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Barnyard Buddies:  meat chicken question  |
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chick-chick
True Blue Farmgirl
322 Posts
Liz
New Britain
CT
USA
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 Posted - Jun 25 2012 : 6:00:37 PM
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I have a question about raising meat chickens, or rather getting ready to butcher them
I was told that switching them to rabbit feed the week before will help the meat taste less gamie and more like they were grass feed. Any comments?
Thanks
Liz
Wanna be farm girl in my heart, semi- city girl in life |
Edited by - chick-chick on Jun 25 2012 6:01:10 PM |
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SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl
1667 Posts
Sheila
Vermont
USA
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3739 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
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Posted - Jun 25 2012 : 8:03:06 PM
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well i suppose it could be true. i think its a lot of green. not sure how much alfalfa? when my jerseys get too much alfalfa or new grass pasture it changes their milk. it becomes cowey. we dont like cowey. we also dont like strong chicken. we grow fryers also. ours are fed milk eggs produce and distiller waste. they are sweet. so it could change the flavor i think. thought is will it change for the better?
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1195 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
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Posted - Jun 26 2012 : 07:41:04 AM
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Ok What I think is going on here is they are switching to an all grass feed instead of the chicken feed which has other things in it..vits/minerals/prteins ect...problem with this is broiler chickens have no gamy taste even if feed their normal feed up to the time they are butchered...but an all grass feed may make the meat a bit more tender but if its a Rooster you are butchering...hens you don't have to worry about this.....the broiler Roo we did once was fine & tender with its normal feed...so its up to you how you want to go with this but for me it would be a waste of Money.....I do know some will actually add more things to the chickens diet a few weeks before the butchering such as yogurts, oats, flaxseed ect to give more to the chicken so its super healthy & has a bit more added weight....Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
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chick-chick
True Blue Farmgirl
322 Posts
Liz
New Britain
CT
USA
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Posted - Jun 27 2012 : 04:36:56 AM
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I'm so confused. We kinda jumped into this unprepared, with another couple, who are equally unprepared, not one of our best choices.
So maybe it is best to go with the regular feed or finisher feed and not the rabbit food?
Wanna be farm girl in my heart, semi- city girl in life |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1195 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
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Posted - Jun 27 2012 : 12:52:32 PM
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Liz its normal to be confused when you first get an new animal that you are using for food...so don't worry about that..all you are trying to do is the best you think for the animal...as for the chickens just keep doing what you are doing...after yo have butchered them if you like the taste then you know what to do in the future...if you prefer a bit more meat on them then add the oats, flaxseed, yogurt, milk & extra proteins the next time around...I promise you what you are doing now is good & you will enjoy the meat you get from them...Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
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SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl
1667 Posts
Sheila
Vermont
USA
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homsteddinmom
True Blue Farmgirl
432 Posts
Brandee
bullard
tx
USA
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Posted - Jun 27 2012 : 5:26:46 PM
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we started ours on chick starter(non medicated) then added some catfish food to the mix when they got older. Ours taste great!
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm!
http://homesteddinmomsworld.blogspot.com |
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chick-chick
True Blue Farmgirl
322 Posts
Liz
New Britain
CT
USA
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Posted - Jun 27 2012 : 7:14:17 PM
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Thank you ladies for your advice and words of wisdom. I'm feeling a little better about the whole thing, I guess we will find out on Saturday, hopefully we will be having chicken for dinner.
Wanna be farm girl in my heart, semi- city girl in life |
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chick-chick
True Blue Farmgirl
322 Posts
Liz
New Britain
CT
USA
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Posted - Jun 28 2012 : 9:13:43 PM
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 Well unfortunatly I have my answer regarding giving rabbit pellets to our meat birds. My DH went to feed them and found 23 out of 38 dead, most of them around the feeder and the remaining 15 don't look to well. It really broke his heart. we were going to butcher them on Saturday, now it looks like we won't have any to do. My gut and his told us that that was not the right thing to do but my nephew's wife said they would be fine and it would help the meat (we were splitting the birds with them) Next time (if ther is a next time) I will educate myself better, not jump into it and will not do it with anybody but my husband. and I will trust my gut.
