Re: Chicken advice - with photo link

On Aug 15, 10:26 pm, martin gutzmer <mrgutz...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
BTW I am in Northwest Illinois  - look up Bishop Hill Illinois

On Aug 15, 9:21 pm, martin gutzmer <mrgutz...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:



I bought the chicks as a"Bargain"
"Mixed breed straight run - not sexed"

This was the "CHEEPEST" way I could get into chickens! (HA!)
They could be ANY of the breeds that Murray McMurray sellshttp://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com

I have had GREAT FUN with them - and as long as they do not eat OUR
food, my wife seems OK with it.

Anybody know how to get a chicken to hold still for a picture?

On Aug 15, 5:56 pm, "Christina Websell"

<spamf...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"martin gutzmer" <mrgutz...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:53c30e6f-5b1f-44bf-b3a4-edeccc687498@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Folks,
I was wondering,how and when does one tell the variety and gender of
poultry?

I assume that only roosters crow - is this true?

I would like to keep the hens I have for "layers" and perhaps send
most of the roosters to processing, and ultimately to the freezer.

I was wondering - If I posted pictures to a site - could some one have
a look and offer opinions as to - gender - and breed - and - worth
saving - or dispatch and feed no more

Finally, my poultry are 9 weeks old and They are eating me out of BAGS
AND BAGS of feed!
I have tried putting them on grass, but many JUST WANT FEED!
At what age are they ready to butcher?

pictures are at
http://mrgutzmer.myphotoalbum.com/
Look for an album labeled
"Chickens at 9 weeks"

You've got an awful lots of boys there :-( with a few pullets.  In my
experience, in single-combed breeds, the ones with the biggest reddest combs
and wattle development at this age are the males and they are often longer
in the leg too.
As for breed, what did you buy them as?  The buff ones could be Buff
Plymouth Rock, the one in the second photo(definitely a boy) could be Barred
Plymouth Rock or possibly Marans, the whites could be Leghorn, first pic
also a boy) The brown and white could be a game fowl of some kind but there
are a lot of crossbred chickens as well.  One might be a Light Sussex.
It would be easier to advise on breed if you could tell me what the
possibilities are.
Growers do eat a lot of food, I'm afraid, they need good quality food to,
well, grow ;-)
They're a bit of a motley bunch, aren't they?  You need to consider your
options, either you cull the obvious males now to save money on food or
experiment with raising them for meat and see if it's worth it in the long
run.

My advice for the future would be: decide if you want meat birds or laying
hens and buy the breed for the job.  If you like to hatch eggs you will be
able to eat all your meat birds, regardless of sex, but would need to cull
laying breed males as soon as they show they are definitely boys.
Or you could buy sexed day old chicks for laying.
Or eggs from a guaranteed pure breed utility strain.  There's quite a bit of
meat on a Light Sussex or a Marans.
Where do you live?  It will affect the advice I can give.

Tina- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

If you want to cook and actually be able to chew you will have to buy
what most consider to be mutants.They are a cross of cornish and
whatever depending on where you buy them, and all they do is eat, they
dont even walk if they dont have to,they are disgusting but you cant
beat the taste.All other birds are going to be to small or too tough
mainly both.Males will devople tail feathers and a hen will develope
wing feathers first but I am talking about days old.Comb and color is
your next bet,in a breed with a single comb roos will grow a bigger
comb and it will be very red as opposed to pinkish (that does not
include leghorns-thats an all white bird) Generally speaking only roos
crow,I have had over 4 thousand birds and never had a hen crow so the
odds you have a crowing hen is unlikely but not impossible.The best
time to butcher is supposedly 12-16 weeks most birds at that time
barely have as much meat as a cornish hen.As far as food are you
feeding a 15-20% protien chick food.Whole grains dont cut it and are
hard to digest for chicks under 4-6 months.And with grain or solid
food they will need cherry stone grit.You dont need grit for processed/
ground foods.Chickens are horribly wasteful eaters, try to find a deep
dish but it does have to be shallow enough for the birds to get in and
out of.I like a pan with say 3 inch walls sides straight up sloping
dishes just help to shovel food out.They also eat more in the fall and
winter to keep up body heat.Hopefully this help to answer some of your
questions.
.

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