Meaty Birds!

We are starting a heritage breed meat flock!  I found a woman selling chicks just the next town over, and on Monday we are picking up 6 Black Jersey Giant hens and a cockerel from a separate bloodline, so we can breed them.

The new additions will go in with the laying hens for now, to be moved to there own henhouse, where they will eat grower ration instead of layer ration like our RIR hens do.  They will be able to range as well, but are also docile and able to take being largely confined during the winter.
Jersey Giants are a slow growing bird, the original slow food, taking about 10 months to hit their dressed weight of 8-10lbs!  Now that is a big bird!  We are now on the prowl for an incubator or simple plans to make one.

I am so excited to start on this venture!  Shawn just decided that he can't bring himself to raise Cornish-X, as every time we go to work with Madeline's Angus calf, we see them laying down eating and pooping, or lurching a few steps before giving up and laying down.  He said he just couldn't invite people out to the farm to see our birds growing, and be proud to be selling barely moving, crap covered birds, just because they finish quick.  With the Jersey Giants, we can breed them, where you can't with Cornish-X.  Ours will produce true to breed.

Now I think I can get the kids to willingly do a little more in the way of farm chores, if it means they are actually raising more than a veggie.