tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post7168479149595212849..comments2023-09-29T18:37:14.377+10:00Comments on Eight Acres: Raising chickens for meatUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-79543927747150165952016-08-17T23:25:23.512+10:002016-08-17T23:25:23.512+10:00We do both. Because we already have the infrastru...We do both. Because we already have the infrastructure for our egg layers, adding in some meat birds was easy. We order 15-20 each spring and raise them along with the rest of the flock. treat them like chickens (free range, coop roosting at night, keep with heritage birds, etc) and they act like chickens. While the tend to waddle a little more towards then end we have lost very few and it fills the freezer quickly.Perry - StoneHillRidgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07253854527354185469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-77094262752878976362014-10-31T16:09:03.134+10:002014-10-31T16:09:03.134+10:00We processed ours a couple of months ago - this wa...We processed ours a couple of months ago - this was our first attempt and went pretty well. The first bird took us about 40 minutes to pluck and inviscerate, but we had it down to about 15 minutes by the 5th bird. We made up a killing cone, and that worked really well. Our birds were a bit older, all a bit over 12 months, and I found that they are a bit tough, so I need to use a slow cooker or pressure cooker. We were given 24 light sussex eggs recently, which I used the incubator to hatch, and we ended up with 18 out of the hatch, which has been our best success so far. We are planning on processing the roosters at about 6 months, so I will be interested to see how that goes. A couple of years ago I could never have imagined being able to process our own birds, but we have definitely become tougher since being on the farm!Debra Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12928630615929764333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-4528374453547558502014-10-31T10:15:25.331+10:002014-10-31T10:15:25.331+10:00I love that you are so concerned about animal welf...I love that you are so concerned about animal welfare! We just keep layers, and probably always will do only that, because I don't either I or my husband could handle the butchering. But what you are doing is the right thing. I hate the fact that meat birds are bred to grow so quickly and so large that their legs and heart can't even support their bodies. I'm pinning this.Janet Pesaturohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03827302925591789818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-985169405941807542014-10-28T21:31:55.052+10:002014-10-28T21:31:55.052+10:00Having done both the meat is the tastiest from her...Having done both the meat is the tastiest from heritage breeds but meat chickens are still way tastier than supermarket chickens. The meat chickens are kind of creepy but when allowed access to the outdoors and grass they are less creepy than the ones in CAFO's.Fiona from Arbordale Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05196630415124998431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-16578615935701276602014-10-27T16:10:48.640+10:002014-10-27T16:10:48.640+10:00Chickens for the table is something we have on the...Chickens for the table is something we have on the list for next year, I will be looking for all round birds, I had thought about buying in fertilised eggs and incubating them, also I will compare buying in chicks and raising them havent made any desicions about breeds yet.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05213759909336433460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-286313604499207562014-10-27T14:52:24.967+10:002014-10-27T14:52:24.967+10:00Yes, the meat chickens thing makes me feel uncomfo...Yes, the meat chickens thing makes me feel uncomfortable too, and I think about it every time I buy free range chicken from the shops. I much prefer to keep a flock of cross bred animals, eat the roosters that we don't need and the hens as they get old :)Traceyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10798861028989004417noreply@blogger.com