4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[HENthusiastic]

Ive just started reading about raising birds for meat. I'd always thought people raised the males for meat and females for eggs. But Ive just been reading that males can start crowing from 12 weeks old, I assume you couldn't eat a bird at 12 weeks old, so does that mean that people keep males for meat and just deal with the crowing until they are mature enough to go for the table? Or are males culled asap with only females being raised for meat and eggs?

 

(Cant believe I'm even thinking about this........... I wouldn't have, only a few months ago).

[Redwing]

My chicks were specifically table chicks and even they weren't massive at 12 weeks and had already started crowing by that point so we put up with the crowing until they were big enough

 

'spare' boys from pure breed hatches will be a way behind the table birds, I have just hatched a Welsummer boy (I think) and we are looking at christmas dinner there I think

 

Any birds I hatch in the future the boys will be raised alongside the girls for the table, I don't want to face culling a healthy chick because it is a boy although I believe some must do. The benefit with boys is that they will produce meaty birds so really you'd want to raise them if you could

 

I hate to say it but they way I look at it is if you cull as soon as they start crowing you have to ask yourself how full a life they have led

 

In saying that my garden is 200ft long so I can put them at the far end

[Griffin]

My boys are 15 weeks old and haven't crowed yet. 2 Leghorns and a Light Sussex. Due to my horrid neighbours I can't keep anything that crows so their days are numbered.

 

I'm already resigned to the fact that the Leghorns aren't going to make a big meal but will either roast them together or quarter them for a casserole. The Sussex is quite a hefty lad already, much less mature than the Leghorns and I suspect will crow a long time after them. He's a big baby really.

 

I haven't really taken a measured approach to hatching so far. The first lot were a mixed bag of mongrels from Ebay resulting in 5 girls and just the 1 boy. Sadly he died at 12 weeks due to illness. They were really just to test the incubator, see how well it worked and to see if hatching was for me. I was still getting to grips with the incubator so tried again next time with a mixture of Light Sussex and pot luck, as it happens my pot luck were all Leghorn boys. Third hatch was largely frivolous pretty things but with some Dorkings thrown in for their suitability as a table bird. They're only two weeks old so a long way to go yet. I had a disaster with the incy and the only two live Dorkings I have now are both boys.

 

I've got another incubator to test and I'll be setting that on Friday. This time I'm doing it firmly with dinner in mind and have chosen my breeds accordingly (except for a few Silkies!). I'm collecting some Salmon Faverolle eggs on Thursday because I'll know from early on which are boys and which are girls and they are supposed to be a good table bird. I'm trying to locate some Speckled Sussex eggs too because of the good experience I'm having with my Sussex boy so far.

 

It'll be interesting to see how long I can keep my Sussex boy for and how Faverolles & Dorkings compare. I guess ultimately what I'm trying to do is find a large, slow maturing bird who gains a fair bit of weight before he crows.

 

And although I might end up killing a young bird I really do believe that my boys have lived a much better life than any of the supermarket birds. At the moment Stuart Little, Hercules and Forest Gump are free ranging all day with the rest of the gang having a rare old time of it. I stopped buying chicken last year from the supermarket & butchers and my family are so desperate to eat chicken again!

[Lesley]

We've raised both boys and girls for the table. Some were pure Cream Legbar boys with not a lot of meat on them but so tasty as they were slow grown and some were boys of the Ross/Cobb type and grew quite big before they started crowing at around 16 weeks old.

[HENthusiastic]

Thanks very much for your advice. I think sussies might be the way to go, as it sounds like they mature slowly. Also, because we really like Sussies and were wanting sussex hens anyway.

Mind you, after seeing somebody on TV 'prepare' a phesant, I'm now thinking I'm not sure I could actually do the deed after all. I'll have to just take one step at a time.

[laurmurf]

I think it's really brave of you to consider it though, HEN. I know you weren't keen on the idea of attending the "Sheffield" course at the time, but i think you've done much harder things recently and accepted the necessity of it as a compassionate chook-keeper. Maybe the next step wouldn't be as hard as you think?

 

I'd recommend Alison's course - it really did make it so much easier, and she is doing one in Preston in the autumn, isn't she?

 

I'm thinking Ixworths, myself. A rare breed now but a natural meat bird. They breed them at Temple Newsam (my new favourite shop). The other one to think about is the Dorking, like the Sussex and Ixworths a pretty but meaty bird and slow growing.

[Jules.]

My 3 light sussex boys are 8 weeks old now, & quite hefty in the leg & chest area They are certainly bigger than my bantams now, about half the size of my big girls.

 

There is no sign of any crowing yet.

 

There have been a few puffed chests at dawn though

 

I really hope they don't start to crow when I'm on my holidays

 

They will be eaten as soon as they start to crow, my neighbours won't forgive me if they do.

[Charlottechicken]

I will definitely consider the crowing time next year if I do another Easter hatch. My Marans boy has been crowing rather well since the age of 7 weeks and 6 days much to his and my surprise. Or I may hatch later in the year so the days are shorter (not sure if that affects the quality of chick though)

 

I'll be reading up on everyone's experiences of different breeds from now on, although the Heinz 57 chicks I have are all delightful