Your Trendy Breeds Stink
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2022
- Every few years a new "trendy" breed moves through the homesteading community. Deciding what animals to raise is an important decision. Mangalitsa or Kune Kune pigs are supposed to replace the standard Berkshire or Duroc. Bresse chickens are supposed to be better than Cornish Cross and able to breed at home.
That's all well and good, but here's why we stick with the old standbys for animals here on our small farm.
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The Mindful Homestead is a small farm in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. We raise Forest Pastured Pork, Pastured Poultry and Fresh Eggs. Our aim is to grow as much of our own food as we can, while supplying quality farm products to others as well.
“Soft white pillows of future deliciousness” new chicken sales tagline
Food for thought: Cornish Cross are not "old standbys." They are a modern, genetic monster created by big corporate food companies and intentionally designed in such a way that you have to buy chicks from them. You're dependent on Tyson to grow your own food if you're using Cornish Cross. Yes, Tyson (and a couple other giant companies) own the genetics of Cornish Cross. They intentionally designed them to be unable to breed at home so you're forced to buy more chicks from them.
Raise Heritage Breeds such as Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, etc and breed your own. Then you can selectively breed for traits you want such as better egg laying or bigger meat production. That's the original way farmers did things before the giant corporations came in and tried to stamp out small family farmers.
KuneKunes may be trendy right now, but they are a very old breed, used by indigenous people for likely thousands of years. They are slow growing, yes, but they are easy to breed and raise and cheap to feed. They make great meat (I have personal experience) and can be profitable if done right. If they aren't for you, fine. But, don't be too quick dismiss them based on the fact they don't compete with the speed of industrial meat.
You are dependent on the feed store year round. When you buy chicks every year, you don't feed them when they are not laying. You raise them for a short period.
You are dependent on the feed store if you are not growing your own chicken feed. It's a good point but came with assumptions that may not be valid. One of our points when looking at breeds is how well they do on forage. It is why I breed Tamuk rabbits for meat. They do very well on forage compared to a typical meat breed like New Zealand.@@SanyoKitty
@@SanyoKitty So, would you rather be dependent on buying your chicks every time you want to raise chickens for meat (like 4x yearly IMHO), and also dependent on your feed store to buy feed every month, forever? OR would you rather be dependent only on buying feed from your feed store each month and raising your own chicks from your own flock with an incubator OR a broody hen? Personally, I try to lower my dependence on any one company. I am working to grow a field of a variety of grasses, grain, flowers, fruit, veggies, etc for my birds to have access to (in sections), that way I can buy MUCH LESS feed from the feed store and I am beginning to raise my own chicks.
@jasonhatfield4747 I know of someone who breeds malines with barred rocks and get phenomenal meat chickens. But definitely not as fast of a grow out.
So, not looking to pick a fight, but I am going to point out what I see as a misrepresentation. It goes along with referring to industrial agriculture as "traditional", when in fact it's quite a recent development and "organic" is much more in line with historic tradition. The breeds you're blasting as "trendy" and "supposed to replace the standard Berkshire..." are heritage breeds with long histories. They have been largely replaced by Berkshire and Duroc, and there's quite a bit of room for debate about what constitutes "better". What's plainly true is that there are distinct differences. Your breed choices grow bigger and faster than some I'm inclined to pursue, but that's not inherently better. It depends on what you are trying to achieve. At a homestead level, I see real benefits to lard pigs over leaner breeds producing more meat, but much less fat. I've got uses for that fat ;)
Not picking a fight, but there’s a difference between homesteading and farming. You might have uses for the fat, but if you’re trying to sell it, good luck. You’ll take a bath.
The reference to “traditional” or “conventional” agriculture is just that, a reference to production oriented farming. “Agriculture” as a term refers to when, as humans, we sought to maximize the yields from our farming and homesteading practices. Small farmers have taken the “agriculture” word back and applied it to smaller practices, but generally in the farming community, “conventional agriculture” means as defined by the USDA is “Conventional farming is the use of seeds that have been genetically altered using a variety of traditional breeding methods, excluding biotechnology, and are not certified as organic.”
