What do hackle farms do with the carcass?

[Jimr1961 0]

I can't imagine a place like Whiting Farms could sustain itself on feather production alone. Do they sell the carcasses to cat food companies? Is genetic hackle just a business segment? Do they also raise fryers and layers and anything else poultry related? Bored minds want to know.

[FrequentTyer 0]

I head an interview with Tom Whiting a few years ago where he talked about this. The average time a bird lives before harvesting the hackle is about 2 years. He said that the chickens we buy for meat are on average 30-40 days old at harvest. Apparently the older birds are not good to eat, even for other animals, and attempts to convert the carcasses to pet food failed. If I remember right, they make fertilizer that is used on the farms that supply their feed.

It was a really interesting interview, and he also got into the housing conditions. Keeping a bird alive for that long and not damaging the feathers is not easy. They pretty much get pampered their whole lives. Chickens raised for meat don't have it so good.

Mike.

[Phish 0]

Spunds like it be good eating if they were fed well. :-)

[Jimr1961 0]

Interesting. I failed to take in consideration the commercial production abroad. Makes for a much broader market.

[Piker20 0]

Also the controls placed on animals that enter the food chain would probably make the costs involved even higher.

[hairwing 0]

My bored mind wants to let you know.

 

THEY MAKE LEFTOVER CHICKEN SANDWICHES !

 

 

[Jimr1961 0]

Great, a sandwich that gets stuck in your throat.

 

Wow, I found a hair extension article where Tom claims they harvest 1500 birds/week. This may be escalated production in an attempt to keep up with the hair craze demand. If so, I wonder what their output was before the craze and what it looks like after.

[Flyman416 0]

I think that the Hair Craze has actually gone down (at least in Kentucky) within the past few months because I've seen alot fewer people with them.... So if its like this in other states their production rate has probably gone down as far as demand for them goes I guess.

[flyguy2112 0]

What ??? They actually kill the birds? I thought that they just took the skin off.

[Jimr1961 0]

Deleted, cuz I don't need to feed the peta people

[lykos33 0]

Well... a country boy could eat that bird no matter how tough it was...and a country grandma could make it taste better than filet mignon...( I had a few grannies that could, that's why I weigh 300 lbs.)

Murray

[mridenour 0]

My grandma would cook 'em. We used to raise rabbits and when one of our breeders got too old to bear, only the breeder's had names and this one was Daisy May, she cooked her up in a stew. I was all set to eat up until she asked if I wanted a bowl of Daisy May. Just didn't seem right eating something with a name...lol.

[Al Beatty 0]

Hi Jimr1961,

 

Frequent Tyer is right. When I worked at Whiting the bird carcasses were composed, the compose was spread on the hayfields on one of Tom's ranches (an old cattle ranch) and the hay they grew there got a premium price for it's high protein count, etc. The income from the hay helped pay for the special feed that is fed to the birds. Take care & ...

[Harold Ray 0]

In Texas, the birds would make chicken and dumplings. The birds may be older but they tenderize with time on the stove. Been there and done that many times.

[bowfin47 0]

In Texas, the birds would make chicken and dumplings. The birds may be older but they tenderize with time on the stove. Been there and done that many times.

Ray,

 

My grandmother was well known in southern Mississippi for her "Chicken Pie", i.e. dumplings, and while mine probably don't compare to hers, they are still damn good.

 

Those folks out in Colorado, don't realize what they're missin'.

 

If they did, those ol' rooster's wouldn't end up as compost!

 

Of course, they'd all weigh significantly more than they currently do! HA!

 

Kyle

 

PS

 

See ya' at North Toledo Bend Rendezvous in Nov., if not before...