Your manner with the camera is so natural, the editing is great, the information is complete and easy to understand... great video, friend! Thanks so much for walking me through the process in such an enjoyable way!
Christian and Jill, you folks are an inspiration because of the way you use the chicken tractor, harvest and package the birds, and explain to your kids what the parts of the chicken look like. Your kids are very interested in the various processes and you folks are great teachers. Blessings to you all.
we raised a heritage breed dual purpose barred rock last year. We processed them at 18 weeks and they were small! Like 2-3 pounds at the most. We did 30 rangers this year and processed them at 10 weeks. Weight was at 4-5lbs. average! For us it was a lot cheaper to raise the rangers for sure! You can tell that the heritage breed were better foragers for sure. They ate more grass than the rangers. Both were great eaters! Nice video!
It makes me happy to see your Cornish on grass and walking around. I free range mine and restrict feed to overnight only, they can find what they want during the day and it motivates them more. We process our own, but we spread it out over a few days and we do a very small number (17 this last time). I love them, but I am going to try 50% Cornish and 50% another breed next time. I love the Cornish personalities and hate to see videos of them shut up in a shed or barn with no access to grass/forage and then see people complain about how gross they are.
Free range does not work everywhere in every state. Confinement is the only way in many places, so get off your high horse and back off on free range dogma. What you choose is for you. Why make some ones way like a crime scene? Just because you wouldn't do it that way? In many places confinement is the only way to have chickens, because of other factors beyond your understanding.
Awesome video! I raised 8 Cornish X chickens a couple years back the meat is so much better but dealing with the butchering for the first time was such an experience. Great stuff!
Nice timing! We bought 16 test chickens. We just finished our Cornish crosses yesterday! We were testing the breed to see if we liked them. Personally we thought they were kind of gross. Now it could have been a few issues. We brooded them outside in a brooder box which I highly recommend cause these things poop like monsters. We started to see leg issues with them at about 4 weeks and switched them to a 16% flock feeder. Second thing we did was give them a run They really didnt seem to care at all and refused to go back in the shelter. Third issue we had was unseasonable amounts of rain. I mean we are flooded here. It drys out just enough just to get more rain! We did experience on late death from heart failure. One of the roosters combs got dark red and just flopped over dead. Also recommend for southerners to get these early. They will not tolerate our hot late spring weather. We covered their run to shade them. All in all it was a gratifying experience to raise, slaughter and process 15 meals for our family but sad at the same time, especially for our 2 year old son. He had gotten attached to his feathered t-rex and was sad today when we didnt feed them. We are looking into getting a heritage breed for meat purpose. We like to try to keep our farm heritage focused. We are building a heritage turkey collection which includes Standard Bronze, Blue Slate, Chocolate, Spanish Black and newest tom the vibrant Bourbon Red. We also have 2 heritage meat rabbit breeds: champagne d'argent and American Chinchilla. With that in mind can you recommend any breeds? I am currently looking into Buff Orphingtons for their sustainability but good quality stock is hard to find. Side note: with all this rain our pig pen is also flooded. Any suggestions on how to manage the muck? We will be extending the pen in the near future when finances are available (chickens ate the extra cash!)
Stephanie Williams My grandma in East Texas bought 100 Dominickers every spring and kept them in a large barn and chicken run. Butchered a chicken for Sunday dinner every week and traded eggs at the corner store. Dominickers can stand Texas heat and humidity. At least in the 1940s and 50s they could.
Go on Backyardchickens.com and search the forums for good heritage meat birds. I have layers but am soon gonna cross my Rhodebars and Rhode Island Red hens with a dark cornish rooster. I'm told that is a fabulous meat cross. But there are many breeds that will make good meat bird. The breast won't be as big, the same idea as broad breasted turkeys vs heritage turkeys. Also with pigs i would suggest throwing out a bunch of hay or wood shavings. Not sure how big of an area but it will help. Also if your cutting any tree branches or have old leaves etc. other than that you may just have to wait for it to dry out. Sorry
Our family goes through 4 chickens in a month. Alott easier to kill and clean than rabbits. No hanging pelts. Just pouring hot water over their Dead bodies to get the feathers off, simplicity.
You don't need 70 birds. You can get 3 roosters and 20 hens. Harvest every 2 chickens every month. Hens lay eggs. Keep some eggs. Raise them to maturity in 12 weeks.
Old comment I know but I have to add that while that's technically true it won't necessarily work for everyone. Depends on not only how much chicken your family eats but the breed. A lot of broiler(meat) chickens mature in that 12 week period but heritage breeds don't. Definitely have to personalize your strategy to supply yourself with enough meat and eggs.
I miss your podcast uploads. I think that's what sets you apart from many other homestead channels. You do a great job with them and think it may be your niche. Looking forward to another!
