Post by HigginsRAT on Dec 15, 2011 15:06:05 GMT -6
Heel low:
I wanted to post some products from our heritage birds; our chickens and turkeys. I truly hope I do not offend anyone by combining both the turks and the chick a licks...I find both so very complimentary to each other and difficult to choose either one solely. Another angle, if you raise chickens...well come on over, the turks are just AS delightful in a bigger sized package and no more bother than the chicks!
These are some of the "Sing Brightly Happy Hen" heritage Chantecler Standard Chicken eggs I collected Feb 21, 2010. It was a miserably COLD day, running -27C and Yeh, yeh, I washed them when I brought them inside and they were still wet, but come on, I was just SO excited to see the "Canuck Bock" pullets of ours living up to the "winter egg layer" label!! LOL
The darker egg is from a Partridge pullet, lighter ones are Buff and White pullets and bottom left, the biggest one is from Chantelle, Buff hen, not a pullet. Kinda neat how the darker the Chant bird, the egg colour reflects that.
I suppose I should also post the turkey eggs...some people eat them with great delight! Our turkey hens begin laying way too early in the season, like Feb or March when eggs freeze in five minutes and split...eek! The heritage hens lay eggs in enviable amounts quite comparable to chickens...an egg every day or so, stop to moult into spring garb and back at it. I get turkey eggs right on into October!! Eeep...so if someone wanted to incubate and hatch alot of meat birds, the heritage girls certainly will help out where and when they can. They set on their own eggs, forgot too, they will go setty and stop laying a few times a year...nothing too terrible, last about two weeks or three for the more stubborn wanna have babes girls. Completely natural and wanted, or so I figure. I like hens that go setty, more natural and makes me smile thinking they could get on quite well without human intervention if required.
I am a strange keeper of poultry, I kinda like eggs, chicken eggs as in a well done omelet or devilled eggs, but none over easy, the texture makes me queezie. No, I am not thinking of them in terms of baby birds that might been, (heavens no!) it is the slimy issue that I don't relish. And then different species eggs; duck, goose, pheasant, swan, turkey...they don't interest me, not even for baking (some swear by duck eggs as being more rich for baking needs). I suppose I am spoilt and have too many eggs so can be quite picky. Chicken eggs for consumption...good enough!
I have done some quality comparisons in the past, I have taken photos of our chicken eggs broken out to compare to store bought eggs (free range chicken ones, brown egg shells, think these were selling at over six dollars a dozen when I bought them) ... our standard "Sing Brightly Happy Hen" Chantecler eggs are the ones on the bottom. Note the colour difference in the yolks (yolks on who?) and the upright stance (freshness) and tightness of the egg whites...yeh, no comparison and the pic says a 1,000 words as to why so many of us raise our own eggs...never EVER able to go back willingly to store bought blick! Taste tests just seal that deal!! LOL
So few years ago, we had the exhibition bird club and decided we should have an egg judging contest. Even the kids without chickens, we told them, no issue, go to the grocery store and BUY up a dozen eggs, that way you can participate too. So in order to put on the contest, I ordered from Berry Hill (nfi) an egg scale...kinda cool, nice blue chicken shape and it weighs small to extra large. The contest was a blast. One of the kids brought a dozen "eggs" which was a dozen plastic Easter eggs with fluffy chicks inside! The judge was so cool, he even judged them, used the egg candling light, broke one out! Fun part is that this family that brought the funny kinda bunny eggs, then gave everyone there one of the eggs...how fun was that!! Anyway, contest over, I packed up the egg scale. I have been meaning for quite some time to get around to unpacking it and using it...what has incited me even more to take time out is the comments of how little the Chantecler eggs are and the sounds of disappointment. Well forget that PEOPLES!!! Forget that!
Those six eggs, recall, two new pullets with very first eggs and four hens...here are the results from my egg scale (even a piccy too!). If anyone found my camera chip...I am sure they would be wondering about my sanity...chicken and bird photos and these eggs!! What a boring life this one has...but we KNOW better, eh! LOL
Two that are the pullet eggs are MEDIUM (2)
Two of the hen eggs are LARGE(2)
Two of the hen eggs are EXTRA LARGE (2) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been getting two eggs a day for about two weeks now, so can presume that these xlarge eggs are these girls, right well started into their laying cycle, the eggs reflect their are conditioned and off into production--so should I, like, be scared how big their eggs will get...I recall mother eggs in spring time (which I did not weigh) and it's not spring right now! Eeep!! The two large eggs would be two hens, older girls just getting back into their lay cycle. The two widdle medium (not SMALL!!! eeehhhh!!!) eggs are from the new pullets.