These trendy breeds I mention have a place, but it’s not in maximizing meat yield in small scale regenerative practices. I didn’t just make all this up. It comes from watching friends and other farmers who thought as you do swing and miss on them. If you want a pig you can get 200lbs of charcuterie cuts out of, a Manga is great. If you want pork chops, it’s abysmal. The reason many of these homesteading breeds almost became extinct is because there were better options for homesteaders. Berkshires and Durocs aren’t CAFO breeds. They are just as much a heritage breed as a Manga or Ossabow Island hog, they just were developed to fill in gaps where the old world hogs fell short.
I genuinely hope you enjoy the breeds you go after, but remember there is no silver bullet.
@@TheMindfulHomestead well. Sorry I commented. In the future I'll bite my tongue. Your channel, your rules.
@@peterellis4262 I’m not mad. It’s along the lines of the recent video I posted on why chickens stop laying in the winter. There’s a lot of hype out there on these old world breeds that really aren’t all they are cracked up to be when the rubber hits the road. A local farmer is sitting on 20 Mangas right now because they can’t get them sold for even a break even amount. They are 18 months old at this point and costing them $36 a day to feed.
I totally get what you’re saying and appreciate your drive, but when you raise 2 Mangas to 18 months, and you end up with 100lbs of meat between the both of them (and 150lbs of fat) I can’t see that as a hog I’d recommend for anyone except the hardcore charcuterie enthusiast.
Many of the heritage poultry breeds, have gradually become less useful as they became bred more for show than utility, it’s very difficult to get hold of utility versions of breeds nowadays, and the small scale farmer does not have the time or budget to upgrade heritage breeds to being useful again.
Youre so right about sustainability versus profitability. ❤
Keep doing what you got to do brother! If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Love the channel keep up the good work bud!
I think scale is an important consideration when it comes to breeds. I started with commercial breeds. I used them to tear up the woods so I could plant more pasture. They were a little aggressive and scary for a 5 ft 120 lb person but I still loved them. They were rotationnaly grazed in a mix of pasture and forest. It was nice we only had to have them for 6 months before butcher but I was very disappointed in the meat. We love fatty meat and were shocked by how little even the mangalitsa crossed had. We use fat as our fuel source rather than carbs and I also process our meat myself so it's necessary to have a good amount. Getting Kunes has been the best decision I've made on my homestead in the making, animal wise, since we got our sheep. And the two together are a phenomenal mix. We are trying to regenerate our pasture. The commercial pigs dug way too deep and just created massive craters that were so hard to try and level out. Yes the grass grew after it and was more healthy, but good luck not breaking a leg. Kunekunes are so much easier on the land. They still dig a bit, but nothing a couple boot kicks cant level out. I start butchering at 10 months. My family of 5 eats primarily meat and I get enough to last a couple months before we move on to the next so a litter can feed our family plus some friends for a year. The extra feed time does not wind up coming anywhere near what it costs me to get a whole pig from a farm that is freezer ready.. i can grow three pigs to one by freding and butchering them myself. As far as a self sufficient pig goes, not for market but for your family, they can't be beat in my mind. And for them, their meat really is outstanding. That fat makes a biiiig difference in flavor.
I'm a big fan of raising chicks from backyard flocks. What we don't see simmering under the surface is some selection for disease resistance. A small backyard flock could have some avian flu outbreak, could kill a few birds, average owner not even realise it, then raises chicks from survivors.
Animals from a factory are completely naive to disease and are very susceptible, losing whatever resistance they had over time because of biosecurity is used rather than selection.
What we are doing is using a chicken tractor to rotationally use our space. We can then plant behind them to enhance pasture for both chickens and bees. Get high protein plants going to reduce feed costs.