So many of those birds are sick or are fed antibiotics just to keep the pneumonia at bay because their living conditions are so bad. Every living breathing animal needs to live in good conditions, meat animals or not. Plus no one wants to eat a sick animal. Kudos to sustainable farming!!
I raise Red Rangers because I can keep & breed them for next year's meat birds. But I got a bargain on some Cornish cross chicks so I bought a bunch of them. They'll be 6 weeks on Monday. I'll probably butcher @ 8 weeks. Love our farm raised freezer birds.
You guys should do an update on how you keep your chickens. Im curious on if you guys still use the same set up with the same tractors and electric poultry net. Love ur guys's videos :) keep up the good work
Unfortunately I think I am going to have to learn to process them myself. One of the things I am looking at is that a live bird is it's own storage. While there is some risk involved in loosing a chicken to predation, if the power goes out, I won't loose a whole year's worth of meat to a thawing freezer. I know harvesting a chicken when needed was the way my grandparents did it. Plus, in this area, $5 is what you pay for a whole chicken. Yes I understand that organic and so on... But hungry bellies don't understand we don't have food because we doubled the price of the meat. So I will be looking at ways to maybe save money in growing some of my own chicken food and harvesting myself. Sucks, but if my grandma could do it, then I probably can too.
@@trevormerivale6882 yes I am. We only do onr or two at a time. Its not too bad. My son that hunts puts them down. Dip them in very hot water, then pluck. Or you can skin them. Free range seems to have more fat than store bought, so skinning them is fine. Then gut and dismantle. If you keep the skin on, you need to take a kitchen torch or open flame and burn the pin feathers. We have only done roosters, but they are pretty good. I just put them in the pressure canner and cook them for a while. They make a very tasty broth. The meat is a bit stringy, but we just shred it and make tacos or something similar out of it. Roosters definitely have a lot of flavor. It's like the flavor difference between steak and hamburger. It has a very rich chicken flavor. Yes it's tough, but if you let it simmer in the broth for a while, it's just fine. Chicken tacos and burritos with the shredded meat are really good. Like I said, just simmer it for a good long time! (We did not eat the organ meat. In the future that will probably get saved as dog treats or fishing bait.)
@@awalkthroughtorah6897 thanks for the update!!! In the past (I haven't done chickens for a long time) after it was dispatched I'd always dip it in hot water for a minute, then pluck, if it needs more hot water give it another quick dunk only, and yes like you just give it a quick torch, but trying to be careful to keep the skin in tact (I usually had it split on me, but I only done a few) then remove it's innards. I am keen to purchase a pressure canner and specifically an All American pressure canner but they are very expensive, so one day. Stews and soups are usually really good, but I love your idea of tacos, especially if you cook the chicken in a heap of moisture with the spices. I'd be tempted to use the broth every time you use water for your tacos I bet that would make it just that much better. I actually dispatched my last baby rabbit today, and I always feel moved every time I do it. It's very bittersweet you know, it's great to be able to gift people with some home grown healthy meat, but it sucks to have to do it. That is why we breed our animals though with this sort of lifestyle. I'm in the suburbs but I'm longing for a big property in the middle of no where so that I can raise all of my own meat and fruit veggies and nuts. I'm not stupid I know I still have to buy things like toilet paper and such but you know, I just want to be as self sufficient as I can be and to be able to work maybe 1 or 2 days a week to get by comfortably with that lifestyle. Anyway you keep up the fantastic work, I know it's not an easy task always knowing what the end result for your chickens will be, but you have so many benefits, potentially eggs, meat, manure, better for growing your garden, the excess straw I'd use in both the garden and for a worm farm as well to continue building better soil for better quality and quantities of produce. More plants for your chickens to eat if nothing else. Have an awesome day 👌
Would you mind sharing how you store the meat? Did you buy a vacuum sealer or did you do something else prior to putting them into the freezer? Thanks!
I got 7 chickens for eggs. I have a family of 5 so 7 hens provide more then enough eggs for us. We buy our chicken meat from the store. Its cheaper for us. Hard to compete with low prices at store.
Nice video and explanation on everything, but have a few questions: 1) How much did the chicks costs you? 2) How much do you have in each bird (ie: purchase price, feed etc, though minus the butchering fee which you said was $5 already)? 3) How much time per-day on average do you spend on the chickens?