Soooooo....these are MY findings, photo proof and all...I am just so gob smacked happy...little eggs...HA...even the the brand new egger makers are popping out MEDIUM sized eggs. Neener neener neener...Chantecler chickens ROCK! ;D
OK, doing the happy chicken dance...and it looks as bad as it sounds but I dunna care...
Me happy I bothered to go dig out that egg scale...what does bother me though, how much more technically scientific and clinical will I get? I don't want to be butt dyeing hens now to see who laid which eggs or trap nesting either. I did not get into the Chants to become pyscho, I wanted eggs all year round and great tasting happy meat for our home plates. I think it suffice to say, my little egg count has answered my ponderings quite well. I showed Rick the eggs and told him how they were rated and he just shrugged. "Big girls, big eggs, what were you expecting? Yeh those just L00K like Extra Large eggs..." I guess who really needs an egg scale when you got the sensibility and straight to the goods man! He did not have to weigh them, but I guess I did.
Speaking of BIG girls, I been admiring how big Gertie, standard Partridge Chantecler pullet, has gotten. I decided to weigh her about two weeks ago...my my my, better ADD to her name, "Goliath" Gertie...hatched June, she weighed SIX pounds...Rick was beaming...he likes to see his girls HAPPY...chubby happy, not skinny "oh I'm SO hungry!" Bad man!
Here are some pics of her.
She is too light to my preferences, I like a reddish bay ground and her pattern is more a cockerel breeder pattern...certainly NOT a good pencilled pattern, BUT since she is an F3 for us, her conformation and weight gain certainly seems promising. I LUV her temperament, she likes to hop up on the feed bucket and visit with me...cute.
Ah yes and now to the meats...
The heritage chicken meat...this was the first Chantecler Buff cockerel I ever processed. Cockerel was 20 weeks old, processed Nov 22, 2009 and I dry pluck. I had no scale to weigh him with...so no details on the before and after processing weights. I can however tell you now that I have a scale, the 4.5 month old Red cockerels from last season weighed nine pounds (suspect this is hybrid vigour speaking loud and proud!). Tonight, I brought one of my favourite Red Chantecler roosters, hatched 2010, in to be weighed and he was exactly ten pounds...I just love these Chant roos...all the while I was carrying him, he is warble chuckling to me. To me, who is more use to bantam chickens...ten pounds is a monster of a chicken! LOL A monster size, but ever so sweet, thank heavens, cheep cheep!
Ah yes, now on to the other heritage meat providers of ours, the turkeys.
Here is a photo of Patty, he is a Jersey Buff tom.
Patty is one of our foundation turks and he will just have to pass on from old age, not interested in eating the likes of him... Story about him and his girls (March 2008) and them using his tail feathers as a tooth brush (turkeys have teeth??) and how he got is name Patty Cakes on St. Patrick's day. Tales from Rat World page on my website, Go Green or Half Red/Lavender!
www.wolven.ca/higgins/ratranch
Here is a Sweetgrass we named Red, taken Apr 2010. This fellow would turn half red and half purple, not making up his mind what colour he wanted to be...quite interesting.
Ah yes, the Store bought turkey mushy tasteless meat versus the firm tasty heritage home grown turkey and this one is a Lilac HEN, not a tom. I suspect the store bought is a tom.
Note the different shape of the commercial compared to the heritage...the long breast meat compared to the short bulgy (get in the way of replicating) chest of the store bought processed tom. I am actually going to start measuring the amount of white meat compared to dark on our heritage frame compared to the bulgy commercials, might be my imagination but I do believe you actually get more better quality white meat than in the short blimpy framed thing!
Note flat wishbone in this heritage Lilac tom, this one was ten months old. Rick and I have tried them at ten and eleven months and this Thanksgiving, a 16 month old Lilac tom...Rick and I agree, the sixteen month old tom was the most delicious of all the turkeys we have yet raised, processed and eaten. Best turkey lip smacking flavour!
This is THE very first heritage turkey I processed. This is a photo of the marinated heritage turkey breast we served up at my son's wedding. It was superb!!
Ah yes, and when all is said and done, all those turkey bones...they make the most marvelous turkey soup stock. Lookit the dark colour of this Thanksgiving 2010 turkey soup...I have not taken a photo of the heritage turk gravy, but it is so rich and dark...compared to the commercial grocery store turkey, the commercials PALE in comparison...on so many levels...bwa ha ha.