To each there own, right? You do you - we don't breed Cornish cross because we simply like our dual-purpose, but if you're going for meat the cross works perfectly. Love that you free range them. Jeff and I were discussing that of all the channels we watch, we think this is the first time seeing free range cross - great job!
We do raise American Guinea hogs, but that's because we are getting to old to manage big pigs 😅
Thanks for bringing us along!
(Looking forward to seeing these onions when ready)
You can’t breed Cornish cross. They are hybrid that are not fertile. Just like a lot of the big corporate turkeys. That’s why people like other chicken breeds because you can breed them. You can be a self-sufficient closed flock. You have to buy Cornish Cross from a hatchery.
@@nedhill1242 you're correct, I meant to say we don't raise Cornish cross 🙂
@@HomesteadFresh
It comes down to what you’re trying to accomplish, right? If all you want is to produce your own meat as quickly and cheaply as possible then the Cornish cross is the way to go. Especially for those that have limited space. Because you can easily raise a dozen Cornish cross in the backyard of a Suburban home. But if one of your primary goals is to insulate yourself against an increasingly erratic and government manipulated food system then obviously the Cornish cross would be the last bird you would want.
When it cones to turkeys most people don’t consider it because of their size, but they don’t know about the midget white. Which is also considered the best tasting turkey.
And, of course, when it comes to pork, there are several breeds that are perfect for smaller Homesteads because of their temperament and personality as well as the fact that they don’t destroy the ground.
But this guy wants to call that trendy. No. It’s not that it’s trendy. It’s the reality that more people are turning to self-sufficiency that don’t have a large property and the word is finally getting out there about these alternatives that are perfect for smaller properties or people that don’t have as much money or people getting a little older or a single person. There are a lot of reasons why it makes sense and why some of these so-called trendy animals are becoming popular. And whether it’s the chickens, turkeys or pork, as well as ducks, rabbits, etc. these so-called trendy alternatives have the added benefit of growing faster and on less feed and are bred to be great foragers or to be better on grass. It makes too much sense to be ignored by those wanting to take control of their food without having to buy a farm.
It’s pretty crazy how much food you can produce on as little as half an acre and a full acre especially if cleared with mostly grass can produce an incredible amount of food even more with some small diy greenhouses made out of plastic & scrap wood. Especially if taking advantage of these so called “trendy” animals.
@@nedhill1242 we couldn't agree more. We raise foraging and smaller breeds (fainting goats, Irish Dexter cows, American Guinea Hogs, etc) because we don't have a lot of land and they are smaller and easier to handle. We aren't getting any younger and don't have the ability to manhandle larger/faster growing breeds. It's just the two of us and we're here for the long game 🙂
@@HomesteadFresh
Wow, I needed to go back and do a little editing. Auto correct hates me.
Good luck to you guys!
We didn’t even mention the fact that there are some pretty small dairy cows that are available now or smaller breeds of cows that are dual purpose, meat, and milk. These breeds don’t need a lot of land. And of course, goats and sheep are excellent alternatives to cows on small properties. They’re also cute as hell too! Lol.
Farm animals are like puppies, and children. They’re so damn cute when they’re little. It’s a shame they can’t stay like that! But admittedly, that would make them a lot harder to put in the freezer! Lol! I think that’s why people actually get offended by homesteaders that raise rabbits. Culturally in America rabbits are seen as pets. It’s like the way Americans react to Koreans eating dogs.
Funny story. My sister is retired Air Force and spent a year in South Korea. She said it’s really creepy when you’re sitting in a restaurant that has dog on the menu and there’s dogs running around the restaurant at the same time. She’s like are we eating the pets? Lol!
Then again, I’ve had a couple of dogs over the years that probably could’ve benefited from a bullet in the head! Lol had a horse like that one time too! L O L. Is it the Chinese lady horses? I know in some Asian countries they eat horses. And I think horses are one of the primary ingredients in dog food.