There is another method of cleaning Chickens I prefer for my own use. I peel the skin off the bird, feathers and all. ... Saves plucking! Here's how. Pull the skin apart at the bottom of the breast to the base of the neck. Then just peel back useing blunt excision, just like peeling a toddler out of a set of onsies pajamas. Cut the second joint in the wings, the end of the drumsticks and the tail. Leave the skin I tact with the vent. Pull out the guts lungs etc. Pull out the crop etc. from the front cavity. Pick over the pile for livers, hart and gizzard. That's the meat and skeleton still articulated. We froze it packed in water, in a freezer bag with the air removed. For our family we needed 2 or 3 chickens and a rabbit or two. Wrap the chickens in some bacon for fat and flavor and bake. Or cut up to pieces to fry. I can process one in a few minutes. If I get my brother's and sister to form a crew we can process one in about 30 sec. to a minute. Just pin the bacon to the meat with a toothpick and don't eat the toothpick!
I like your video and I like your introduction you have given a clue how to do. But I also want to do a chicken farm but I don't have a place to do and I love you to watch your video
Batpherlang, I have been working on an idea to raise hogs and/or chickens (rabbits could work too) on a fold-out wagon (rather large in my case) but something that could be scaled to 20 - 30 chickens pretty easily on say, a 12 foot trailer. If you make fold down flaps you can triple your room and make a green house on top of wagon . you can take it with you when you leave
Can you interview your wife for a day in the life as a homesteady mom/wife/CEO? How does she keep everyone & everything alive? I'm a city slicker turning homestead mom wife & CEO. I would love to pick her brain.
Ok, so I have a question. It was said that these are organic chickens, but then it was mentioned that they were fed feed? Can you mention what brand you utilize?
Hi. I've watched a few of your videos, and have wondered if you guys would like to try rabbits on your homestead. I've bred meat rabbits for a few years and have had much success. Thanks!
I know this is an old video but how do you store all those birds? Do you butcher all at the same time? If so how do you store them all in your freezer?
A recommendation. I started adding 1part soybean meal to 10 parts chick starter. It way boosts your protein. Soybean meal is like 50% protein. My birds averaged a pound heavier after 8 weeks
Paying 5 dollars a bird to process seems to me to defeat one of the reasons for raising your own meat birds, specially since you're feeding them commercial feed. When my grandparents were alive they raised their own chickens, supplement feeding them whatever they grew on their farm and letting them range feed themselves. They were quite eatable for a fraction of the cost store bought birds were. They would slaughter their birds 3/4 at a time which really cut down on the chore of mass processing (although towards the end of the current generation the birds got a little tough, not good fryers but made darn good soup).
As a kid in 4H I've raised 150 broilers, 75 turkeys, 2 pigs and 3 Longhorn cattle. Now, I don't have all of the kids to help me process the meat, so I'll have to find a USDA butcher shop nearby. How can I ask for a quote? I think I'll only process 1 pig and cow at a time to split it with my kids.
So, you never hatch chickens, you buy them, then you buy feed for them, then you pay to have them butchered. I have never owned chickens before. Can you tell me why you do this? It sounds like it is far more expensive per chicken than to just buy a frozen chicken from the store or another farmer. Sounds like it would be worth it if you raised them and butchered them yourself, especially if you were constantly hatching new ones to replace the ones being butchered.
Sede Vacante the difference in flavor is unbelievable! Plus knowing what the birds have eaten and knowing they were treated humanely during their lives makes a difference for many people as well
Do you keep the different breeds or purpose chickens in different coops or do you mix them all in at night on their coops?/do you even put them in coops or is that what the tractors are for? Thanks!
in mi to do so at a farm market they have to go to a b utcher iven if u know how to ..dont mater if chickens rabbits or ducks... im told i can sell from home self processesd but for public use i have to pay a butcher to process them..... idk how much that costs here
so let`s say that u harvest all of them... do you harvest all of them at once? and if u do so , do they really stay good in the freezer for a whole year ?
Once you have the process down it is a lot easier to upscale it so you only have to do one harvest. I would not want to harvest every 8 weeks as it is a lot of setup and cleanup after. Easier to do the whole thing at once.
Hey,I’m Michael in Saint Augustine,Fl.I recently bought bought a 8,726 sq ft lot in Palatka,Fl.Im told this size land can hold 6 chickens.Which breeds would you recomend that are good breeders with Buff Orpingtons ect?
I only have like one to two chickens die a year and that's due to a dog down the street or my dog scares a chicken and it dies from a heart attack because the dog scared it to death that's about it but it's only like two chickens a year that died and all my chickens are free-ranged they ain't caged in
If you're not prepared to do it yourself(not that hard), a good starting point would be to talk to a few farmers in your area, or a local butcher shop. Our local butcher is also a certified abattoir, and will take your live cow in the parking lot and give you ready-to-freeze beef a few days later.
You have to finish out the Cornish x (in 8 weeks?) because they can't stand anymore. I'm sorry, I don't trust eating a chicken that's genetically engineered to grow so fast that it can't stand and walk. But if you're into fast and profit, go for it.
