Since I am interested in some day raising my own chickens for both eggs and meat, I read with fascination the thread that Curly_Kate started asking about which meat hybreds to raise. Someone mentioned raising turkey's and that reminded me of a story my grandparents told me.
In 1977, my grandparents retired to a small town about 65 miles north of Green Bay Wisconsin. Try as they may, they could never grow a garden up there. The soil is basically all sand and very few veggies took even though they repeated tried to augment the ground. Already into thier 70's they didn't feel the hard work required would benifit them. So instead my grandmother had my grandfather run around to various farmer's markets where she would buy veggies and fruit enbulk for canning.
Meat wise, it's odd. My grandfather was an advid fisherman and hunter. He belonged to his company's rod and gun club from the 50's till he retired in the early 70's. After he retired, he informed the resort owner where he did his two annual fishing trips to in the spring and fall that he would not be needing a resourvation for the following year. When the owner asked him why, and my grandfather explained he was retiring, the owner whom had known my grandfather for many years asked him if he would liked to run the place for them, which they did for the next 5 years.
During this time my grandparents went about that area looking for a perminate place to live. But the odd things is, after years of being first a farmer then later being into his company's rod and gun club, once they did find a place to move to, he never did either hobby again. About the only time I knew he tooks his rifles out of his gun cabinet was one time while my mother and I visted and we sat there in his garage shooting at chipmonks that would dig holes in his lawn.
But the town where they'd move to was rather tight knit and when my grandfather inquired about places to buy meat, like chickens a hog, or such in bulk quantities, his nieghbor, the towns now retired doctor piped right up.
Not only was his neighbor once the town's doctor, he also had about 100 acers where he rasied some cows, had corn, and such for a supplimental income. When you live in a town of 200, that was probably good foresight on his part. How often would he be that busy?? Well besides cows, this doctor/farmer also hunted, and raised his own chickens and turkeys. Since the turkey's were too large to share the same area's with the chickens, he took one of his smaller outbuildings and built a dividing wall between the two sides. One side was the coop for the turkeys and the other he stored a dozen or more bags of dog food for his hunting dogs. Well the darn turkeys pecked thier way through the dividing wall and ate the dog food!
I don't know if this was a good thing or not. Ya know after the mad cow issues happening and all that jazz, but these dog food eating turkeys grew to enourmous sizes! Each weighing between 50-60lbs! This isn't some exaggeration either! Someplace around here, I wish I could find it. My grandmother took a picture of one of the birds sitting on thier kitchen table. It took up nearly the whole darn table. The birds were so big, my grand father had to cut them in half (the doctor gave them two), so they'd fit in the oven!
Again, I have no idea if this was good or bad, but my grand parents said they tasted just as good as any turkey they'd ever ate. And there seemed to be no ill affects. Concidering that most dry dog food is basicall either corn, wheat or rice. Besides some of the hormones, those of you that have raised chickens, turkeys, ect. What's your take on doing some experiments???
Jax
In 1977, my grandparents retired to a small town about 65 miles north of Green Bay Wisconsin. Try as they may, they could never grow a garden up there. The soil is basically all sand and very few veggies took even though they repeated tried to augment the ground. Already into thier 70's they didn't feel the hard work required would benifit them. So instead my grandmother had my grandfather run around to various farmer's markets where she would buy veggies and fruit enbulk for canning.
Meat wise, it's odd. My grandfather was an advid fisherman and hunter. He belonged to his company's rod and gun club from the 50's till he retired in the early 70's. After he retired, he informed the resort owner where he did his two annual fishing trips to in the spring and fall that he would not be needing a resourvation for the following year. When the owner asked him why, and my grandfather explained he was retiring, the owner whom had known my grandfather for many years asked him if he would liked to run the place for them, which they did for the next 5 years.
During this time my grandparents went about that area looking for a perminate place to live. But the odd things is, after years of being first a farmer then later being into his company's rod and gun club, once they did find a place to move to, he never did either hobby again. About the only time I knew he tooks his rifles out of his gun cabinet was one time while my mother and I visted and we sat there in his garage shooting at chipmonks that would dig holes in his lawn.
But the town where they'd move to was rather tight knit and when my grandfather inquired about places to buy meat, like chickens a hog, or such in bulk quantities, his nieghbor, the towns now retired doctor piped right up.
Not only was his neighbor once the town's doctor, he also had about 100 acers where he rasied some cows, had corn, and such for a supplimental income. When you live in a town of 200, that was probably good foresight on his part. How often would he be that busy?? Well besides cows, this doctor/farmer also hunted, and raised his own chickens and turkeys. Since the turkey's were too large to share the same area's with the chickens, he took one of his smaller outbuildings and built a dividing wall between the two sides. One side was the coop for the turkeys and the other he stored a dozen or more bags of dog food for his hunting dogs. Well the darn turkeys pecked thier way through the dividing wall and ate the dog food!
I don't know if this was a good thing or not. Ya know after the mad cow issues happening and all that jazz, but these dog food eating turkeys grew to enourmous sizes! Each weighing between 50-60lbs! This isn't some exaggeration either! Someplace around here, I wish I could find it. My grandmother took a picture of one of the birds sitting on thier kitchen table. It took up nearly the whole darn table. The birds were so big, my grand father had to cut them in half (the doctor gave them two), so they'd fit in the oven!
Again, I have no idea if this was good or bad, but my grand parents said they tasted just as good as any turkey they'd ever ate. And there seemed to be no ill affects. Concidering that most dry dog food is basicall either corn, wheat or rice. Besides some of the hormones, those of you that have raised chickens, turkeys, ect. What's your take on doing some experiments???
Jax
