Pete, I think this video was exceptional. Very well presented, informative, rational. You always present your information in a clear, concise form. I enjoy your videos and seeing daily farm activities, as I am an old farm boy who no longer is physically able to do things that I used to do! Blessings to you and yours always, from Ohio!
@@jupitercyclops6521 you have to have a rooster to mate those hen, otherwise the eggs won't hatch , when the hens lays eggs without a rooster they are only good to eat., sorry for my bad English .
Atta boy, Pete!! I'm "addicted" to your wunnerful channel!!! Everyday, when I bring up RU-vid, I check YOUR channel first in hopes that you've posted another gentle adventure there on your farm. No wonder your channel is growing so exponentially!! All 248,000 of us are cheering for ya buddy!!! ;o)
I enjoy your Small Farm Sundays. My "small farm" is 2500 sq ft - my backyard - with no livestock allowed. But watching your videos still gets my brain going - I ponder things, questions pop into my head, I fine-tune my mental meanderings, and then I start to research. I just got started growing food last year, and I'm hoping in a couple of years I can supplement my income with sales of saved seeds, plant starts, fresh produce, and preserved foods...and in the meantime will also provide myself, my family, and my friends with nutritious & delicious LOCAL food. Thanks Pete.
@@karenw9996 I feel ya there. I'd love to have my own laying hens but we live in the suburbs and they aren't allowed. Neither are meat rabbits. Heck, our HOA even limits how many pets can be kept on your own property! Definitely not ideal but it is what it is
We hatched our own Cobbs which I believe are Britains answer to the Cornish cross! But they were about 2.50 per egg so rather pricey compared with the USA. But I do think many many less people want to grow eggs and meat her than the USA so prices reflect that. Was an awesome experience!
Hi Pete! Thank you for another great video. The meat birds we get here in Nova Scotia, I’m sure they’re the same as you get, they grow so fast that the roosters go off their feet. They eat like there’s no tomorrow. We always kept them in a pin. So they got lazy fast. And for a week or two before they’d be butchered we’d feed them cracked corn. The corn kinda turned the fat yellow but it give the meat a bit better flavour.
Appreciate this Pete! My gf and I are starting the process to start our small farm. We won't have the luxury of inheriting but are working on our transition with my father-in-law who had run this farm as a small dairy here in Canada for 40 years. The farm needs to be completely renovated but we will be bootstrapping
Great comparison of needs vs time. Also glad you pointed out that the commercial breeds are consistently getting the genetics tweeked by breeders. I know the Cornish cross I remember as a kid in the 1980s were a lot different from the current genetics.
Hi Pete, its been nice to get know you through your vlogs and you take me back to my school days back in England in WW2 when my 2 best buddies were Farmers sons. We lived in an area where a lot of farms were pure dairy farms so they grew hay ,some crops of Cow Cabbage and Mangolds and the rest was grazing. Farms were relatively small about 150 acres. So I was familiar with driving cows to the barn to be milked ,mucking out the stalls and picking eggs which were found all over the farm yard as chickens ,ducks and geese ran free although they had a shed for night time and that's where they got fed then locked in for the night because of marauding foxes.Fun time was hay making as we got to drink farm made cider. the farms usually had just one tractor a David Brown or a Fordson usually but also had a Shire horse or two who were genle giants and used for hauling a big cart or a plough or harrow. I loved that rural lifes o much I ran away to sea following a family tradition and that led me to come to Canada in 1967. You know Pete I think besides being a farmer youre a rural "Philosopher" ,you havea very engaging way of putting across your thoughts and ideas I just love each vlog .Thankyou so much you've got a new fan.
Great to see you again, even among the snowflakes I was in yesterday. Mom is really got a knack of finding the broody hens that hatches her own. We like leghorns and Australorps.
Just found your channel a couple weeks ago, and I'm really enjoying it so far! I like the way you explain not only what you're doing, but what the other options are, and why you choose the options that you do. Enjoy that NY Spring snow! I just drove across NY on the I-90 this past week...budding trees and snow patches...gotta love it!
I'm a young beginning chicken breeder. Right now working with Columbian Wyandottes. God gifted me with an "accidental" cockerel in my sexed "pullets" last year. Anyhow, last fall I hatched 10 chicks in a small, Nurture Right 360 incubator. I hatched 3 Columbian Wyandottes (got 2 pullets and 1 cockerel), 1 Columbian Wyandotte/Welsummer mix (cockerel), and 6 Easter Egger/Columbian Wyandotte mixes (3 pullets, 3 cockerels). I kept the Columbian Wyandotte cockerel for breeding, sold one of the Easter Egger cross cockerels for $15 on craigslist, of course kept all of the pullets (the Easter Egger cross pullets all lay a bluish egg), and butchered the remaining cockerels at about 22 weeks. They were a decent size- at least 3 lbs a piece. I've only cooked one so far (8 hours on low in a crockpot with potatoes, carrots, and onion. Was good and nice and tender.) I hatched another batch already this year, and it looks like 7 out of 10 are cockerels, lol. Oh, well, at least they taste good. I have 11 Columbian Wyandotte eggs in the incubator as well on day 15.
