[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

Weighed the birds this evening will post results tomorrow on spreadsheet see how they have got on

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

spreadsheet attactched

results i have found this week

all birds have gained over 100g this week the lowest been 0.122g gained, highest been 0.192g with an average of 0.167g weight gain which i feel is pretty good and this reflects in the feed been used

bird 1102 LS that lost 0.018g last week gained 0.122 this week so happy that she has put weight on

birds 1101 and 1105 have bee the best weight gains but as i havent sexed them yet i will put these down to been cockerels

i think later down the line i will create another 2 smaller sexed charts and seperate the male and females to distinguish the best male and females from the group for breeding

hope you enjoy the read

[farmers wife]

Ok Im really interested now.  5 months growing  means its entering Christmas/Jan.  I'm not sure if I've missed the boat then.  We rear hens for laying and they are outside until Oc/Nov then they have to be put in the barn as its just too wet plus poor daylight hours.  As we aim for organic pasture fed should I be looking at rearing hens March time to get the best out of the seasons, keeping down on all inputs and using the daylight and nature to benefit these birds.  Assuming we eat a whole bird twice a month then 24 birds in the freezer.


Foxes are an issue and hubby made a cage that can be trollied around but that wouldnt be big enough for 25 birds.  Do they come in at night like layers?



We live on a medium farm thats in organic conversion and trying to be more self sufficient.  Whats it like processing chickens - we did ducks and the kids loved the plucking, we did hang them and I watched youtube on gutting etc. I assume you kill, gut and process on same day?


Whats your feed back on this? 

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

hi
i have not got to that stage yet but i would think they are easier than ducks
i have a couple of surplus cocks (not utility to practice on before that time comes)
my chickens take themselves in once they know where there housing is
this may take a couple of days of putting them in on a night

[Dave C]

spreadsheet attactched

results i have found this week

all birds have gained over 100g this week the lowest been 0.122g gained, highest been 0.192g with an average of 0.167g weight gain which i feel is pretty good and this reflects in the feed been used

bird 1102 LS that lost 0.018g last week gained 0.122 this week so happy that she has put weight on

birds 1101 and 1105 have bee the best weight gains but as i havent sexed them yet i will put these down to been cockerels

i think later down the line i will create another 2 smaller sexed charts and seperate the male and females to distinguish the best male and females from the group for breeding

hope you enjoy the read

They seem good weights Princess 
What do they feel like ? Are they still building frame or do they feel meaty?

[Dave C]

All my chicken houses have a secure run attached to them so they can come out early morning & stretch there legs (as there up before me) 
This means if I need to for any reason I can lock them away & they still get outside, also when they are new to the house I keep them in for about a week so they get used to roosting there, then have no problems after that they always seem to get themselves to bed.

I would say chickens would process a bit easier than ducks, some breeds easier than others, White & buff tend to dress cleaner than dark birds.

[Dave C]

I did some Ixworth for Christmas back in 2013, I processed them in December and they were 2.7kg after 30 weeks but were so disappointing as they were all frame, tasted great but not as much meat as I hoped.
I put this down to a lack of daylight hours, so if you can rear them in a barn with lights you should still get good weights.
If your not looking to keep any for breeding You could also try hybrids like mine which finish in about 14 weeks they will also be easier to fatten.
I might try a batch out of my Sasso Gallic hybrids when they start laying to see if they breed true, mine won't be under lights to finish them so will see if they fatten any easier than traditional breeds.

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

i am starting to feel a bit of meat on them, some are still a bit FRAMY,
i forgot to add that last week when they where weighed i moved them off the grass so i reckon they are filling up on growers as opposed than grass, this could be where the extra weight has come from
my next test would be to do the same rear on grass until 7 weeks that would give a fair reading

this gets addictive ha

DAVE
u ever tried a sassO x LS?
 

[Dave C]

I think with my LS they got to about 16 weeks building frame then started to meat up and were very tasty  and your right it's very addictive ha.

I've never crossed any hybrid meat bird before so am quite excited about it 
They say they don't breed true as they are the end result but I'm sure I'll get something meaty & by breeding 2 types of hybrids together I'm really hopeful of getting some large birds, also adding in IG will improve there strength, statute and movement, that's the idea anyway 

I've reared the Sasso Gallic & Sasso Farm Rangers before and both are excellent, last year I kept some back for breeding this year but while I was working away my lad forgot to lock them away and we lost them to a fox.
I'm not making that mistake again, if I'm away there not being let out of their run.

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

are there any utility shows, i thought i saw an advert last year for one but not sure where

it would be good to show off some heritage breeds

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

oh and i have just hatched some muscovies
as i am aware they are not utility strain or at least 2 of them aint but the meat is very nice a bit like steak
so i am going to use the same chart to plot there growth at the same stages
these should reach a decent weight by around 16 weeks
in time for christmas
 

[Dave C]

are there any utility shows, i thought i saw an advert last year for one but not sure where

it would be good to show off some heritage breeds

I have 3 Country Shows near me that have Poultry show tents,
That's Stanhope, Egglestone and Wolsingham show (which is the oldest Country show in the country).
There is also the Great Yorkshire which is worth a look, if you don't mind the traffic jams 

The poultry club have a list of venues on there website.

[Dave C]

oh and i have just hatched some muscovies
as i am aware they are not utility strain or at least 2 of them aint but the meat is very nice a bit like steak
so i am going to use the same chart to plot there growth at the same stages
these should reach a decent weight by around 16 weeks
in time for christmas

Good idea using the same chart.

I don't keep any ducks at home but rear 50 mallard on my shoot, also Duck flight a lot of wild birds so have plenty of meat come September.

I have heard the Muscovies carry quite a bit of meat on them and isn't as fatty 
What kind of time scales are they table ready ?

[shari]

Hi Dave

I also have slow growing Sasso chicks. They are 6 weeks old now and I have noticed in the last week that some of them are getting bloated crops.

Is that something that you are experiencing as well?

Thanks
Shari

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

I have some birds entered I. Yorkshire show
I was thinking something different with utilities I.e staying away from show standard if you get what I mean

The Muscovy males are considerably bigger which you probably already know
And will reach a 2-3kg at 16 weeks
50% less fat than an Aylesbury duck at same age