MEAT BIRDS THREAD ~Plans, pics, pens, pluckers, processing! GRAPHIC!

[Beekissed]

I think both the cornishX and Freedom Ranges I have raised cost about 1 per pound. VS buying free range meat at the grocery at almost 5 bucks a pound it's a steal.

Bee you had me worried there for a minute with your head blend cookies, at least until you said it was for the dog.

I do remember the thread with your broody hen raising those little meat balls. She did a great job.

I look forward to following along.

g

G, did ya think I was gonna become a head hunter? Well, I was reading on BYC that someone's dogs really loved the heads and I hadn't really tried them much on my dogs but, if you think about it, all that brain matter and beak would be good protein. Why waste it?

This batch of meaties will be another one of my experiments in several ways and saving the heads, blood and organs for dried dog biscuits or food is one of those experiments. If you think about it, one could throw a few beef or chicken bullion cubes in there for more flavor and bake the mix in any shape they wanted, even in sheets. Then one could just break it up in big or small pieces, depending on the animal that one was feeding.

Just another way to preserve food without canning or freezing...just food for the pups or even the cats instead of for the humans.

 

[Buster]

I'm in. I've been advised by a local meatie grower to wait until April 1. We are starting with 150 to 180 in three broiler pens. Already have a plucker, but we plan to skin.

 

[Beekissed]

That's a lot of skinnin', Buster! You'll have to post a pictorial on the skinning....seems like some folks on BYC just can't seem to figure that one out. Maybe even a video?

 

[Buster]

We might try plucking a few first and see how it goes. I understand CX pluck easier. This will be a first for us growing these birds, but we don't like how our heritage birds turned out with the plucker. Skinning is just so fast and easy. I'll be happy to post pics.

The best skinning vid I have seen is the one by Custer Family Farm on YouTube. That's how we learned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgo6Qlaff_4

 

[Beekissed]

That's how we do it too. On older birds I've found you can't pull it off the back as easily and it needs a little knife encouragement but the young CX skin off easily.

 

[BarredBuff]

I'm going to enter in here.....I skin my meat chickens. We have done two batches of Cornish X, and I wouldn't fond of them. But we are going to try Delawares for meat chickens in the fall.

 

[Beekissed]

Buster and BB, are all of you're meaties are intended for quartering up and packaging in parts? Or do you skin them and roast any of them without their skins?

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Today, I finished my last 2 CX's. We did 22 this winter. I would like to order some for spring, but I can't justify the price of getting the birds from a hatchery. Just that would cost almost half of what a fryer costs in a store (unless ya'll can put me in touch with another hatchery). If I could put the right combo of breeds together to create my own CXs, I would, to keep myself up in meat, but everyone says its impossible. Can't remember if its supposed to be the male is a white cornish with females being white rocks or vice-versa. Thought of doing it and I know lots of talk on BYC about it at one time, but everyone swears it ain't gonna happen. I will wait until October and get my niece to order me some 4H broilers. That way I can get them 50cents a piece. I lucked out this year. My BIL's boss ordered 25 for his kids and after 3 weeks they started getting too big for their cage, so BIL said we raise chickens.....he said we can have the little ones, so DH went choose the smallest 12, which were still nice sized......and how can I complain, when they were given and fed 3 weeks. Then I tended them until after the contest and he gave the rest. (didn't want to kill them. He only got them for his kids). I didn't do the math, but I probably spent less than any of ya'll on my chicken meat this year.

Regardless, I did put in my first eggs to incubate today. I need to improve my araucana flock a bit. There are a few traits that I need to attempt to breed out. So I get to eat the culls.
Also, after killing those last 2 CXs today, I put all my RIR hens with a roo for a pure blood project and left the BRs, Brahamas, and White Rocks with a RIR roo for a sex-link project, so I can sell pullets, which will probably go fast and eat roos, which might remain.
Guess thats my meat from the spring. Will be discouraging after those CXs though.

Oh..I wanted to make a plucker too. Even got the fingers and pipe to start working on it. Was looking for a carriage bolt. Well, I think DH saw I was serious and he pushed harder than ever for a plucker, so I have one. Used it on the CXs and it was awesome. DH even helped me (I think it was out of curiousity, because he never helped me with anything except killing...a long time ago when we used to wring necks). I can decide to kill 5 or 6 birds and start to finish, I can have them all killed, scalded, plucked and gutted in 2 hours.....maybe less. (thats me...by myself...Can do lots more if we working as a team). Well you know I'm gonna want to get my money's worth. The only way I can is to raise lots of birds to slaughter and eat. I gotta get that 350 back somehow.

 

[Beekissed]

Which one did you get? Can you post a pic? I always worry that the drum style pluckers beat around the chicken too much...what is your take on that?

The shipping cost is why I hope to find my CX at TSC instead of ordering through the mail. I just can't see my way through to paying that much shipping....but, in the long run, even with the shipping cost added on I am still getting off cheaper than buying an equivalent meat elsewhere.

 

[rebecca100]

I'm thinking of maybe trying some this year if I can get the feed store to order some. I'm back and forth on it though because money really is tight and I don't have much room for a tractor to graze them in. I only currently have 2 laying hens that I plan to expand to five this spring and maybe a roo. So I'm not really spending anything on feed right now. What do you plan on feeding your meaties? I think you already answered that but I couldn't find it.

Edited to add that I can't free range because I live near a busy highway and my neighbor has a major issue with chickens in her yard! Most I could do would be to let them out for a couple of hours while I am with them.