How best to fatten Table birds

[hopkinsontom]

hi i am about to incubate some Indian Game cross Light sussex and i was wondering how best to fatten them, should i let them be free range or should i keep them in a large shed?

also i have an unlimited supply of wheat and barley, what can i feed them to get them nice and plump?

 

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi there - I wrote a nice reply and pressed the wrong button 07 But anyway here goes again

First I shall be interested to hear what everyone else does, but this is my method

I keep my own strain of dual purpose utility Marans. The girls are kept for layers which can be sold if there is a surplus and the boys are kept for eating. They normally reach 5 to 5 1/2 lbs dressed weight in around 24 to 30 weeks

I keep all the youngsters together and feed on chick started to about 6-8 weeks. Then split off the boys into their own stable and once they know it as home they are allowed free range of my large woodland garden (about 1 acre), where they can find plenty of insects, grubs and greenery, and just fed wheat morning and evening (that is the cheapest feed I can get from a local farmer)

When they are up to size they are penned in the stable for around 1 week to maybe 10 days and fed boiled wheat and rice (put in Aga oven overnight) The feed is put down morning and evening, and taken away after 30 mins if they haven't eaten it all. If they have they get a larger serving next time

They have constant access to clean fresh water seaweed meal and grit.

This produces a fat free and delicious bird. It is not as pappy as the 7 wk old supermarket youngsters, but the flavour and texture are truly excellent

All the best
Sue

4june edited to add around 1 week to maybe 10 days

 

[Frenchchickens123]

Hi, I have tried two methods with naked necks. First lot were allowed to free range all day every day and given a mix of wheat oats and barley on top of what ever they could find in the 25 acres they had access to, although they never went far from the coop and house. My current lot have been penned in a large run and given the same mix mentioned above plus a bit of corn equal to 150 gram of grain each. From these 2 methods I have found the second better. My first lot were very tasty no fat bit they took nearly 30 weeks to get up to weight (2.2 kg) not sure what that is in Ibs. The current ones penned in have already put on weight more quickly than the others did. I will be trying one soon they are 18/20 weeks so have cut 10 weeks off which makes it a bit cheaper food wise too. I do let them free range 2/3 times a week. I guess it depends whether you want yours to get to weight more quickly in which case I suggest they are penned up. I also found true free range birds not that tender, I guess because of all the muscles they got from roaming around. But as said before have yet to try the second lot so I haven't made my mind up yet! Hope this helps

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,I don't actually eat my surplus cockerels,but,I have an arrangement with a friend who will cull my surplus,he then does eat them.
Mine are allowed to free range totally with the rest of my flock up until they are culled,and,I confess as I'm not raising them to eat, I don't worry about getting them to a decent table weight.So mine are just free ranging and eating layers pellets along with my hens.
So far,my friend has had naked necks(he rated these the best for flavour and texture),light sussex,silky(black chicken meat is a delicacy in the far east)thuringian(dual purpose breed) and a brahma.
The most muscled one and slightly tougher was the pure light sussex apparently.
Penned birds should reach their weights quicker than free range birds,and can be kept on growers pellets to reach their table weight.
I personally would still let table birds free range,so that they have good quality of life before being culled.This is just my personal view though,with out considering cost etc.