My husband and I have been raising our own meet for 40 years. We always consider what do we want from our animals. With pigs, we ask do we need the fat for lard, do I just need ground pork, do I need bacon, ham, etc. and then we choose the breeds that will optimize our needs. We grow Cornish cross because we can start butchering at 4 weeks if wanting a game hen style bird. 6 weeks for fryers and 10 weeks for nice roasters. So, think about what you need and then make the choice. Obviously because some of your stock is marketable you are going to choose stock that grows quicker to optimize profit. Let's face it, the longer you feed that animal, the less money you make. Which is why we grow for ourselves and I don't worry with profit. Have a great day!
The only problem is if you’re using Cornish Cross if the shit hits the fan which inevitably it’s going to it’s something happens with avian flu, another Covid situation, etc. etc. you’re not self-sufficient. You should have some type of flock even a small one of heritage breed chickens, because Cornish cross you are dependent on a hatchery. The whole point of doing all of this is to be self-sufficient. If you are only doing Cornish Cross, you’re not.
I really appreciate your thought process on why you raise Cornish Cross'. I am a regular viewer of Gold Shaw Farm, and found this channel through the livestreams. Because I don't know much about farming, let alone food efficiencies. I LOVE how at the end of the day both farms, raise what they like or what is as close to the natural way the animal would live. My opinion seems to be much more in the middle now, especially if someone is starting up a farm. The breed seems like a great, reliable source of food and proof/practice of raising chickens.
Thank you! It is so refreshing seeing folks share reasons for and against and allow people to form an opinion, mindfulness at it's best ! :D
Just ordered several random backyard chicks from McMurry and I'm sold. They all came happy and healthy. Amazing quality of chicks. Will use McMurry from here on out.
As a "new subscriber", I am only recently getting to enjoy your content and have found (through comments on many different videos) the internet seemingly draws out the pseudo-expert from all corners of society. I say there's no reason to justify why you and your family do what you've found works for you. But I am glad you chose to share your point of view on the animals you're raising for food. I'm only a year into having (laying) chickens, but have lots of animal husbandry experience with a small variety of animals and "critters" from growing up on a very small farm and with farming family members. We recently hatched out some fertile chicken eggs, obtained locally and are enjoying just trying to figure out the possible lineage of our "barnyard mixes" after seeing all the hens and roosters on the seller's farm. We decided it would be a good idea to have a small "fertile flock" for our family to be able to raise a few chickens for meat and some of the chicks we hatched are a part of that plan. We aren't into the idea that we must do anything quickly, but our circumstances are not the same as yours - we have a small plot of land with our house (under 1.5 acres) and the county regulates so much that we aren't allowed "livestock". We do have a plan to either expand or buy farmland elsewhere, but since that hasn't happened yet we are working with the limits of what we have and can do. I think others asking why you don't raise a certain breed of chicken, turkey, or pig is the same as asking why someone doesn't have a certain cat or dog breed if they have pets.
Would love an update on the newly seeded pastures and how well the germination took. And thanks for keeping it real with us.
Not for me but to each its own. I am sort of a prepper. Self sufficiency or at least the possibility of self sufficiency is a goal. All of these breeds are dependent on the man. They would go away in any kind of societal collapse. You are mearly serving as a finisher/processor. However, I can easily see why, commercially, this probably makes the most sense.
My wife and I are new homesteaders. We started about a year ago. We don’t have a ton of space, but we’ve done a lot with what we have. So far we have chickens we get eggs from daily, a large garden that’s growing nicely so far, planted several fruit trees and berry bushes. We’re getting pigs in a couple months. It’s been a lot of work starting from nothing! We’ve visited a couple homesteaders that were gracious enough to have us to their farms and shared their experiences. The most common piece of advice we received was, like you just shared, do what works for you! That’s what we’re doing. It’s a learning experience. I’m sure we’ll make adjustments as we go, but that’s what it’s all about. I’ve learned a ton from watching your channel, so thank you for sharing!
Haha love the autofocus getting solid close turkey shots :)
"unless some weird Jurassic Park thing happened..." hahaha
Life, uh, finds a way.