Now don't you guys forget to age the heritage meat before cooking it. This same aging of heritage chicken meat also applies to turkey meat. This Thanksgiving, I processed the tom we ate on T-Day on the Monday afternoon and aged the 16 month old tom in the refrigerator until the Saturday...I think it was the Saturday...hee hee...thinking of the delicious turkey taste and having a brain blip! LOL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How Eight Heritage Turkeys Kicked a Butterball’s Butt - Midget White and Bourbon Red Heritage Turkeys Prove Superior to Factory-farm Birds"
By Don Schrider, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy- August 21, 2008
www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Turkey-Taste-Test.aspx
Come on, who wouldn't LOVE an article about heritage turks kicking butt! LOL The article and photos are just great and prove a point, TASTE is the quality one can look forward to savoring when raising heritage turkeys for enjoyment and your table.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Rediscovering Traditional Meats from Historic Chicken Breeds"
Gina Bisco wrote this article and she keeps Chantecler chickens...wonderful knowledgeable woman!
www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So if all this does not convince you that the eggs and meat of our heritage birds are not worthy of producing...I simply do not know what will...LOL Maybe a heritage chicken sandwich with a hot bowl of heritage turk soup! Num num nummy!
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta
- Miss yah Makes; December 7, 1995 – February 4, 2011 ^~~^
WF: DUCKS: Calls (24 varieties), East Indies, Mandarins, Crested Ducks, Australian Spotted, Hookbills, & Appleyards.
GEESE: Buff & Buff Pied American.
SWANS: Australian Black.
LF: BANTAM Brahmas, Wyandottes, Booteds, & Chanteclers & STANDARD Chanteclers (Partridge, Buff, Orange Clay, & White).
Heritage TURKEYS (Jersey Buff, Bronze, Narragansett, Slate, Red Bronze, Rusty Black, Red Blue Bronze, Lilac, & Sweetgrass).
PHEASANTS: Red Golden & Silver.
Registered: Australian Cattle Dogs, Jacob Sheep, Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats, & Llamas. Pond Fish.
--
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
____(\ Tara Lee Higgins /)____
(_____~> Higgins Rat Ranch - An ACD is for LIFE <~_____)
( `` `` Alberta, Canada `` `` )
\ ranchrat@telusplanet.net /
) www.wolven.ca/higgins/ratranch (
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
I wanted to post some products from our heritage birds; our chickens and turkeys. I truly hope I do not offend anyone by combining both the turks and the chick a licks...I find both so very complimentary to each other and difficult to choose either one solely. Another angle, if you raise chickens...well come on over, the turks are just AS delightful in a bigger sized package and no more bother than the chicks!
These are some of the "Sing Brightly Happy Hen" heritage Chantecler Standard Chicken eggs I collected Feb 21, 2010. It was a miserably COLD day, running -27C and Yeh, yeh, I washed them when I brought them inside and they were still wet, but come on, I was just SO excited to see the "Canuck Bock" pullets of ours living up to the "winter egg layer" label!! LOL
The darker egg is from a Partridge pullet, lighter ones are Buff and White pullets and bottom left, the biggest one is from Chantelle, Buff hen, not a pullet. Kinda neat how the darker the Chant bird, the egg colour reflects that.
I suppose I should also post the turkey eggs...some people eat them with great delight! Our turkey hens begin laying way too early in the season, like Feb or March when eggs freeze in five minutes and split...eek! The heritage hens lay eggs in enviable amounts quite comparable to chickens...an egg every day or so, stop to moult into spring garb and back at it. I get turkey eggs right on into October!! Eeep...so if someone wanted to incubate and hatch alot of meat birds, the heritage girls certainly will help out where and when they can. They set on their own eggs, forgot too, they will go setty and stop laying a few times a year...nothing too terrible, last about two weeks or three for the more stubborn wanna have babes girls. Completely natural and wanted, or so I figure. I like hens that go setty, more natural and makes me smile thinking they could get on quite well without human intervention if required.
I am a strange keeper of poultry, I kinda like eggs, chicken eggs as in a well done omelet or devilled eggs, but none over easy, the texture makes me queezie. No, I am not thinking of them in terms of baby birds that might been, (heavens no!) it is the slimy issue that I don't relish. And then different species eggs; duck, goose, pheasant, swan, turkey...they don't interest me, not even for baking (some swear by duck eggs as being more rich for baking needs). I suppose I am spoilt and have too many eggs so can be quite picky. Chicken eggs for consumption...good enough!
Heritage Turkey Eggs - Rows of Three from Left to Right: Sweetgrass, Lilac and Jersey Buff Loonie and Toonie down below to use to compare size of eggs to.
