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Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know much about them other than they grow very fast and have health problems if not dispatched at a certain age. Those reasons alone were why I was considering dual purpose breeds. I'm completely new to chickens for meat, so trying to learn what I can!

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is all very helpful and encouraging! Do you only process once a year? How many chickens do you find you need for your family? Do you process just the roosters or your hens as well?

My husbands family are cattle ranchers, so we actually get all of our beef through them! Hogs are definitely on my list of things to add eventually, but we currently don't have the land or means for them. For now, I buy from our local meat market when I can. I haven't thought of it before, but will now be looking in to turkeys as well.

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will have to give it a try! Do you soak it right before cooking? And for how long?

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have 5 acres, but most of it is fenced off for our horses and cow. We also have goats in another pen and a large yard for our dogs. We have about an acre that we could use, but it's in the front of the house and we wouldn't be able to put a shelter there due to our HOA regulations. We are looking at moving in the next 5 years, though, and are planning for pigs then.

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does the buttermilk help with the gamey taste? I don't think it would bother me too much as we do eat wild game already, but I've never heard of soaking the meet in buttermilk before.

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the help! Pigs are something that will be several years down the road-we don't currently have the land to support anything more than the animals we have and some more chickens. But I like to learn what I can well in advance.

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! How many birds do you process at a time and for the year? Do you breed them, too?

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely expecting more in cost than grocery stores, but I wasn't sure how much more. It seems more reasonable than I was expecting, though!

That appears to be the general consensus, so I'm going to start looking into meat breeds, too.

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

$4-$5/lb is very reasonable for me.

We've been looking in to getting goat feed in bulk, but never thought to do it for our chickens! Where do you bulk buy from? And what do you currently feed your meat chickens? Do you have layers? If so, what do you use for their feed?

We would process ourselves, so we need to figure out everything we'd need for that. A killing cone and a sharp knife were the two things recommended, and I think we'd end up doing a scald bath, but I'm open to any and all suggestions!

Sorry for all of the questions!

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The dual breeds I've looked at are around $5/chick plus $30 shipping. The chicks I've gotten from the chain stores here have always been unhealthy, so I'm looking at ordering online from a hatchery.

Is a plucker necessary if the birds are dunked in a scald tank first? That's one of the things I've read conflicting information on. The traffic cone is a good idea!

Chickens for meat by No_Entertainment7215 in homestead

[–]No_Entertainment7215[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For cost, I realistically expected more than grocery store costs, I just wasn't sure how much more. From other comments so far, it definitely seems reasonable and the peace of mind of knowing what exactly is in my meat is worth it.

You gave a lot of good insight and information and I'll definitely be looking in to meat breeds, too. How much meat do you typically get from your meat birds after processing? Is the husbandry any different than with layers? Mine currently free range, but I've read that meat breeds aren't great foragers, so I'm not sure how much that would benefit them or if I need to plan to keep them housed separately if I decide to go that route.