My husband and I are retired from professional careers at pretty typical retirement ages. We started raising chickens and Dexter cows more than ten years before retiring. I agree that with your market you need consistency and that is best managed with hatcheries. We raise Appleyard ducks, Pilgrim Geese, and chickens. Our personal favorite meat bird is a Bielefelder x Buff Brahma F1 Cross. It is a big colourful bird and also a decent layer. We think they are very tasty and like the texture. We raise four breeds with distinctive appearance in bird and eggs. Sometimes hatching your own is for the sheer joy of it. We sell multicolour eggs on the honor system and haven't been short changed yet. Knock on wood.
Hi Pete! My Grandad always said “for every problem there’s a solution”. So I searched Amazon and ordered one chicken and one egg. …I’ll let you know! During these unsettling times, I always seem to find some comfort visiting your channel. Thank you! …tugg
Thank you Pete! Your videos are great. I am a dark chicken meat lover as is everyone in my family. If you come across any 3 or 4 legged chicken breeds, I would definitely be a weekly buyer! Ha! Happy Sunday to you and your family. --Chuck in Jensen Beach Florida
This was timely for me because we have been thinking about closing the loop on our meat bird production. I'm not feeling 100% confident about it. We provide for our personal use~~we're not selling commercially. Thanks for giving me some insight. :)
Generally speaking, it’s fun, but you’ll get 50% roosters on average. However, given the bird flu, it’s probably not a bad idea if you’re looking to replace or add to your flock
We like the dual Purpose breeds for our own hatching since we can grow out the extra cockerels for meat. But we still order in Cornish Rocks as well to make sure we have enough chicken for the year. Some may not know that a Cornish hen in the store is just a Cornish Rock that didn't make it to the final harvest weight. Can do the same at home as long as you regularly check on them and process them out right away.
Thank you,as we have been discussing this at home. We only produce eggs and decided yesterday to add to our hens with some new chicks. We also started the “raising broilers” discussion. We round tabled this last night and your timely explanation just answered all of our questions. I have been following you for some time and I have appreciated all of your well thought out thoughts and explanations. Thank you again.
Thank you Pete for your great follow-up of your last video. Points well taken. I myself , have not been able to cross-breed my chickens successfully. Thank you for your time, and energy sharing your videos with us. 🇺🇸
Great video on explaining how to blend commercialism with small farming and the balance to be successful. Excellent follow up on a previous video on idealistic farming.
Indeed, Pete. And, yes, hatcheries seem to be overwhelmed this year and RU-vid may have the answer. A quick search on the Tube yields a large number of videos of people raising meat chickens in their backyards since Covid. While a bad thing for small commercial growers like yourself, I think that people becoming more responsible abut sourcing their food is a positive thing. Hope your second weekend at the market went well. Seems like farmer's market's season is off to a good start nationwide. Blessings.
I knew your oldest was ready to get the heck out of their. I hope she finds happenest in here life. Your two other kids love learning and didn't mind working. You tube income is a lifesavers for just a few acres farm. Lol. I can't wait to see you and your son use the truck you have or buying a project together. That will be a treasure he'll rember that time together. Still shocks me how awesome you are with rebuilding machines. Neal Apollo Beach Florida
You do just an excellent job explaining your rationale for why you do what you do. While I am not a farmer I just like listening to you provide insight from a farmer's perspective. Keep up the good work!
Couldn't agree more with all you said. I used to hatch rare breed and ( what I called ) ornamental chickens and did a killer business. I couldn't imagine hatching production breeds for profit. I moved to a bigger farm and once I get all the other projects caught up I will be firing up the incubators and getting back to it...
You were done a favor, I got my cornish x "on time" it's too wet and too cold for them to be outdoors yet so it's become a lot of labor to keep them clean enough to be healthy. Right now would be a perfect time to start.
Hello my friend, you are the treasure of the farmer who strives to improve livestock, as long as you are safe in the house of you and his generous family
Just watched this video again and noticed the "halo" that appears over your head as you are walking along! (at about 10 minutes into the video) Apparently, it's just a drop of snow on your lens. But how appropriate! I just started incubating my first batch of 12 American Bresse eggs. We'll see how they grow! Did the Cornish Cross, but prefer to breed on my own. Love your videos!
Pete I think you underestimate how very interesting this "chicken talk" is! I only have a 1/4 acre but in my heart I am a homesteader. I could scale a chicken tractor for my small place and mow no more!
