chicks away, while she comes back into laying form. <BR/><BR/>A non-broody hen in that same timeframe will produce another 20 eggs, and then another 50 eggs. If they hatch at the same ratio, I get 56 chicks vs 8 -- and when you're selling chicks, that's a big difference. <BR/><BR/>I like the black australorp, too. Mostly I raise Australorp roosters for the reasons I mention.Bruce Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-46804750375959679472009-03-25T09:15:00.000-07:002009-03-25T09:15:00.000-07:00You know, I find it funny (odd) that so many peopl...You know, I find it funny (odd) that so many people seem to be taken with the Barred Rock. I got a bunch two years ago, along with Red Rocks, and I would happily get rid of all of them! They seem to be really varied in size, I've had problems such as impacted crops, and they aren't photogenic (they don't show up well!). Not that the photogenic bit is relative to anything other than the blogging aspect. But they haven't reproduced themselves like my other hens have (I've only had one Barred Rock gal go broody and she only hatched/raise ONE chick). Whereas my other mixed breeders are very good at being mothers. <BR/><BR/>When in NZ, I had a bunch of the black Australorps and loved them. Now, most of my chickens are mixed breeds (though I am experimenting with the Isa Browns as egg layers this year--they are just coming on 8 months old now). I have a bunch with feathered feet and they are bigger and heavier--thus good cross purpose chickens--than all the other breeds I've tried raising. Interestingly, the stroppiest mother I ever had was one of the Red Rock hens. She was like a Hawk Harrier flying at me when I got near her chicks. It was hilarious and somewhat unnerving (which only added to the hilarity!). <BR/><BR/>cheers,<BR/><BR/>HDRAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com