I have done some quality comparisons in the past, I have taken photos of our chicken eggs broken out to compare to store bought eggs (free range chicken ones, brown egg shells, think these were selling at over six dollars a dozen when I bought them) ... our standard "Sing Brightly Happy Hen" Chantecler eggs are the ones on the bottom. Note the colour difference in the yolks (yolks on who?) and the upright stance (freshness) and tightness of the egg whites...yeh, no comparison and the pic says a 1,000 words as to why so many of us raise our own eggs...never EVER able to go back willingly to store bought blick! Taste tests just seal that deal!! LOL
So few years ago, we had the exhibition bird club and decided we should have an egg judging contest. Even the kids without chickens, we told them, no issue, go to the grocery store and BUY up a dozen eggs, that way you can participate too. So in order to put on the contest, I ordered from Berry Hill (nfi) an egg scale...kinda cool, nice blue chicken shape and it weighs small to extra large. The contest was a blast. One of the kids brought a dozen "eggs" which was a dozen plastic Easter eggs with fluffy chicks inside! The judge was so cool, he even judged them, used the egg candling light, broke one out! Fun part is that this family that brought the funny kinda bunny eggs, then gave everyone there one of the eggs...how fun was that!! Anyway, contest over, I packed up the egg scale. I have been meaning for quite some time to get around to unpacking it and using it...what has incited me even more to take time out is the comments of how little the Chantecler eggs are and the sounds of disappointment. Well forget that PEOPLES!!! Forget that!
Those six eggs, recall, two new pullets with very first eggs and four hens...here are the results from my egg scale (even a piccy too!). If anyone found my camera chip...I am sure they would be wondering about my sanity...chicken and bird photos and these eggs!! What a boring life this one has...but we KNOW better, eh! LOL
Two that are the pullet eggs are MEDIUM (2)
Two of the hen eggs are LARGE(2)
Two of the hen eggs are EXTRA LARGE (2) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been getting two eggs a day for about two weeks now, so can presume that these xlarge eggs are these girls, right well started into their laying cycle, the eggs reflect their are conditioned and off into production--so should I, like, be scared how big their eggs will get...I recall mother eggs in spring time (which I did not weigh) and it's not spring right now! Eeep!! The two large eggs would be two hens, older girls just getting back into their lay cycle. The two widdle medium (not SMALL!!! eeehhhh!!!) eggs are from the new pullets.
Soooooo....these are MY findings, photo proof and all...I am just so gob smacked happy...little eggs...HA...even the the brand new egger makers are popping out MEDIUM sized eggs. Neener neener neener...Chantecler chickens ROCK! ;D
OK, doing the happy chicken dance...and it looks as bad as it sounds but I dunna care...
2 MEDIUM, 2 LARGE, 2 EXTRA LARGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Me happy I bothered to go dig out that egg scale...what does bother me though, how much more technically scientific and clinical will I get? I don't want to be butt dyeing hens now to see who laid which eggs or trap nesting either. I did not get into the Chants to become pyscho, I wanted eggs all year round and great tasting happy meat for our home plates. I think it suffice to say, my little egg count has answered my ponderings quite well. I showed Rick the eggs and told him how they were rated and he just shrugged. "Big girls, big eggs, what were you expecting? Yeh those just L00K like Extra Large eggs..." I guess who really needs an egg scale when you got the sensibility and straight to the goods man! He did not have to weigh them, but I guess I did.
Speaking of BIG girls, I been admiring how big Gertie, standard Partridge Chantecler pullet, has gotten. I decided to weigh her about two weeks ago...my my my, better ADD to her name, "Goliath" Gertie...hatched June, she weighed SIX pounds...Rick was beaming...he likes to see his girls HAPPY...chubby happy, not skinny "oh I'm SO hungry!" Bad man!
Here are some pics of her.
She is too light to my preferences, I like a reddish bay ground and her pattern is more a cockerel breeder pattern...certainly NOT a good pencilled pattern, BUT since she is an F3 for us, her conformation and weight gain certainly seems promising. I LUV her temperament, she likes to hop up on the feed bucket and visit with me...cute.
Ah yes and now to the meats...
The heritage chicken meat...this was the first Chantecler Buff cockerel I ever processed. Cockerel was 20 weeks old, processed Nov 22, 2009 and I dry pluck. I had no scale to weigh him with...so no details on the before and after processing weights. I can however tell you now that I have a scale, the 4.5 month old Red cockerels from last season weighed nine pounds (suspect this is hybrid vigour speaking loud and proud!). Tonight, I brought one of my favourite Red Chantecler roosters, hatched 2010, in to be weighed and he was exactly ten pounds...I just love these Chant roos...all the while I was carrying him, he is warble chuckling to me. To me, who is more use to bantam chickens...ten pounds is a monster of a chicken! LOL A monster size, but ever so sweet, thank heavens, cheep cheep!
