Connie White

Where do you order or get your heritage breeds from? And actually - it was their white Heritage chickens that I ordered that were so dang tasty - I hope these cornish x that I got are as good!
Connie

I raise Muscovy - but mine are for eating mosquitoes and for meat! They are delicious and not fatty. The males will fight big time - I've had something akin to a murder scene on my deck before as they will pull at each other's heads til they bleed. Once the males reach puberty - I'd suggest culling and smoking - oh on a bed of spring lettuce with goat cheese and pecans - nothing taste finer!

Also - on the ducklings- they take at least 35 - 37 days to hatch and it's difficult to really tell when it begins. So, yours *could* have still been a day or two away from hatching. My gals slowly go broody. By that, I mean that one day, they'll be on the clutch a little while, this will last a few days. It takes almost a week before they are totally dedicating their time to sitting. Also - make sure the momma has some water to splash around in. Most eggs will not hatch in an incubator because people cannot get the humidity right. I have always observed my gals taking more baths right before they hatch out. I've never had any issue with the first clutch from a new mom. Water - a small pool is a must - from my experience.

Also - it was a double edge sword, but when you wiped those eggs off, you removed the protective layer which keeps bacteria out. It may have been best to leave them alone because removing that clear protective later opens the egg up to everything! Even washing chicken eggs is bad - as it reduces the fridge life of the egg. This is one of the finest articles I've read to date on eggs - I learned a LOT http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/how-to-store-fresh-eggs-zmaz77ndzgoe.aspx?PageId=1#ArticleContent

Right now - I've had issues with the momma's having food and water separate from the rest of the fowl as I free range everyone. Also = I have mine pair up with cochins who successfully hatch out my muscovy and blue swedish meat ducks. I have over 100 fowl running around now so too many lay eggs alongside the ducks and just mess everything up! My gals and their eggs are penned up now but later, I will have them small pools...which will have to be removed after they are hatched. I have ponds too. So - after the ducklings are a bit bigger, I let them all go and have momma take care of them. I do lose a few, but it's the trade off. I want them to forage for food as best they can. I let mine lose too - they always fly back and when they go broody - they stay around the house. Having said that - one of my neighbors has 7 from a hatching that don't want to come back. They have a stocked fish pond with a feeder! but the momma came back and is now on her 3rd clutch in the barn!

I hope this information helps - I do love the Muscovy!

Connie

By the way - who do y'all buy your heritage meat birds from? This is the only group I've found- they are close to me so there hasn't been any deaths in transit and the birds I've received have been incredible!
http://www.sandgpoultry.com/

I don't dare buy anything from auctions due to bad past experiences with disease! I bought my black boilers from Ideal Poultry - they are in the south but recently had a big issue with them as they use breeders and I had a batch of cochins with coccily...whatever (blood in stool that kills chicks and is highly contagious) and now am dealing with chicks getting sick....still! As you all know, when you free range, birds eat off the ground and this has been a whammy! Boy - that pissed me off too as I only buy from breeders so I wont have any disease but that one backfired. Not to mention - i got a polish along with the cochins - another good for nuthin bird, named it Fruit Loop! I use the cochins to hatch out 'anybody's' egg. I try to do things naturally!

Connie

What is my goal? That's a big question but I'll keep it on the chickens only - I do like to have chicken available (in the freezer or yard) whenever I want it - at least 1 per week. I want chicken that I've raised as I love cuisine and want to know where it came from. I have found that it is very difficult to accomplish this without having 30 birds in the freezer!

Right now - I'm out and went by the feed store and the cx were there so I bought 10. They are delicious to me - and my son - frying up those breast are great! I do have the black boilers and the red rangers however - hatching them and raising them takes a LONG time. also - making sure the right roo is with the right hen is a challenge due to my lack of secure pens. Also = the gals free range and it's healthier/cheaper on me. I have 5 acres and am between two larger pastures so space is not an issue. I have 8 hens for reproducing but between them laying, getting a clutch and going broody - well, it's disorganized. I have two hens that finally went broody and they are on duck eggs! Since they aren't penned, I'm unsure of who's egg is who's! One black ranger finally went broody but I've collected the eggs and again - don't have the right roo with the right hen.

So, the goal is to have chicken available anytime but - that is harder than you might think! I did raise 40+ and harvesting them was hell! I do this by hand and have family help but it would be so much easier just to do a couple at a time. Especially in this heat!

I'm thinking about ordering another heritage breed but will be faced with the same dilemma after the roos are 'processed.' Cost-wise, I'm just feeding a bunch of chickens I don't plan on eating! Any advice is most appreciative. I know I need to secure a couple of my horse stalls for chicken breeding! That's the other issue - penning them up is like a predator's dream. There's so much uncertainty!

Connie

I could not disagree more! Cornish Rocks taste great - the meat is sooooo juicy and plentiful! Just the breast alone will feed a family of 4! I raise all kinds of chickens - layers, meats and good for nuthins! Meat-wise, in addition to Cornish Rocks, I raise Red Rangers and Black Boilers. The reds take 3 times as long to mature and the blacks take forever! vs the cx! Of course, the Black boilers are just delicious but hey - if you raise it, and harvest at the right time, it's good! Yea, the cx stink, have indifferent personalities, but that just makes the kill easier for me. The Black boilers are by far - the best foragers too but they take sooooo long to mature. I got the heritage breeds so that I could reproduce them on the property here but - that's easier said than done as they must be penned off and isolated. The roos weigh sooooo much too.

All my chickens have healthy happy lives and yes - the cx must be fed more of 'something' as they aren't too great at foraging. But! all in all - they are quick to mature and yummie to my tummy! At the moment, I am trying to raise other breeds - just anything that's not a purebred and hopefully has *some* meat chicken genes in it, but they are just taking forever to mature. I have 10 of the juicy little cx's right now. I could eat them now at 1 month as young and juicy treats or wait a while and eat them later.

Hate to join and disagree so quickly but - if you raise it and harvest it in time - yummmmmmie! That goes with my meat ducks too!

Ok - now, back to looking for information on good ways of raising pigs - naturally - wrong forum, i know ~

Connie