These are the chickens that I am raising for food, they are now 7 weeks old and will be butchered this sunday. I am truly amazed at how fast they grow.
Cornish Cross Chickens
i could not raise somthing then eat it but i do buy the ocassional sheep to get butchered but i dont name and try not to look at it im funny with those things
They are big enough at 7 weeks to butcher? They must be some big chickens.
YEs, and they should be b utchered at 7 to 8 weeks. Ours weighed about 8 lbs when we butchered them last week. We have several breasts that weigh a lb each. Our smaller birds (dressed out at 3 to 4 lbs were left whole; all the others were cut up and taste wonderful.
I never thought I could raise to eat; but if I'm going to eat meat, I'd rather have my own now. At least I know what's in it and I don't have to worry about all the junk that is in store bought meat today. It's scary and I'm scared for my children and grandchildren who do eat it :(
Know your farmer ;)
That is so true Misty, where is payneville? My parents live in Hopkinsville.
Payneville is in Meade County. Brandenburg is our county seat. We are on the Ohio River, about 50 miles west of Louisville as the crow flies and about 1/2 south of Corydon, IN.
:) Kathy
I've heard of Hopkinsville, but I don't know how far apart we are.
great job!
u have a point with it being better than stor bought meat
I woke up tuesday morning to a very sad sounding squack. It seems the little roosters in the bunch are trying to crow lol
It sounds like they are strangling:0) I love that sound!
catscan, lol it sure is a pitiful sound isnt it. I have noticed one rooster in particular is very aggressive, he has been attacking anyone that comes near him.
One of my yearling roosters STILL sounds like that. Of course he is the lowest on the pecking order.
GG
pf, he might be the first one you decide to eat.....
You wait, we have one that crows all day, all night.........non stop. Unless it's raining, which is why he's quiet right now.
:)
I am worried about the chickens, we have temps up to 106 today, I am trying to keep them cool, they just lay around panting. I see them drinking more water and it seems to make them have water for stools. I might have to butcher them tomorrow night instead of sunday. I am afraid of losing them to the heat.
Wow, that hot in OR? I thought it was a cool state. I don't know what to tell you, we don't process ours; we take them to a processing place where there is a USDA inspector right there.
Just be careful....wow, 106! I'm in shock.
Oh, you are so lucky to have a processing place for chickens in your area. At the moment I haven't been able to find one. We have butchered our own before but if the price was right we'd rather drop them off. I think you're butchering at the right time-I read somewhere that they get tough if you wait too long.
This message was edited May 15, 2008 8:44 PM
105 degrees here in northern CA. Makes incubating and brooding difficult since I don't have airconditoning. Three weeks ago we were woring about frost!
Catscan, where is lodi in Ca/ Whats the town next to you?
Just north of Stockton--about 30 miles south of Sacramento. Where is Grants Pass?
Have you ever been to Oregon? I live about 30 miles north of Medford. Or 3 1/2 hrs from Portland.
Oh, you're just north of the CA border! That is a lovely area. My DH and I drove up through Oregon when he bought some land in Northern Washington.
Yesterday the cornish were butchered, they turned out to be some big chickens. They hardly had fat at all on them.
Did you do them yourself? Our CRC have little to no fat, but are very meaty. They are quite tasty as well....
;) Kathy
Kathy there was very little fat on them. I havent had one yet. We butchered them ourselves.
Looks beautiful and tasty ;) Good job. I don't have the stomach for it. I had an experience several years ago, no thanks to my DH, that cured me from wanting to do my own!!!! I'll bet that baby weighed about 8 lbs. Look quite meaty.
MMMM, boy does that look good! You did a great job butchering. Ok, pass the potatoes and the gravy...
i want mine stuffed!
You did a beautiful job butchering. When I got thru butchering mine, they looked like they'd been through a mangler or something. I can do it, but I'm not experienced enough to do a very pretty job of it.
Thank you, now to eat one and see how they taste.. I think its time for roasted chicken