Pete, I think you hit the nail on the head with this Small Farm Sunday Episode. Maybe another Episode you can hit on the Consistancy of your product, the consumer likes a small range of choice, within the same parameters each time. IE, consumers like a big breasted chicken, but they want to have the choice between 4 and 6lbs. per bird. Same thing with Pork, a lot of people like the 3/4-1inch cut porkchops, but they want the size of the pork chops relatively the same, people don't want huge pork chops ( In my experience) and they dont' want tiny chops either. Middle size chops sell like lemonade on a hot day, nearly everyday,
What I hate is when you get all 3 sizes in the same pack. There is only one grocery store near here that has their own butcher so we pay pay extra to go there but the other store gets their meat already cut and some of the chops are not even recognizable! They have wedge shaped chops that burn on one edge while the other edge is still raw. Some of the chicken breasts have part of the backbone on them or half the breast missing. It is machine cut meat full of bone dust and wonky pieces.
@@candidegunn3624 exactly, that's just poor butchering. That's what corporate greed does to agriculture. They try to find a way to slip the waste into your cart and have you pay them for it! My local butcher shop takes Excellent care of me, they also buy locally raised animals from the community to butcher for their store and customers can request.
@@BillTheTractorMan The store with the real butcher is a small family owned store that has been there for like 80 years or more. It is a very rural area so there are not many stores out here. There is a Wal-Mart about 20 miles away but I won't step foot in there on GP but last time I went there 20 years ago, they had the same prepackaged meat with bone chips in the ground meat! and soggy produce. Now that one decent sized grocery store seems to have the same problem. I am afraid that soon there will be no decent places to shop.
Thank you Peter for your constantly entertaining and informative videos. You really do have a large and variant knowledge on many different subjects, which I find surprising and I acknowledge your talent. Cheers mate from Australia.
My new incubator is being delivered tomorrow. When Tractor Supply is sold out in the first part of April, it is time for me to start hatching my own egg layers. They had ducks and pullets but no chicks and if something that big can have a problem getting chicks, you just know it has to be bad.
Another great informative video Pete. even as a consumer I come away learning how to be a more productive, saving individual from all your information Thank your for taking the time to share all that knowledge with Us. God Speed. ECF
P I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed your information on raising Given those vital information on farming as well as us to talk about the various breeds of chickens. Thank you for taking the time to explain to us about commercial breeding in your growing your chickens.
Pete, thanks so much for another educational, informative video. You hit a sweet spot with this one. Where else can I find such interesting 🧐 information about something that I would never have the chance to be exposed to without your insightful videos. Thanks 🙏 again and have a great 😊 day.
As always i look forward to watching your video. I truly enjoyed meeting you yesterday at farmers market and chatting for a few minutes. Thank you for the videos and the info you continue to provide.
I raise a dual breed called Chantecler, bred in Quebec for very cold environments. They are somewhat smaller than a Buff Orpington. I've had them both in Maine and in the northern Adirondacks where their very small combs helped them survive temps down to -40° with no ill effects. Now in PA, I keep them for the eggs and they are very good producers. They also dress out to a decent size for home use. (Not sure of the weight as I never weighed one. Old ones usually leave here alive as I don't eat meat.) Very friendly variety and never had an aggressive rooster. I have the Buff Chantecler variety , primarily because they are such a pretty bird to have running around the place. I read a write-up by a small farmer that described them as "like golden rays of sunlight in any season." Not one to wax poetic but that describes them perfectly.
Pete another great video. I really appreciate you explaining everything at a detail level so we can understand it. Have a great rest of your Sunday. thank you.
Great video Pete, I'm glad you got your supply of Cornish X chicks worked out. I sell eggs as a sideline from my small layer flock and I've found that buying ready to lay pullets is my most efficient means of replacing old hens. I buy them from Moyer's Hatchery in PA. via a local dealer in Delaware. I'm supposed to be getting some next week, I hope I don't get any last minute surprises like you did with the broiler chicks. I really enjoy small farm Sundays. Thanks for sharing so much great info, it's very generous of you.
Good stuff. we raise about 20 Cornish cross a year for our family and that keeps us in chicken for the whole year. Good meat and you know where it's been raised.
always brings a smile to me to see your videos pop up. you bring up a good point about hatching your own, if you know your genetics then you can do it. it's like breeding any animal breed the best to the best and hope for the best.
It's kind of cool going down to the post office in the morning and you can hear the chicks in the back in the boxes even in Kodiak Island Alaska this time of the year
Thank you for sharing! We are getting ready to get chickens for our family it this was a great little video! You are right about being in a time of change. It's hard to know what to expect in the coming days.
Great video! Working construction, i understand the level of quality that customers expect. We have a lot of repeat business, about 90%, which keeps us going. Excellent advice for not only farming but for any business template… thank you
Hey Pete, I see you're getting the snow we got yesterday. I'll send you 60 degrees and sunshine tomorrow bud!! I'm setting up my solar power supply for my electric fence today. Great day to be outside.
we are in our 3 time with meat birds in big city we can do spring and fall.we have learned some every rotation.but bring in big city no rooster allowed so no raising our next chickens but have good connection in country that do the hatching if I need new layers.thanks for bringing back sun lessons.our friends are amazed it only takes 8 weeks.take care