Nancy Fahey if you restrict their food intake, then they can last longer. I have a fried with a 3 yr old as a pet. Kinda defeats the purpose of a meat bird, but it can be done.
The the cornish cross chickens are not genetically engineered chickens. They are two different chickens bred together. They are amazingly easy to raise and very tasty. I raise and process my own chickens. I raise 20 at a time. 2x in the fall and 2x in the spring for 80 total chickens. You can purchase mixed chicks through the mail from Tractor Supply for about $2 each.
Love this :) We'll go for a heritage breed (Malines), but I think we might just start with a group of breeders and then plan out when to hatch a number of eggs throughout the year. We'll just process a few every time when we need some :) That's also because I don't really like the texture of meat that has been frozen for a long time. This way, any individual bird would not stay in the freezer for longer than a couple of months. Plus, I won't need to buy a huge freezer that slurps electricity :P
It is very hard to duplicate a Cornish cross. The Cornish Crosses are not the first generation of a Cornish crossed with another type but the offspring of the F2 birds. You could do it but the chances of getting as good/fast of a bird is unlikely.
You would have to keep crossing your Cornish derived stock to heritage breeds that were duel purpose or meat breeds. The Indian Game breeds and Brahma ones are the first ones that come to mind. Your flock would move away from what the cornish cross is though.
Your manner with the camera is so natural, the editing is great, the information is complete and easy to understand... great video, friend! Thanks so much for walking me through the process in such an enjoyable way!
Christian and Jill, you folks are an inspiration because of the way you use the chicken tractor, harvest and package the birds, and explain to your kids what the parts of the chicken look like. Your kids are very interested in the various processes and you folks are great teachers. Blessings to you all.
we raised a heritage breed dual purpose barred rock last year. We processed them at 18 weeks and they were small! Like 2-3 pounds at the most. We did 30 rangers this year and processed them at 10 weeks. Weight was at 4-5lbs. average! For us it was a lot cheaper to raise the rangers for sure! You can tell that the heritage breed were better foragers for sure. They ate more grass than the rangers. Both were great eaters! Nice video!
Yea, our rangers were not incredible foragers, but they made darn nice chicken!
Damn your like a sales man you had me sold (as far as my attention) at 10 seconds
It makes me happy to see your Cornish on grass and walking around. I free range mine and restrict feed to overnight only, they can find what they want during the day and it motivates them more. We process our own, but we spread it out over a few days and we do a very small number (17 this last time). I love them, but I am going to try 50% Cornish and 50% another breed next time. I love the Cornish personalities and hate to see videos of them shut up in a shed or barn with no access to grass/forage and then see people complain about how gross they are.
Free range does not work everywhere in every state. Confinement is the only way in many places, so get off your high horse and back off on free range dogma. What you choose is for you. Why make some ones way like a crime scene? Just because you wouldn't do it that way? In many places confinement is the only way to have chickens, because of other factors beyond your understanding.
Awesome video! I raised 8 Cornish X chickens a couple years back the meat is so much better but dealing with the butchering for the first time was such an experience. Great stuff!
Nice timing! We bought 16 test chickens. We just finished our Cornish crosses yesterday! We were testing the breed to see if we liked them. Personally we thought they were kind of gross. Now it could have been a few issues. We brooded them outside in a brooder box which I highly recommend cause these things poop like monsters. We started to see leg issues with them at about 4 weeks and switched them to a 16% flock feeder. Second thing we did was give them a run They really didnt seem to care at all and refused to go back in the shelter. Third issue we had was unseasonable amounts of rain. I mean we are flooded here. It drys out just enough just to get more rain! We did experience on late death from heart failure. One of the roosters combs got dark red and just flopped over dead. Also recommend for southerners to get these early. They will not tolerate our hot late spring weather. We covered their run to shade them. All in all it was a gratifying experience to raise, slaughter and process 15 meals for our family but sad at the same time, especially for our 2 year old son. He had gotten attached to his feathered t-rex and was sad today when we didnt feed them.
We are looking into getting a heritage breed for meat purpose. We like to try to keep our farm heritage focused. We are building a heritage turkey collection which includes Standard Bronze, Blue Slate, Chocolate, Spanish Black and newest tom the vibrant Bourbon Red. We also have 2 heritage meat rabbit breeds: champagne d'argent and American Chinchilla. With that in mind can you recommend any breeds? I am currently looking into Buff Orphingtons for their sustainability but good quality stock is hard to find.
Side note: with all this rain our pig pen is also flooded. Any suggestions on how to manage the muck? We will be extending the pen in the near future when finances are available (chickens ate the extra cash!)