When it comes down to it, the breeds you pick are downright practical.
Love this channel, love all the wisdom. Please keep it up. I appreciate your willingness to address important issues with possibly unpopular opinions. Keep it up!
Turkey body types. There is the skinny wild type and there is the modern broad breasted type. You are correct, the modern broad breasted rarely self breed and/or breed true. They are just industrial genetics supporting food slavery.
Now, what most in your shoes don't realize is that there are also "Primitive Broad Breasted" turkeys. These were and are the economically viable heritage turkeys. These are the heritage turkeys that a self sufficient farmer would want to grow if they wanted economically viable and sustainable turkey meat.
The primitive broad breasted turkey is the rarest of the heritage turkeys. Frank Reese of Kansas earns a solid living from them. There are others. I've bred my own for over 20+ years. An easier way to access them may be be to build your own from hatchery stock. The Mini Classic White performs well and can breed true with proper selection, husbandry, and practice. Orlopp Bronze can be a reasonable source for breeding hens if you want to change the white to Bronze which isn't a bad idea.
The reason that the Classic Minis are a reasonable place to start is that they represent little in the way of economic risk. The culls are marketable. Sifting through heritage lines looking for those rare few that are worth raising can result in alot of less than marketable culls.
New to your channel. Heard about you from Homesteady. I have been gardening for several years and we are getting ready for chickens this year. I gave lots of thoughts to raising turkeys, but last minuet just going with chickens for a year or two. Going dual purpose on chickens and getting a Rhode Island Red and Leghorn cross from our neighbors. Not starting with chicks, but some that are about six weeks old. We are retired and live in subdivision, so options are limited. I'm ready to move to five to ten acres, but husband isn't ready to jump into the homestead life style. He grew up on a traditional mid-west farm and doesn't want to be tied down to animals. I want more food security and to get farther from big cities. Sometimes true life is a compromise.
We have a bronze broad breasted hen that had a visit from a wild Tom! She’s laying on some eggs!
Thank you for the information, we have been thinking about getting chickens and this helps.. God bless!
We did Tamworth pigs this year was surprised how quickly they grew to finish weight sticking with them from same farm and breeding pai I pay little big for the piglet but we'll worth it love your vids
Your doing it right, I m hatching chicks this coming week, just for eggs mix breeds
I’ve loved all my turkeys they are the most fun to raise
I think you are spot on kiddo! Kudos for being real!
Loved the turkey pecking the camera!😄
Daaang, those ducks are so happy and cute.
Love the points you made in this video.
very practical person. I love the walking onion idea
I like the way you raise your meat birds because they get to range💥
"Some weird Jurassic Park thing" lol
I enjoyed this a lot. I am relatively new to all of this homesteading and am quick to try new things. I jumped all over the whole chicken tractor thing in the beginning. I really like your approach of opening up the space you are growing your meat birds in. I think I will try that next. Do you have a suggestion for making the meat a little more tender? My last flock turned out pretty tough…Keep up the great content, Jack!
CORNISH CROSSES ARE WIRED TO EAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, HOW'D THEY TASTE BEING FINISHED WITH A BRESSE-STYLE CORN+MILK COMBO WHILE BEING PASTURED?
Not breeding your own is a big problem.
I dont choose the breed for meat conversion. I chose the bresse for the quality of the meat, primarily the fat. I plan to dabble with a new meat cross using them, that preserves the fatty meat trait ; likely with the dark cornish or white cornish, white rock.
In this manner, the iberico pig would be my choice, if i could feed them on acorns.
How so?
If we cannot get chicks from hatcheries for some reason@@TheMindfulHomestead
at the end of day it depends where you live, how much space you got, goals and the local laws. some people just want meat and eggs and have enough land to buy all the local straight runs for a few grand. doesn't matter if they sell them off or eat them for dinner, it's a numbers game so breeds don't matter as much. Some people want just eggers so more consistent layers. I wanted foragers because i'm urban right now and want less grass to mow and bugs to spray for. Others just want to flip birds and hatch out rare breeds for sale. You do whatever breeds meet your needs. I'm personally am looking for that goldie locks zone: somewhere just out of dumb city limits with a good number of acreage so i can do a little bit of everything. I got a random small assortment of birds in a makeshift kit coop being in city limits.
