fairfarmhand Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 2 hours ago, Thatboyofmine said: Do y’all sell meat? Have a website? Not really. Don’t want it to turn into a business. 😁 I do sell eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 23 minutes ago, busymama7 said: How come the hatched male chicks can't be raised for meat? I mean I suppose it's different factories etc but I don't see why they couldn't either work together or add another division. It’s cause egg laying chickens are shaped differently from meaty ones. There’s hardly any meat on an egg layer breed, even for the roos. And it’s more cost efficient to raise broiler breeds. As higher feed efficiency. The egg layers would take 4 times as long to grow out and still wouldn’t be as far as a meat bird. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Just now, fairfarmhand said: It’s cause egg laying chickens are shaped differently from meaty ones. There’s hardly any meat on an egg layer breed, even for the roos. And it’s more cost efficient to raise broiler breeds. As higher feed efficiency. The egg layers would take 4 times as long to grow out and still wouldn’t be as far as a meat bird. Ok that makes sense. Is there a way to artificially fertilize the hens? I mean the science of figuring out the sex of the chicken in the egg sounds cool but not practical yet so I'm just wondering about other possibilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonflower Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Plus, let's be honest, life as a broiler chicken in a factory farm isn't sunshine and roses. In fact, zero sunshine and zero roses. I don't know that the male chicks being ground into pulp at birth are necessarily getting the worse end of the deal, which says rather a lot about factory farming. fairfarmhand, do you hatch your own layers? I am trying hard to find an egg producer locally who hatches her own layers (so I don't second-hand support pullet factories). I have yet to figure out a polite enough way to word the question, too, if you have any suggestions. I just want some eggs! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 2 minutes ago, busymama7 said: Ok that makes sense. Is there a way to artificially fertilize the hens? I mean the science of figuring out the sex of the chicken in the egg sounds cool but not practical yet so I'm just wondering about other possibilities. I think so. I believe I read that they have to artificially inseminate turkeys because the commercial breeds have such large breasts due to selective breeding that the toms can’t mount the hens. Serioisly, research factory farming. For my family it didn’t make us go vegan or anything like that. But it does make us stop and think about where our animal products come from and what food really is. It IS sad that animals live crappy lives, but for our family it’s kinda the Frankenfood concept that helps motivate us. Real food grown by real farmers. And yes, there are lots of little farmers doing what we’re doing but can’t compete becaus e to do it the old fashioned way with breeds that are Normal takes more money and time. And it’s so expensive. Like chickens for example. Cornish crosses, the typical meat birds finish out in 6-8 weeks. They’re freakish eating machines. Disgusting breed. But, the heirloom meat breeds take three to five MONTHS to reach slaughter weight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonflower Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 8 minutes ago, busymama7 said: Ok that makes sense. Is there a way to artificially fertilize the hens? I mean the science of figuring out the sex of the chicken in the egg sounds cool but not practical yet so I'm just wondering about other possibilities. Artificially inseminating farmed animals is pretty standard, I thought. But what you're asking isn't just to artificially inseminate them, it's to only inseminate them with eventual females. Think how much cheaper it is to not do that separation and just grind up the male chicks when they hatch! Cheapness is key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 5 minutes ago, moonflower said: Plus, let's be honest, life as a broiler chicken in a factory farm isn't sunshine and roses. In fact, zero sunshine and zero roses. I don't know that the male chicks being ground into pulp at birth are necessarily getting the worse end of the deal, which says rather a lot about factory farming. fairfarmhand, do you hatch your own layers? I am trying hard to find an egg producer locally who hatches her own layers (so I don't second-hand support pullet factories). I have yet to figure out a polite enough way to word the question, too, if you have any suggestions. I just want some eggs! Ask them. Farmers get all kinds of questions and they really might later on roll their eyes if it’s awkwardly done but they want your business. And they can respect where the question is coming from. I’m hoping to have several hens hatch out babies for me this year. I did have to buy commercially last year but my plan is to ultimately have the mamas raise chicks. It’s so easy when they do that. No poop smell in the garage. oh one more thing...you might ask if they raise chicks in an incubator. Because even if the pullet doesn’t do it, some farmers use an incubator. you could frame it as just being interested in the whole process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonflower Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I figure most operations have to at least start out with pullets, because that's just where the stock is (at least this is my understanding). I think transitioning to your layers is great, though! I will try expressing interest in the process, that might work. I am naturally awkward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) On 2/19/2019 at 3:20 PM, fairfarmhand said: It’s cause egg laying chickens are shaped differently from meaty ones. There’s hardly any meat on an egg layer breed, even for the roos. And it’s more cost efficient to raise broiler breeds. As higher feed efficiency. The egg layers would take 4 times as long to grow out and still wouldn’t be as far as a meat bird. And also, if you kill the rooster after puberty has started, it doesn't taste good. So, even waiting until they reach their full size wouldn't work. I haven't tried it myself but I've heard that if you eat a mature rooster, you need to cook it in the slow-cooker in a spicy dish. We have happy free-range hens. I used to buy eggs from a guy in town. Then one day talking about eggs with other homeschool moms, I mentioned that his eggs didn't taste as good as they used to. One of the moms was a neighbor of his and said, "yeah, he doubled the number of chickens." They were still wandering around doing their happy chicken thing. But, just increasing the population density effected the taste. Edited February 21, 2019 by shawthorne44 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said: And also, if you kill the rooster after puberty has started, it doesn't taste good. So, even waiting until they reach their full size wouldn't work. I haven't tried it myself but I've heard that if you eat a mature rooster, you need to cook it in the slow-cooker in a spicy dish. We have happy free-range hens. I used to buy eggs from a guy in town. Then one day talking about eggs with other homeschool moms, I mentioned that his eggs didn't taste as good as they used to. One of the moms was a neighbor of his and said, "yeah, he doubled the number of chickens." They were still wandering around during their happy chicken thing. But, just increasing the population density effected the taste. We've eaten older birds. But they definitely don't taste bland. And some people like that. But it's not what you come to expect from what most people understand chicken is supposed to taste like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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