Originally Posted by Candace
I have Lucky(because my dog bit her as a chick and she lived) and Alice. Alice, I wouldn't have such a hard time culling. She's a brat. But, we pick them up to pet and play with. With meat birds on acreage, I'd be like you and not get close. Do you also collect their eggs? I'm assuming you only let a certain amount incubate or stay with the mothers? What breed of bird do you raise?
I do collect their eggs. I have 8 Rhode Island Red hens that are my egg producers. They are great layers and don't hardly ever go broody (start setting a clutch of eggs and therefore quit laying). My rooster is a Buff Orpington. I wish now I would have got Buff Orpington hens as well, but I can always get some down the road. The chicks I just "harvested" were a cross between the two breeds. They were really nice, big bodied birds. I left my original 8 Rhode Island hens for now. I'm going to raise another batch out of them, then it'll be their turn to go. They're 2 years old now. Haven't decided if I'll replace them with their offspring, or if I'll go ahead and get some Orpington hens at that point.
Broody and Broonella are annoying and I almost added them to the freezer batch yesterday, but something told me just to leave them. They are constanly broody and will fight you like crazy when you're trying to get the eggs. They're loud too. But they have character and don't take much feed to keep. :)