I'm going to be ordering some meat birds this fall and of course the more you get, the cheaper it is. I'll be doing the jumbo cornish cross that you can harvest in about 8 weeks. The price breakdown, including shipping, works out to about this, if we order:25 birds: $2.28 each50 birds: $2.07 each100 birds: $1.77This is for mixed males and females, the males shouldn't be a problem because generally they go to a lovely vacation at camp Frigidaire before they begin crowing. I'm thinking I will want 10-20 birds.(The price may go up slightly as postal rates are going to change, but it should be pretty darn close)If you're interested please respond with an approximate number of how many you'd want. I won't hold you to it, I'm just trying to get an idea for the level of interest. Thanks!
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Okay, I want to get this order coordinated a little more solidly. My plan is to order from Welp hatchery and my goal is to get in an order for at least 100 birds. If we order that many, the price drops to about $1.20 per bird including shipping, which is a fantastic deal. I will be ordering the birds in mid September once our temps break a little, ideally I would like the highs to be around 100 to make for easier brooding.
Please email me directly at: rachel at rachelbess (dot) com and let me know how many birds you would like to order, your name and your phone number. This should be a number you're willing to commit to, that way I don't end up ordering a bunch of birds that people change their mind on. :)
Thanks!
I'm considering participating but have read that they are very smelly compared to the laying hens. I also don't have much more room in my backyard for more chickens. I wouldn't want to keep them with my layers. Does anyone know how much room they would need per bird? I'm thinking of 5-10 birds.
How about the heat? Would we wait until things cool off a little?
I would love to learn how to process in a group setting. I'm a little squeamish but I'm sure I could get over it. I never named my hens in case I have to do the deed.
Thank you Chris! As the time for harvesting gets nearer, we should think about a place to set up. I've got a stainless steel table, one killing cone, some Basic H (for the plucking water), and several five-gallon buckets (for waste, ice/finished chickens, etc.). Oh, and my mom has a big fan we could borrow. We can certainly use my place - plenty of room - if we need to.
We would definitely wait until the fall because yes, the heat is not good for meat birds.
They are smellier than hens, but you'd only have them outside for less than two months. I think 5-10 birds would not be that bad, but you may not want to pen them right next to the neighbors house. I think 5 square feet per bird would be fine, it's a lot more than what a lot of backyard chicken owners give meat birds.
Maybe we could get a butchering class set-up later in the fall. I'm sure there's sufficient interest, I don't have the experience to teach it. I would want someone who has done lots and lots of butchering.
I butchered my first chickens based only on what I learned from books and the internet, including some very detailed step by step pictorial blogs. I thought I was good to go, but as we were doing it I had a lot of small questions come up. I really think having someone show you who's processed a ton of chickens would be a fantastic asset. Really when we did it, it ended up being much more unpleasant for us and the chicken than it needed to be.
After the first go around, I swore I wouldn't do it again, but I'm thinking again that I'll do a couple in the fall.
I would love to raise a handful of meat birds and enjoy real chicken meat. I would *if only* I could find a friend to process the birds for me. I would be grateful enough to that friend to donate farmers market bucks, feed store gift certificates or something of that sort. The more birds processed, the more the donation. No money to change hands.
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Please email me directly at: rachel at rachelbess (dot) com and let me know how many birds you would like to order, your name and your phone number. This should be a number you're willing to commit to, that way I don't end up ordering a bunch of birds that people change their mind on. :)
Thanks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4P229ArpZA&feature=channel_page
It is really nice to have the correct equipment when processing. Can be a pain otherwise.
How about the heat? Would we wait until things cool off a little?
I would love to learn how to process in a group setting. I'm a little squeamish but I'm sure I could get over it. I never named my hens in case I have to do the deed.
They are smellier than hens, but you'd only have them outside for less than two months. I think 5-10 birds would not be that bad, but you may not want to pen them right next to the neighbors house. I think 5 square feet per bird would be fine, it's a lot more than what a lot of backyard chicken owners give meat birds.
Maybe we could get a butchering class set-up later in the fall. I'm sure there's sufficient interest, I don't have the experience to teach it. I would want someone who has done lots and lots of butchering.
http://www.butcherachicken.blogspot.com/
After the first go around, I swore I wouldn't do it again, but I'm thinking again that I'll do a couple in the fall.
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