Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[TAJ]

Here they are the new 3 week old (meat) birds. One had a bit of a cold in the first couple of hours yesterday, then when OH went to do a last check on them last night the heat lamp had stopped working - the bulb is supposed to last 5000 hrs and went after 5! So the central heating was put on 24hrs and they are now in the house, so plenty warm enough now.

 

 

 

See page 2 on this post they are now 5½ weeks and in a Rablu - other photos added.

 

Tracy

Edited November 16, 2008 by Guest

[mostin]

Very cute, but mustn't get attached if they are for dinner

[TAJ]

OH id doing the deed at the end - he is therefore having nothing to do with them now - they are all mine to look after.

 

It is a bit like my sister's cows - she only names the ones she keeps for breeding - those going to market remain unnamed.

 

Tracy

[mostin]

Cows how lovely, do they have personalities like chickens do? How old will your chickens get before they are despached? I've heard that meat birds grow very fast.

[Egluntyne]

Don't give them names.

 

They are very cute.

[ruth1]

They are a lovely colour what breed are they?

[TAJ]

They are apparently County Golds (from Cotswold Chickens) and should all end up white, but with a golden skin. One is going white, but has a odd black feather on one wing - the others new feathers seem to be going more brown, so it will be interesting to see how they end up.

 

Tracy

[ruth1]

Be interesting to see how they develop as they grow, as meat birds grow quicker don,t they?

[bronze]

Oh name them.....

 

'this sunday'

 

next sunday

 

and so on

[eggypeggy]

That's really interesting. I've been interested in growing some birds for the table, so I just took at look at their website and It was really useful.

 

I had no idea what the costs would be like.. and actually I was pleasantly suprised. It's really affordable. Have you worked out how much your chickens will cost each by the time they are despatched (for want of a better word) or are you not doing it for cost. It would be really interesting to hear how you get on.

 

Good luck, I hope it all goes well. It's got to be better for those chickens, being grown in your garden than in a mass poultry farm.

[Dinkychick]

pretty little babies...i bet you cant eat then hehe

 

Why do table birds grow quicker and why is their water pink?

[TAJ]

The water's pink because it has a touch of Battles poultry drink in it for extra vitamins & minerals.

 

Tracy

[beach chick]

can I just ask, when the Day arrives, will you despatch them all at once, or do one a week or what? I cant quite get my head round the logistics of that.

and then will you just start another batch off? presumably they are cheaper (or cheeper!) per bird to buy them that small.

I'm interested in the idea, but lots to think about. will check out the Cotswold Chickens site for info, tho no use to me in terms of supply etc as we are absolutely miles away.

[blackgold]

so how long will you rear them for? will they be allowed free range or will they be caged so as not to get too muscley

[TAJ]

They could be ready in about 72 days - I think they will take longer than that given the time of year and longer nights. Once they are feathered up the will get time out in a run in the garden, but given it is winter I will move them inside at night so they do not too cold.

 

I cannot imagine they will be 'done' at once - probably the biggest and cockerals first (before they find their voice I think).

 

Tracy

[beach chick]

can understand biggest/cockerels first. how do you know when they are 'ready', is it just based on that, or is there a weight you are looking for them to achieve? and will it then be a kind of week by week process, or "there's 3 ready to go now" kind of thing?

presumably there is a balance between the amount of freedom they can have and the tenderness of the meat? - clearly you are doing it the right way, so I'm just really curious.

sorry for so many questions, as I say it is something I can see us doing in the future, but it's a big thought!

[TAJ]

There is a thread under self-sufficiency discussing chickens for the table - some might think too much under the chickens section unpleasant.

 

This is our first time with meat birds, there are a number of people on the other thread with more exoerience and advice. From what I can understand letting them free range and grow slowly is the best way - you do not ned to restrict them to improve them for the table. So they will get plenty of time running around the garden and on grass. As to weight you take about a third off the weight to get the final table weight, so it is just personal preference on size.

 

They are still cute at the moment and certainly have lots of room compared to commercial reared birds.

 

Tracy

[Lesley]

As this has changed into a chat about despatching, I'll move it to Self Sufficiency to run alongside the other thread.

 

There seems to be a lot of interest in table birds

[Lesley]

We keep ours in a large run and don't confine them. The legs can be a bit tough if they are too old - even with the specially bred for table birds, but we still roast them.

 

We try to do most of them when they reach the weight we want - about 6lbs live = 4 lbs dressed - but we only manage a few and then the plucking takes it's toll and we leave them for a while.....and then they just keep growing..... and the job of plucking becomes even more difficult

 

We will not do 20 at one time again - we will just try to do a few.

[TAJ]

Well they are now 5½ weeks old and have moved into my newly aquired Red Rablu (thanks to a forum member). They have been very happy in their new home - I have put a light in for them from dusk until I go to bed, just until the get use to the longer dark nights.

 

They were supposed to all be white (County Golds), but as you can see only one is white, the other 3 are more light brown. Jude from Cotswold Chickens (where they came from) thinks these three are more likely Master Gris

 

 

 

Tracy