Wanna be farm girl in my heart, semi- city girl in life |
Edited by - chick-chick on Jun 28 2012 9:15:02 PM |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1195 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
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Posted - Jun 29 2012 : 1:05:46 PM
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oh dear hen I am so sorry about this but I think since you were going to butcher them you need to go ahead & do a few autopsies to see what happened...do it very carefully so not to cut anything inside but see if there was a blockage in the crop, stomach, gizzard or intestines...since rabbit feed is purely grass/hay it shouldn't of killed them but it could have not broke down as quickly as the feed does & caused a blockage or gizzard bound inside......even with the large amounts of water they take in it may have just not been enough for them...but since you just started this I can't see it killing them this fast so check the hearts...they may have had heart attacks which is a know fact as is broken leg bones in some heavy meat birds if they get too much weight on them...thing to look for with the heart...is is soft & mushy, way over sized & pinks instead of firm & deep red...Check veins & valves around it are they in good shape & not twisted, ballooning or broken open.
To autopsy is different that preparing a bird to eat you want to turn it over on its back & cut a small cut just under the the breast area & slowing cut sown wards towards the vent...being careful not to cut any intestines ect...so not cut thur the vent though...gently spread the area open & slowly start pulling out what you can & look at it for clues...once you find the gizzard, cut that open to see it its a nest of rabbit feed...is alot of it dry, not broken or ground up? look at the small & large intestines...is there pockets of airs ballooning out, can you feel full pellets of feed in there? Reach in the bird & carefully pull out the heart & liver...is the liver orange or dull pink instead of deep red? ...If you find heart or liver problems then you got bad chicks that had a possible genetic defect that hit them as they grow older...thats why you need to autopsy more than one while you do this to see if its a genetic ailment instead of an outside problem like the feed....please if you do this tell us what you found its always so helpful to others who may have this problem in the future...thank you for the update...Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
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chick-chick
True Blue Farmgirl
322 Posts
Liz
New Britain
CT
USA
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Posted - Jun 29 2012 : 7:10:47 PM
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Michele, thanks for the advice. We lost one more today and My dh is going to do the remaining birds tommorrow, he did notice that there wasn't as much poop as usual the last couple of days. I won't be there but I did tell him to do the autopsy and what to look for, I hope he listens to me (and you) I'll keep you posted.
Wanna be farm girl in my heart, semi- city girl in life |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1159 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
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Posted - Jul 01 2012 : 11:26:04 AM
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rabbit pellets will swell to 4 times their size when the chickens drink, so most likely they blocked completly up...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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morristribemom
Farmgirl at Heart
6 Posts
Kelly
Waynesville
Ohio
USA
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Posted - Jul 02 2012 : 04:30:30 AM
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Hey Chick-chick,
I'm so sorry for you, what an experience. :(
Just a word for next time, because there really should be a next time, limit the advice you're willing to listen to. This lifestyle brings more opinions than I ever thought possible, it can be enough to drive you crazy!
I just finished our first batch of meat birds and they turned out fine. Not huge, but good enough. I learned a lot, and I plan to give them more turkey starter, as well as flock starter, next time to make them a little bigger. They really don't need much, just fresh air, clean water, and food.
Have a good cry in the shower and get back up on the saddle! :)
Hugs,
Kelly
Kelly Morris
www.themorristribe.com |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
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Posted - Jul 05 2012 : 04:02:40 AM
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This entire poultry thing has beena learning process for me too.
Here's what I have found to be good sources
1. going online and becoming a member of the poultry youth association. Anyone of any age can join. It's a chat forum like this where you can ask questions and just chat about poultry. A moderator will answer your questions. 2. get a subscription to either Backyard Poultry or some other poultry related magazine. They are chalked FULL of great articles and tips 3. Stop believing everything people tell you and do google searches yourself to cross reference the information
So sorry :( |
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chick-chick
True Blue Farmgirl
322 Posts
Liz
New Britain
CT
USA
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Posted - Jul 06 2012 : 06:37:14 AM
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Thank you all for the advice, sympathy and hugs.
We butchered the remaining 14 birds on saturday,but I couldn't get my dh to do the autopsy he just wanted to get it done.
I was really afraid we were going to have problems with the rabbit pellets, now we know. It was a learning experience (unfortunatly an expensive one) we started with 50 birds and lost a few here and there, we never expected a big loss all at once.
Do you ladies think that they may have just "timed out" they were almost 12 weeks old and my nephew said that they should have been done at 8 weeks, but they were still really small at 8 weeks.
Well next time we will do it ourslves and research it better and follow our oun instincs, that waywe have nobody to blame but our selves if there is a problem. or ,aybe I'll just stick with my hens and be happy with just eggs for now.
Thanks again
Liz
Wanna be farm girl in my heart, semi- city girl in life |
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Barnyard Buddies: meat chicken question |
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meat chicken question