Stephanie Williams My grandma in East Texas bought 100 Dominickers every spring and kept them in a large barn and chicken run. Butchered a chicken for Sunday dinner every week and traded eggs at the corner store. Dominickers can stand Texas heat and humidity. At least in the 1940s and 50s they could.
Go on Backyardchickens.com and search the forums for good heritage meat birds. I have layers but am soon gonna cross my Rhodebars and Rhode Island Red hens with a dark cornish rooster. I'm told that is a fabulous meat cross. But there are many breeds that will make good meat bird. The breast won't be as big, the same idea as broad breasted turkeys vs heritage turkeys. Also with pigs i would suggest throwing out a bunch of hay or wood shavings. Not sure how big of an area but it will help. Also if your cutting any tree branches or have old leaves etc. other than that you may just have to wait for it to dry out. Sorry
californians ansd new zealands are good meat rabbits and crossed they are good as well ....
hell we are eating chicken 4-5 times in a week.i need at least 500 chickens in my backyard i guess.
Our family goes through 4 chickens in a month. Alott easier to kill and clean than rabbits. No hanging pelts. Just pouring hot water over their Dead bodies to get the feathers off, simplicity.
You don't need 70 birds. You can get 3 roosters and 20 hens. Harvest every 2 chickens every month. Hens lay eggs. Keep some eggs. Raise them to maturity in 12 weeks.
Old comment I know but I have to add that while that's technically true it won't necessarily work for everyone. Depends on not only how much chicken your family eats but the breed. A lot of broiler(meat) chickens mature in that 12 week period but heritage breeds don't. Definitely have to personalize your strategy to supply yourself with enough meat and eggs.
This is good to learn for off the grid people or preppers
No
Rouge But Here wdym no
I’ve really been enjoying y’all channel and I’d love to see meals made from just y’all farm/ garden 💕
I miss your podcast uploads. I think that's what sets you apart from many other homestead channels. You do a great job with them and think it may be your niche. Looking forward to another!
You people talking about how cheap Walmart's chicken is or cosco or where ever. Do you know where they come from???what they are fed????
How its handled
So many of those birds are sick or are fed antibiotics just to keep the pneumonia at bay because their living conditions are so bad. Every living breathing animal needs to live in good conditions, meat animals or not. Plus no one wants to eat a sick animal. Kudos to sustainable farming!!
Shut up you know not what you talk about
Yep
Cranky Old Coot
They are a bit expensive here in Alaska. All meat out here is. 1-3Lbs of ground beef at Walmart, 10$. That’s the cheapest I’ve seen it
I raise Red Rangers because I can keep & breed them for next year's meat birds. But I got a bargain on some Cornish cross chicks so I bought a bunch of them. They'll be 6 weeks on Monday. I'll probably butcher @ 8 weeks. Love our farm raised freezer birds.
You guys should do an update on how you keep your chickens. Im curious on if you guys still use the same set up with the same tractors and electric poultry net. Love ur guys's videos :) keep up the good work
Unfortunately I think I am going to have to learn to process them myself. One of the things I am looking at is that a live bird is it's own storage. While there is some risk involved in loosing a chicken to predation, if the power goes out, I won't loose a whole year's worth of meat to a thawing freezer. I know harvesting a chicken when needed was the way my grandparents did it. Plus, in this area, $5 is what you pay for a whole chicken. Yes I understand that organic and so on... But hungry bellies don't understand we don't have food because we doubled the price of the meat. So I will be looking at ways to maybe save money in growing some of my own chicken food and harvesting myself. Sucks, but if my grandma could do it, then I probably can too.
Are you doing it yet? How are you coping with the whole process?
@@trevormerivale6882 yes I am. We only do onr or two at a time. Its not too bad. My son that hunts puts them down. Dip them in very hot water, then pluck. Or you can skin them. Free range seems to have more fat than store bought, so skinning them is fine. Then gut and dismantle. If you keep the skin on, you need to take a kitchen torch or open flame and burn the pin feathers. We have only done roosters, but they are pretty good. I just put them in the pressure canner and cook them for a while. They make a very tasty broth. The meat is a bit stringy, but we just shred it and make tacos or something similar out of it. Roosters definitely have a lot of flavor. It's like the flavor difference between steak and hamburger. It has a very rich chicken flavor. Yes it's tough, but if you let it simmer in the broth for a while, it's just fine. Chicken tacos and burritos with the shredded meat are really good. Like I said, just simmer it for a good long time! (We did not eat the organ meat. In the future that will probably get saved as dog treats or fishing bait.)