Raised 15 heritage turkeys this year along with our broad breasted bronzes, sold all the heritage birds before they were big enough to butcher. They got too expensive, kept getting on all the vehicles and all 3 need new paint on the hoods and fenders. Heritage turkeys fly really well, loads of personality. Cool birds, just not for us, lesson learned. Stick with broad breasted. Just my opinion
Eu amei seus vídeos
I enjoy your videos and agree the Duroc x Berkshire is a great cross for pigs we started farrowing our own this year and it has been great and definitely stay away from the trendy pigs if you want to make profit
Thanks again
Actually, those are trendy pigs that you’re raising. They’re very very common. Actually far more people are doing that.
I love yours videos
I totally agree with you on the pigs. Crazy to feed a pig for two years because it is cute or has curly hair. Keep up the great work and good information.
I can finish a mangalitsa in 8 months. Don't bash em unless you are properly informed.
I put kunekunes in the freezer at 80#. This guy is not informed.
@@incognrod Why would you put them in the freezer at 80lbs? So you can have tiny little pork chops? Try selling an 80lb Kune Kune as a meat pig and see how many customers you have.
Good point if you are selling them. Many homesteaders are simply filling their own freezers. @@TheMindfulHomestead
I think you’re the first person I’ve ever seen on here that is logical and has some farm sense.
Can you use a chicken plucker on a turkey?
You can if you have a plucker that fits them. The only issue is that pluckers like to break wings and legs, and they doesn’t make for a good looking bird for the table.
@@TheMindfulHomestead thanks! Do you pluck your turkeys by hand?
Soft white pillows of future deliciousness...... Bwhahahahahah!!! That is awesome!!!
I'm with you on this, however don't be so quick to dismiss the American Bresse. It could well have a hidden purpose for sustainability. I know at least one youtuber that has bred them with the Cornish and the offspring breed true. He's on Gen7 and gets a 'healthier' (subjective) bird that can be table/freezer ready in 7-8 weeks or grown out and finished (if one would bother) at 16-18. Personally I don't feed my birds corn or soy so will never finish my ABs. I'll be breeding mine with FRs. Also, my most recent batch of rangers; the males grew out to 6+ lbs live by week 7. They were pretty much brown Cornish Cross. 2 of the 5 hens processed out at ~4lbs dressed and I've kept the 3 largest for breeding stock. I guess we'll see how it goes.
I realize that this is an old video, but the following comments still need to be shared. I respect what you do but I think it is healthy to have our ideas challenged.
First of all, either a farmer is self sufficient minded or not. Second, embrace and maximize the qualities and potential of genepools, don't compromise the farm's potential by expecting genepools to be what they are not.
Far too often, I see farmers in your shoes try to grow True pasture bred birds (Label Rouge type) in environments that favour the cornish cross at the expense of the label Rouge style bird. They just go with what they know. However, expecting the pasture breed to be equal to the cornish cross is foolish. They are different products, that require different husbandry to fulfill their true potential. In Europe, label Rouge style chicken costs 2X cornish cross chickens and still have 50% of market share. Why? It's better food. It really is that simple.
It's like north american farmers are stuck on "white wonder bread" and simply don't know how to enjoy or gain the benefits of a nutrient dense multigrain sourdough. Label Rouge style chickens can economically produce a marketable product in 10-12 weeks. You can select breeding stock and maintain your own line, thus satisfying self sufficient ideals. And best of all, they produce excellent nutrient dense meat.
For me it all boils down to self respect. I grow my own food out of self respect. I earn a living from genetic inputs under my control, out of self respect. I eat the best food possible, out of self respect. And it is out of self respect that I REFUSE to be dependent on ANY corporation or government agency for my diet or livelihood.
