Landlady asked this morning if I still intended to get into raising meat rabbits. I had to confess that the answer was provisionally yes but practically no. That is, I will maintain facilities capable of supporting it, but don’t plan to actually do it on any meaningful scale unless things turn substantially worse.
And yes, I know I can have my tough guy card pulled for having come out and said so.
This will be the fourth year for the chicken operation, and it has been quite an education. Successes and setbacks have followed on each other rapidly, and although it’s still a learning process I’ve a much better idea for what works and what doesn’t. And by far the most important place where the reality failed to meet expectations was in the matter of meat.
Turns out (readers raised around farms will already know this, of course, but I’m from Detroit) that raising meat chickens is … not at all a pleasant proposition. It involves taking them as chicks and doing things that from start to finish make you feel like a bad person. Laying hens live like queens until that final betrayal, but chickens capable of producing the sort of meat most of us are used to seeing in stores are unnatural creatures right down to their chromosomes, and need to be treated as such. Laying hens are much more healthy birds that live more nearly ‘normal’ lives, but what’s left at the end of their laying careers is not very much and not very palatable. Hardly worth the unpleasant bother, really.
I’m told that meat rabbits are easier and more economical than meat chickens, and maybe that’s so. The end of the matter, though, all things carefully examined, is that it’s very nice to know I can do this but I really prefer not to. The money situation has been better in the past year than in years past, and may continue to improve slightly more yet. If that trend reverses, then probably raising meat will start to look more attractive. Until then I’ll stick to laying hens.
I raised chickens for a long time and we ate two year old hens constantly with no problems. We also raised rabbits for a while, and they did not do nearly as well as the chickens because of the heat. They also don’t lay eggs… Lots of work, though they go from newborn to butcher in a short time.
Brahmas should be butchered at 8 to 10 weeks old, and laying hens are still good for stewing before they are two years old. Not going to be fryers, by any means then, but still useful. You have just been letting them get too old.
“Until then I’ll stick to laying hens.”
Hey Joel, that is a visual I didn’t need.
Well now that the Supremes have made Homosexual “marriage” the Law of the Land, Ben, what ELSE did you expect???
}:-]
There’s no shame in not doing all you can do, if you don’t need to. If the need arises, you’ll do what you need to.
I walked into that one eyes wide, I do confess… 😳
What MamaLiberty said. You gotta rotate your chickens on a relatively short time schedule, difficult for you because when it comes to butchering you have no easy way to preserve the meat, and can eat only so much at one time. And replacements for the birds rotated out may not be available when you need them, so you can’t start a new rotation. Seems like reliable meat preservation would even out some of your your difficulties. And what Kent said. The crucial issue is that you have the skills and can take care of yourself. BTW Should we stop sending SPAM? and other canned meats?
i don’t see any shame in admitting you could probably do an activity but choose not to.
My grandparents managed their chicken flocks the way Mama Liberty describes managing a chicken flock. I chose to manage my chicken flock similar to the way you and Landlady have because I had the money to buy a sack of feed every couple of weeks for my chickens. My chicken were essentially pets not food.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. They’re not pets, and they don’t live past their usefulness as egg-layers. Agnes the Red got it the day before I slaughtered the last of the hippies, because her 2-3 eggs/week weren’t worth the disruption she was sure to cause if I moved her to the Fortress for one last season. After the Selma experience I didn’t even try to butcher her, just shot her and dumped her in the canyon for the coyotes.
The dogs get gentler treatment than that. The chickens aren’t pets. I’m just saying I don’t want to raise animals for the purpose of meat right now – didn’t say I’ll never eat another chicken.
And ML’s probably right about keeping them too long. But Rhode Island Reds do seem to have more than two good laying seasons in them, and opportunity to buy chicks locally is hit-and-miss. Last summer I got lucky, the summer before that I missed out entirely and had to use pullets Landlady brought down.
Never dealt with rabbits so I don’t know, but i’ve heard one can starve to death eating them because they’re all protein and no fat or carbs.
If you eat only rabbits, especially wild ones, you would simply die of malnutrition, not the same as starving to death. Obviously, Joel eats lots of other things too. 🙂 But domestic rabbits can get fat, just as with any other animal. It is important not to feed them too much. 🙂
“…heard one can starve to death eating them because they’re all protein and no fat or carbs.”
Well yes, but compared to protein fat and carbs are cheap and easy to store. Besides, most of us get too much of both.
Wonder how Salt Chicken works. After all, Salt Pork is a standard…
I learn things here despite my lack of effort. One of the voices in my head just intoned “Welcome to The Hermit Educational Channel”. Luckily, the tequila ran out just now so I’ll stop.
Would it be possible to procure and raise one beef calf or a couple meat goats per year?
Not without serious refrigeration. And that’s really putting all your eggs in one basket too. Probably not a good idea for a hermit. 🙂
If its a dry heat (low – no humidity) biltong might be worth a thought. Jerky on steroids is an apt description. If you have chomper problems though, I wouldn’t bother.
Teaming up with another or group for a meat buy might be worth it if refrigeration deal could be worked out with another.
Neither chicken nor rabbit preserve well at all. The protein structure and water content of the meat causes it to spoil very quickly. I have had success brining and hot smoking rabbit, but I stored it under refrigeration afterwards. It was done for culinary reasons, not for preservation. I have raised both chickens and rabbits for meat, and pound for pound, rabbits are the cheaper way. They can be fed plant hay and produce moderately well, whereas chickens need grain and insects…neither is a viable option in an arid climate without investing in significant amounts of feed.