@@awalkthroughtorah6897 thanks for the update!!! In the past (I haven't done chickens for a long time) after it was dispatched I'd always dip it in hot water for a minute, then pluck, if it needs more hot water give it another quick dunk only, and yes like you just give it a quick torch, but trying to be careful to keep the skin in tact (I usually had it split on me, but I only done a few) then remove it's innards. I am keen to purchase a pressure canner and specifically an All American pressure canner but they are very expensive, so one day. Stews and soups are usually really good, but I love your idea of tacos, especially if you cook the chicken in a heap of moisture with the spices. I'd be tempted to use the broth every time you use water for your tacos I bet that would make it just that much better. I actually dispatched my last baby rabbit today, and I always feel moved every time I do it. It's very bittersweet you know, it's great to be able to gift people with some home grown healthy meat, but it sucks to have to do it. That is why we breed our animals though with this sort of lifestyle. I'm in the suburbs but I'm longing for a big property in the middle of no where so that I can raise all of my own meat and fruit veggies and nuts. I'm not stupid I know I still have to buy things like toilet paper and such but you know, I just want to be as self sufficient as I can be and to be able to work maybe 1 or 2 days a week to get by comfortably with that lifestyle.
Anyway you keep up the fantastic work, I know it's not an easy task always knowing what the end result for your chickens will be, but you have so many benefits, potentially eggs, meat, manure, better for growing your garden, the excess straw I'd use in both the garden and for a worm farm as well to continue building better soil for better quality and quantities of produce. More plants for your chickens to eat if nothing else.
Have an awesome day 👌
Love this! New subscriber taking small steps to setup our first chickens next year.
I raise from 10 to 30 at a time. But I butcher 4 to 5 per day over a long period of time. I'm currently raising 12 Jumbo Cornish Cross.
Are they easy to raise and what's the difference
Would you mind sharing how you store the meat? Did you buy a vacuum sealer or did you do something else prior to putting them into the freezer? Thanks!
I got 7 chickens for eggs. I have a family of 5 so 7 hens provide more then enough eggs for us. We buy our chicken meat from the store. Its cheaper for us. Hard to compete with low prices at store.
Nice video and explanation on everything, but have a few questions:
1) How much did the chicks costs you?
2) How much do you have in each bird (ie: purchase price, feed etc, though minus the butchering fee which you said was $5 already)?
3) How much time per-day on average do you spend on the chickens?
There is another method of cleaning Chickens I prefer for my own use.
I peel the skin off the bird, feathers and all. ... Saves plucking!
Here's how. Pull the skin apart at the bottom of the breast to the base of the neck. Then just peel back useing blunt excision, just like peeling a toddler out of a set of onsies pajamas. Cut the second joint in the wings, the end of the drumsticks and the tail. Leave the skin I tact with the vent. Pull out the guts lungs etc. Pull out the crop etc. from the front cavity. Pick over the pile for livers, hart and gizzard. That's the meat and skeleton still articulated. We froze it packed in water, in a freezer bag with the air removed.
For our family we needed 2 or 3 chickens and a rabbit or two. Wrap the chickens in some bacon for fat and flavor and bake. Or cut up to pieces to fry.
I can process one in a few minutes. If I get my brother's and sister to form a crew we can process one in about 30 sec. to a minute.
Just pin the bacon to the meat with a toothpick and don't eat the toothpick!
Love this content and edit. We are excited to bring some cornish to our homestead soon. (First we have to get there! lol) Very informative thanks!!
Im assuming that didn't last
I like how you moved the pen before filming ;)
I like your video and I like your introduction you have given a clue how to do. But I also want to do a chicken farm but I don't have a place to do and I love you to watch your video
Batpherlang, I have been working on an idea to raise hogs and/or chickens (rabbits could work too) on a fold-out wagon (rather large in my case) but something that could be scaled to 20 - 30 chickens pretty easily on say, a 12 foot trailer. If you make fold down flaps you can triple your room and make a green house on top of wagon . you can take it with you when you leave
This is ridiculously useful. Thank you.
Woo sorry touchy subject
When he was talking to the chick and then saying that it was almost old enough for butchering he said whoa sorry touchy subject
Brilliant soundtrack. The chickens were OK too
The next batch of meat birds I raise will be in a move-able coop, so I can place them in different areas through out the day.
Can you interview your wife for a day in the life as a homesteady mom/wife/CEO? How does she keep everyone & everything alive? I'm a city slicker turning homestead mom wife & CEO. I would love to pick her brain.
great video just what I needed
Atm I rear pheasants for game shooting , but I’m thinking about rearing some meat chickens next year , good video 👌
Very fresh and healhty
Chickens are incredible: I just had a nice lunch of eggs on toast.
Ok, so I have a question. It was said that these are organic chickens, but then it was mentioned that they were fed feed? Can you mention what brand you utilize?
Nice video. Great info Thanks ENJOY
All types of rangers
Me in my mind: Power Rangers?