As for the Bresse, your comments are spot on! They are a shit product with great marketing. I've processed enough to know that they are not worth the labour and food to grow. Freedom Ranger and Kosher King are both far superior products.
Those ducks are so happy!! 😊
You make a fair point about not choosing bresse as a market bird in order to maximize profitability. However, I'm surprised you don't consider them for your prepper goals, because as a dual purpose chicken, nothing comes close.
Not quite true. I’ve spoken with more than one poultry expert who has stated that pretty much any “heavy layer” such as an Orpington, barred Rock or such will provide the same level of meat and be a better layer.
@@TheMindfulHomestead Eventually they will get the weight, but none of them grow as fast. Especially the roosters.
My Bresse are amongst my best layers. They will also raise their own young if you let them.
That is why 12 Bresse eggs are in my incubator right now. Wanted a real dual purpose bird that I can regenerate here on our homestead so starting with bought eggs and fingers crossed
@@stickerscat
I'm sorry, as a self sufficient poultry producer with 20+ years of hatching my own meat, I wouldn't waste time or feed on Bresse. I've processed alot of chicken over the decades and they are simply not worth it. They are for those that place marketing and ideology above experience and reality. Freedom Ranger and Kosher Kings are far better examples of economically viable and sustainable poultry meat production.
I cannot disagree with you there. However I am bringing in meat birds that breed true with heritage breeds that are fast growing. But I am also looking to deal with a small customer base and a rotating flock. But I see your point. Of course my seasons in TN are different than yours it looks like.
We're getting out of kunes. Super friendly but too slow to grow. Not worth the investment.
Cornish babiesss 🥺🥺❤❤🥰 plz pet them for us
Just an FYI...the E at the end of Bresse is silent...you don't pronounce it....unless you were joking around....couldn't tell. Just for folks who don't know the breed
@@cindyhebberd7352 I’ve heard breeders of them pronounce the E at the end which is where I drew from. I have heard it pronounced both ways, but I try to not speak French if I can help it. 😂
Alright alright fine I'll subscribe
I respect what you are doing and agree very much with what you are doing but I disagree massively with you about mangalitsa hogs. I raise home breed mangalitsa chester white cross breeds they finish out in 8 months or less and have very large pork chops and are flat out the best pork chops you will ever eat. Even the mangalitsa pure breeds I've raised over the years have finished out in 9 months or less. Now I will grant you they finished out smaller than the cross breeds. Don't count out the mangalitsas until you have tried them. P.s. I do things very similar to you pigs outside on dirt chickens in tractors and turkeys grazed in the back yard. Keep up the good work.
I’d be curious to see the feeding schedule on your Mangas if they are finishing in 9 months. I’ve been told by breeders trying to sell me on their pigs that they need at least 18 months.
What are the hanging weights and what are the “take home” weights (not including the fat, which our customers typically don’t want).
We raised several different kinds of pigs for ourselves and the Mangalitsa was definitely the tastiest reddest meat and made snow white lard. If selling to other people, you would need a specialty market, possibly a restaurant.
Honestly, Homesteady is kind of a joke. I think they were serious homesteaders in the beginning and they had a lot of good content but now they’re more about CZcams than actual homesteading. They go out and do crazy stuff just to create content. Like that whole Alaska off grid thing. That was 100% creating content for CZcams.
I feel like the breeds you have are the trendy ones to be honest. I get your goals of profit and more produced but when I go into it I wanna go into having things that reproduce. Even if they don't have a lot of meat or anything, you will have multiple being harvested as well as other animals to harvest.
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but the breeds we generally work with for birds are efficient and quick to raise breeds that have been grown for decades now.
For the pig side of things, the breeds we raise have been around for many generations. They aren’t trendy at all. They were the breeds that usurped some of the trendy breeds I mention, with none of the issues with breeding, long grow times, or illness.
