Dan, Feathers! No meat by-products- edible, at least. Meat and poop become fertilizer.
Actually, the rooster barracks are quite nice, considering. The climate/ventilation is controlled with heating and swamp-cooling. This better environment allows the roosters to grow faster and better, without stress, and that makes for better plumage. Their food is carefully concocted, too, for better feathers. (Being in the chick-barn is like being in Baja in August.) It DOES get noisy, though- 18,000 very healthy and randy roosters in one barn crowing and trying to out-do one another. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Harriman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 7:39 AM Subject: Re: [VFB] Finally!!!- Hackle quality > Howdy from Texas; > > I have raised chickens in the past and boy, do I wish that I > knew then what I know now about feathers! I have a question > that is not directly fly-fishing related, but indirectly so. > > What is the primary reason for raising the birds? Feathers or meat? > What becomes of the meat from them all? > A couple of hundred thousand birds can get very fowl (pun intended) > smelling after a while. > > Just curious, > > SaltyDan > Dan Harriman > Orange, Texas > > At 16:59 05/21/2004, you wrote: > > >If the hackle is substandard quality, the heritage is checked as to whether > >this one was a throw-back, a trend, or one that was allowed to grow because > >it had an excellent neck cape to offset the saddle. That's a decision Tom > >makes on many factors. He can't afford to raise sub-standard birds when > >he's raising 200,000 birds. That's why bronze necks and saddles are > >becoming silver, silvers are becoming gold, and so on. The best of the best > >are chosen as breeders, so the lines get better and better, both in necks > >and saddles. > > > >Hope this helps, > >DonO > > > If at first you don't succeed, maybe you shouldn't try sky diving! > > dit dit > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.672 / Virus Database: 434 - Release Date: 04/28/2004 >