Mallari N 😂😂😂👍🏻
Those would be the genetically modified ones
With the chickens out in the open do you have trouble with Hawks taking your birds? Looks like other predators could still get to them.
Hi. I've watched a few of your videos, and have wondered if you guys would like to try rabbits on your homestead. I've bred meat rabbits for a few years and have had much success. Thanks!
Capons.
Longer growing cycle, but way better tasting meat.
I'm new to the game. What does it mean when you get a bird from a hatchery? It's akin to getting a puppy from a puppy mill?
That means buying day old chicks and raising them, vs. hatching eggs yourself or letting your chickens hatch eggs out
Love the information.
I know this is an old video but how do you store all those birds? Do you butcher all at the same time? If so how do you store them all in your freezer?
Another enjoyable video, thanks for sharing. what kind of storage do you use? just a chest freezer?
How do you find a butcher for chickens? I can only find ones the do goats and larger? Great video btw
Chickens don't need a butcher
Do it yourself. It's easy. Chop the head off, dunk them in simmering water for a few seconds, pluck, gut, seperate If desired
I eat three chickens a day by myself. That is 1095 chickens in a year. LOL
Does starter for the entire 8 weeks cause foot issues?
A recommendation. I started adding 1part soybean meal to 10 parts chick starter. It way boosts your protein. Soybean meal is like 50% protein. My birds averaged a pound heavier after 8 weeks
Will the chicken not go bad if you store them too long in a fridge?
They don't fly over the fence? My chickens could scale the house even if their wings are clipped
great video!
Paying 5 dollars a bird to process seems to me to defeat one of the reasons for raising your own meat birds, specially since you're feeding them commercial feed. When my grandparents were alive they raised their own chickens, supplement feeding them whatever they grew on their farm and letting them range feed themselves. They were quite eatable for a fraction of the cost store bought birds were. They would slaughter their birds 3/4 at a time which really cut down on the chore of mass processing (although towards the end of the current generation the birds got a little tough, not good fryers but made darn good soup).
As a kid in 4H I've raised 150 broilers, 75 turkeys, 2 pigs and 3 Longhorn cattle. Now, I don't have all of the kids to help me process the meat, so I'll have to find a USDA butcher shop nearby. How can I ask for a quote? I think I'll only process 1 pig and cow at a time to split it with my kids.
So you don't use any vaccines or antibiotics? Just grass and chicken feed?
So, you never hatch chickens, you buy them, then you buy feed for them, then you pay to have them butchered. I have never owned chickens before. Can you tell me why you do this? It sounds like it is far more expensive per chicken than to just buy a frozen chicken from the store or another farmer. Sounds like it would be worth it if you raised them and butchered them yourself, especially if you were constantly hatching new ones to replace the ones being butchered.
Sede Vacante the difference in flavor is unbelievable! Plus knowing what the birds have eaten and knowing they were treated humanely during their lives makes a difference for many people as well
What do you feed the chickens？
How much do you sell each bird for? Costs: 5 bucks per bird, feed/water, labor, etc. are the margins any good?
Do you keep the different breeds or purpose chickens in different coops or do you mix them all in at night on their coops?/do you even put them in coops or is that what the tractors are for? Thanks!
in mi to do so at a farm market they have to go to a b utcher iven if u know how to ..dont mater if chickens rabbits or ducks... im told i can sell from home self processesd but for public use i have to pay a butcher to process them..... idk how much that costs here
so let`s say that u harvest all of them... do you harvest all of them at once? and if u do so , do they really stay good in the freezer for a whole year ?
Its in the freezer.... edible forever
Are you wearing a volcom t-shirt you've had since highschool?
This kid? With a volcom shirt on. 😂
Trust his homestead. You'll do fine.
In third world countries the natives often wear out of style brand names that they often have no understanding of the meaning
Why do you raise them all at once? Is it more sustainable?
Like if I raised chickens could I do 10 every 8 weeks which would equate to 60 per year
Once you have the process down it is a lot easier to upscale it so you only have to do one harvest. I would not want to harvest every 8 weeks as it is a lot of setup and cleanup after. Easier to do the whole thing at once.
Hey, just wanted to ask, where is the farm located? its just so beautiful
Where does Cornish or meat chickens come from? They don't lay eggs to hatch so where do they come from?🤔
It’s a crossbreed.
Hey,I’m Michael in Saint Augustine,Fl.I recently bought bought a 8,726 sq ft lot in Palatka,Fl.Im told this size land can hold 6 chickens.Which breeds would you recomend that are good breeders with Buff Orpingtons ect?
I only have like one to two chickens die a year and that's due to a dog down the street or my dog scares a chicken and it dies from a heart attack because the dog scared it to death that's about it but it's only like two chickens a year that died and all my chickens are free-ranged they ain't caged in
I don't understand how you still have grass in that pen.