Ah yes, now on to the other heritage meat providers of ours, the turkeys.
Here is a photo of Patty, he is a Jersey Buff tom.
Patty is one of our foundation turks and he will just have to pass on from old age, not interested in eating the likes of him... Story about him and his girls (March 2008) and them using his tail feathers as a tooth brush (turkeys have teeth??) and how he got is name Patty Cakes on St. Patrick's day. Tales from Rat World page on my website, Go Green or Half Red/Lavender!
www.wolven.ca/higgins/ratranch
Here is a Sweetgrass we named Red, taken Apr 2010. This fellow would turn half red and half purple, not making up his mind what colour he wanted to be...quite interesting.
Ah yes, the Store bought turkey mushy tasteless meat versus the firm tasty heritage home grown turkey and this one is a Lilac HEN, not a tom. I suspect the store bought is a tom.
Note the different shape of the commercial compared to the heritage...the long breast meat compared to the short bulgy (get in the way of replicating) chest of the store bought processed tom. I am actually going to start measuring the amount of white meat compared to dark on our heritage frame compared to the bulgy commercials, might be my imagination but I do believe you actually get more better quality white meat than in the short blimpy framed thing!
Note flat wishbone in this heritage Lilac tom, this one was ten months old. Rick and I have tried them at ten and eleven months and this Thanksgiving, a 16 month old Lilac tom...Rick and I agree, the sixteen month old tom was the most delicious of all the turkeys we have yet raised, processed and eaten. Best turkey lip smacking flavour!
This is THE very first heritage turkey I processed. This is a photo of the marinated heritage turkey breast we served up at my son's wedding. It was superb!!
Ah yes, and when all is said and done, all those turkey bones...they make the most marvelous turkey soup stock. Lookit the dark colour of this Thanksgiving 2010 turkey soup...I have not taken a photo of the heritage turk gravy, but it is so rich and dark...compared to the commercial grocery store turkey, the commercials PALE in comparison...on so many levels...bwa ha ha.
Now don't you guys forget to age the heritage meat before cooking it. This same aging of heritage chicken meat also applies to turkey meat. This Thanksgiving, I processed the tom we ate on T-Day on the Monday afternoon and aged the 16 month old tom in the refrigerator until the Saturday...I think it was the Saturday...hee hee...thinking of the delicious turkey taste and having a brain blip! LOL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How Eight Heritage Turkeys Kicked a Butterball’s Butt - Midget White and Bourbon Red Heritage Turkeys Prove Superior to Factory-farm Birds"
By Don Schrider, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy- August 21, 2008
www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Turkey-Taste-Test.aspx
Come on, who wouldn't LOVE an article about heritage turks kicking butt! LOL The article and photos are just great and prove a point, TASTE is the quality one can look forward to savoring when raising heritage turkeys for enjoyment and your table.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Rediscovering Traditional Meats from Historic Chicken Breeds"
Gina Bisco wrote this article and she keeps Chantecler chickens...wonderful knowledgeable woman!
www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So if all this does not convince you that the eggs and meat of our heritage birds are not worthy of producing...I simply do not know what will...LOL Maybe a heritage chicken sandwich with a hot bowl of heritage turk soup! Num num nummy!
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta
- Miss yah Makes; December 7, 1995 – February 4, 2011 ^~~^
WF: DUCKS: Calls (24 varieties), East Indies, Mandarins, Crested Ducks, Australian Spotted, Hookbills, & Appleyards.
GEESE: Buff & Buff Pied American.
SWANS: Australian Black.
LF: BANTAM Brahmas, Wyandottes, Booteds, & Chanteclers & STANDARD Chanteclers (Partridge, Buff, Orange Clay, & White).
Heritage TURKEYS (Jersey Buff, Bronze, Narragansett, Slate, Red Bronze, Rusty Black, Red Blue Bronze, Lilac, & Sweetgrass).
PHEASANTS: Red Golden & Silver.
Registered: Australian Cattle Dogs, Jacob Sheep, Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats, & Llamas. Pond Fish.
--
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
____(\ Tara Lee Higgins /)____
(_____~> Higgins Rat Ranch - An ACD is for LIFE <~_____)
( `` `` Alberta, Canada `` `` )
\ ranchrat@telusplanet.net /
) www.wolven.ca/higgins/ratranch (
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
