Eating your own.....

[chadspad]

Does anyone manage to breed their own chickens for eating? We are hoping to get some in a few weeks with the intention of having the eggs but also the meat eventually. My hubby will do the necessary. Trouble is, I have all these intentions until I actually name them or feed them and thats it down the pan.
Any guidelines as to which are the best for eating, if theres any difference in the food I would feed them etc, would be gratefully received.

[red]

never name something you intend to eat.

red

[Boots]

Pretty much all our livestock is named, and lots of time is spent getting to know and encouraging their personalities...

Possibly even more so, if they are destined for the plate/freezer.

I no longer raise chickens, but am considering doing so again. I opted for ducks over chooks as they are less destructive when you are also growing vegies and fruit... But it's been very dry here, so I have been considering re-introducing chooks.

There has been quite a lot of research into meat quality and improved production is considered a result of positive handling. I name them all and have heaps of contact with all of them. My whole crew (ducks, goats, pigs) are all very tame and friendly. I guess that would be the real major difference between our meat production and commercial meat production. Commercial meat is generally numbered, carted roughly, fed intensively and confined to increase gain. None of my crew live like that.

I have a lot of ducks. At times about 60 head, so I don't know all their names and tend to refer to them collectively as 'the girls'. Except for a few stand outs like Ol' Mama who just always stands out cos she does her own thing. They are all friendly and well handled and the drakes are always named.

I still have a couple of roosters rocking about from the old flock. Their names are Lord Crow-a-lot and Prince Feather-duster.

The first time is difficult, no matter what type of animal it is, but once you get your head around home production and start valuing the benefits of hormone free quality meat and actually taste the difference, it's not so hard.

I say name them. All animals regardless of their purpose (transport, food, protection etc) all deserve positive relationships with humans. Anyone who withholds that is ripping the animal and themselves off, I figure.

I have only ever had Rhode Island Red which are a good dual purpose chooks - in that they are good egg producers and good meat chooks. If you accept a cross, just make sure it leans toward your purpose.

It's my preference to feed naturally - as in grow your own feed, but that's not always possible. Depends how many you get. A family of four can realistically feed/grow for a half dozen without needing to buy, I reckon, but again that's up to you.

Meat chooks benefit from vegie oil... Mix it through their feed to promote tender meat and longer lasting eggs. You decrease feed in the lead up to slaughter, not increase it as is often the tendency. You will probably be told to withold feed the night prior, but if your hubby is slaughtering it's no big deal, so don't worry if you forget... he can just remove it.

Think that was all your questions... All the best with it. Love your animals and you will love what they give you back. Withdraw from them and treat them commercially and you may as well just buy meat in plastic. Cos it will probably taste just the same.

All the best with it. Sing out when you get them, there are heaps of chook lovers here!

[Camile]

Hello ..

I only had to kill 2 so far .. and I also decided to name them .. but you could choose name that reflects their purpose ..

The 2 roosters we ate were called Yumm and Yummie ... and indeed they lived up to their name !

One of my hens is broody again .. and most of the outcome will end up in the pot .. wether it's male or female (apparently pullets that never laid are gorgeous) ..

I found it hard to kill at first .. them but if someone with experience shows you the first time .. it will make it easy .. and I'm know ready to kill and eat them all ! bring them on !

I have my eye on a young hen (less than 1 year old) that lays a tiny egg once a month .. but my girlfriend don't want to eat it because we gave her a name .. I'll find a way to "invite" her at the table ..

Good luck ! and as Boots said .. think about the end result !
Camile

[chadspad]

Thanks everyone for your detailed answers - its really helped. Im very excited about it - we have a run-down barn that was originally for chickens, complete with hen house inside - all made of limestone - its very posh and huge! Gonna spend the weekend tidying it up and seeing what needs doing to make it chook proof.
Think im gonna have a problem getting my parents to agree to eating them but maybe we will buy our own, then there will be no disagreement. I know too, that my chooks will be better looked after and loved, so will be interesting to see the difference in the chickens attitudes.

Will keep u posted!

[werain]

Hi, A friend of mine owns a smallholding and they have New Hampshire Reds and Light Sussex, very good dual purpose birds.
We have NHR's but not eaten any yet but we have had our LS cockerel (very nice too), over the wekend we'll be (hubby that is) dispatching 1 of the NHR cockerel's that we hatched 22weeks ago (now ready for the oven)then through the week dispatch the other one leaving us with the daddy for later use for breeding.

[DaisyDaisy]

My dream is to live somewhere that I can keep bees and chickens... and yes I'll probably name the chickens so I have some names up my sleeve ready for them:

• Chas(seur)
  Sue(preme) or Sue(fle) or Sue(p)
  Cassie(role)
  Maddie(ras)
  Rose(t)

Any suggestions are most welcome

[Shirley]

LOL

Sal(ad)

[werain]

I suppose that's one way of naming animals...... i like it though

[Stonehead]

Does anyone manage to breed their own chickens for eating? We are hoping to get some in a few weeks with the intention of having the eggs but also the meat eventually. My hubby will do the necessary. Trouble is, I have all these intentions until I actually name them or feed them and thats it down the pan.
Any guidelines as to which are the best for eating, if theres any difference in the food I would feed them etc, would be gratefully received.

We eat our surplus Scots Grey cockerels. They get an increased food ration for about a fortnight before being killed (oats and barley), then no food for the 24 hours before the big event.

I always kill the birds well away from the others and that they can't see any other dead birds when they get taken in to be killed. All our birds are well handled, so it's almost always straightforward.

One thing that does surprise some people who buy the plucked and dressed cockerels is that they don't have much breast meat - they are too used to commercial, breast heavy birds. The Scots Greys, a rare breed, have big legs and thighs. Also, their meat is darker and much more gamey in flavour.

[chadspad]

I hadnt thought about that with the breast meat - thats my favourite bit. Will just have to eat both sides instead

[Hepsibah]

I'm planning to get some Sasso chickens. They are bought in as day olds and grown slowly for the table. Four to five months instead of six weeks will give you a nice large bird with plenty of breast meat and lots of flavour and texture.
I have grown on surplus cockerels for the table and have found that they are great as part of a meal like pie or casserole, I've even made chicken meatballs with them that were very tasty.