I don't understand how he kept those chickens in that pen! my pen is 8 feet high they fly right out!
blow dro that means there not pure broilers. How old are yours?
8 month "white leghorns" layers. I have clipped 1 wing on all the females and it did throw them off a little bit but they still fly up 8 ft high!
They use those nets because they are easy to move so probably he moves the nets once in a couple days .
that type of fencing is easily moveable. Also, at 8-12 weeks, they can't fly well, and the cornish X breed can't fly well at all at any age.
Does the poultry net keep out predators like foxes raccoons stray cats and coyote out?
No.
In Scotland where I live, we get a lot of rain all year round, would a lot of rain affect the growth rates of the chickens?
No
How much does one of your chickens, processed, sell for? Kind of curious I would like to get into raising some sort of livestock...
I learned loads watching this, thank you!
How do you keep wild animals out? Also how do you train guard dogs not to eat the chickens?
Do you not have predators? I don't see any security
I was wondering the same thing.
Why do I have to buy my meat chicks from a hatchery?
Great video
I have a homestead with pigs,chickens,geese and two ducks and I sell the chicken meat for 9$
$9 per pound or per bird? how do you find customers?
ever think of raising and selling rabbits?
How do I find someone to process my birds?
If you're not prepared to do it yourself(not that hard), a good starting point would be to talk to a few farmers in your area, or a local butcher shop. Our local butcher is also a certified abattoir, and will take your live cow in the parking lot and give you ready-to-freeze beef a few days later.
Go to your mirror. :)
How much does it cost per bird to feed ? Or how much for 70 chickens ?
Your chickens look carefree and happy!
If we all eat less meat we may extend their happiness !!
In mass farming I mean!
Hello from Greece!!
Sooo ... when you are going to do the next cycle of harvesting ?
Just did John, all in the freezer. We may actually skip a year next year as we have lots stored up and want to focus on the cow endeavor!
how much cubic feet of freezer are you using to store a years worth?
You have to finish out the Cornish x (in 8 weeks?) because they can't stand anymore. I'm sorry, I don't trust eating a chicken that's genetically engineered to grow so fast that it can't stand and walk. But if you're into fast and profit, go for it.
Nancy Fahey if you restrict their food intake, then they can last longer. I have a fried with a 3 yr old as a pet. Kinda defeats the purpose of a meat bird, but it can be done.
The the cornish cross chickens are not genetically engineered chickens. They are two different chickens bred together. They are amazingly easy to raise and very tasty. I raise and process my own chickens. I raise 20 at a time. 2x in the fall and 2x in the spring for 80 total chickens. You can purchase mixed chicks through the mail from Tractor Supply for about $2 each.
do you chase the birds into the tractor at night? do you have much loss to predators with this setup? I welcome replies from anyone
some go in on their own, sometimes some need some help finding their way in at night. Usually, most get the hang of it no problem.
Do they lay eggs
What is the song in the background at 5:00
#askhomesteady Can preditors get into the chicken tractor? Do you have electric fences surrounding all your flocks at all times? Thanks
What about raising on organic natural feed.
You look like Stu.
Bird cost, feed cost, butcher fee = 4 times the cost of buying in store. And your feeding them the commercial feed so whats the difference?
Do they fly away??
What is the total cost per chicken? thanks
which hatchery do you buy your chicks from?
Meyer hatchery
I raise cornishcross chicken 🤔🤔💖♥️🤼♀️🤼♀️ I harvest my chicken after 9 wks ⚽️🤔🤔
Do you sell parent stock ?
Love this :) We'll go for a heritage breed (Malines), but I think we might just start with a group of breeders and then plan out when to hatch a number of eggs throughout the year. We'll just process a few every time when we need some :) That's also because I don't really like the texture of meat that has been frozen for a long time. This way, any individual bird would not stay in the freezer for longer than a couple of months. Plus, I won't need to buy a huge freezer that slurps electricity :P
👍
I'm not a killer I love chicken and yes I was raised on a farm
why can't you breed/raise Cornish ?
YOU CAN, I DO
you can but a cross will loss every generation after the first cross a easyer way would be heritage breeds.
cross a Cornish with any and you have great heavy birds
It is very hard to duplicate a Cornish cross. The Cornish Crosses are not the first generation of a Cornish crossed with another type but the offspring of the F2 birds. You could do it but the chances of getting as good/fast of a bird is unlikely.
You would have to keep crossing your Cornish derived stock to heritage breeds that were duel purpose or meat breeds. The Indian Game breeds and Brahma ones are the first ones that come to mind. Your flock would move away from what the cornish cross is though.