January 7, 2007
Spring's Coming
It takes so little for my old hens to see spring arrive. Today three eggs, but they're all bustling around looking more prosperous. Three eggs from 12 hens is still too few. So discussion with management (husband Bob) today tended toward ordering a mix of "heavy" brown egg layers, with the idea some of the birds will end up in the pot rather than surviving to make eggs.
In the past I've ordered meat birds, generally cornish rock crosses. They do grow fast but in my life I don't need any more ticking clocks than I already have. Those meat birds MUST be slaughtered at eight to 10 weeks or they begin to die -- I think from the sheer strain of growing so fast. I've lost full sized birds at 12 weeks with no clue of why they died -- heart attack? Or? It costs about $10 to raise a meat bird to full size, but if I order a dozen they all have to be slaughtered at once. I rarely can set aside an entire day or two to just kill and clean chickens. Not to mention that doing more than two birds in one go is much too much like work. I keep chickens recreationally, not to increase the stress in my life. More consideration is in order here.