The standard homesteader has no real reason to take 18-24 months to raise a pig that produces less meat than a standard heritage breed.
@@TheMindfulHomestead I understand that, all about what the goal is. Like the kunekunes are smaller but are grazers that don't root everything in the area up which is good for the health of a homestead to not end up with scattered fields of pig wasteland. Just my 2 cents lol I'm only an 18 year old homesteaders wannabe so I'm trying to research and your opinions are helpful for research. I guess my goals are more for a type of homestead where I'm the only customer and regenerating resources are cool.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Cx have been the "trendy" breed since the 40s. However, they made it where the breeding of your trendy breed is very difficult.
I thought the first objective of homesteading was to become self-sufficient. If something ever happened that forced all of the homesteaders to practice their self-sufficiency in a real sense, these people will be happy that they have these "stinky" heritage trends.
That's cool that you're looking at your choices as business decisions. Different breeds mean different ways to profit. Bresse are trendy because their meat is arguably more flavorful than anything out there. How the hell does that stink? I call it quality over quantity. Sorry, that's been trendy since business was a trend.
We’ve tried Bresse meat alongside our pastured CX. They taste the same and don’t take the extra 2 months with crate finishing to accomplish. To us, that’s not worth the hype. Maybe it is to someone else.
I say in the video that we keep a flock of heavy breed layers for a SHTF scenario where we have to raise our own birds from eggs. But the truth is that in a scenario such as that, no one is staying on a farm long enough to raise a batch of non-CX meatbirds. It would be too risky to do so.
We talk about that in this video: The Problem With Homesteading Preppers
czcams.com/video/fYw5wNqqi8g/video.html
@@TheMindfulHomestead I'm not necessarily talking preppers here. It could be just that buying Cx chicks could become cost prohibitive. You probably know what happens when there's a run on livestock when crap happens like inflation and pandemics.
You're probably right about taste. Those Europeans wouldn't know what tastes good. We Americans certainly show them dummies how to do things the easy way. That's why their chickens only taste as good as Cx around our parts.
@@Myxlplyk I’m not saying Bresse can’t taste good, but the French standard of finishing it confining them to a crate so they can’t move for the last month of their life, and feeding them nothing but corn and milk. To me, that’s unethical. Humane treatment of our animals is part of why we do this. Not just for the self-sustainability.
The cost of a CX or any bird in general is a small portion of the total cost. I’m actually planning a cost breakdown on our chicken sales this year, but the long and the short of it is that CX could double in price from where they were this summer and we’d only lose 15% of our profit per bird sold without adjusting our pricing. Raising our price from $5/lb to $5.50/lb would net more per bird than before, even with the price increase.
And if there’s a run on chicks due to a pandemic, cost to consumers go up. Farmers simply raise prices. Folks had no problem paying $8/dozen for eggs from local farmers when the store shelves were barren.
One society collapses and there's no McMurray hatchery then what are you going to do so much better to have birds that can reproduce that you can take care of and renew your stock yourself just my personal opinion you know what I say about that everybody's got one
You didn’t watch until the end, did you? 😉
It is a little confusing. I know the titles have to be catchy but many of us try to consume a lot of content in a short time and no, I don't always finish videos but I do check out the comments. First video of yours I started - so it appears you are making a niche in having a homestead that also makes money. And yeah, that is different from a homestead just producing for self. I don't currently have a place for more than one flock of chickens. If I did, then I'd probably do what you are doing. @@TheMindfulHomestead
Gotta disagree with you. There are reasons people choose their breeds. For me, i didnt choose Kune Kune because of a trend. I didnt even know it was a trend. I chose the kune because its a good pasture pig and wont dig up my two acres here on kauai.
Here's my thing. A Kune on pasture takes 1 years to get to market weight, and still needs grain. 2-3 lambs on that same pasture take 9 months and virtually no grain. So why go Kune? 1 hog on that pasture would take half the time and not do much rooting at all if you kept it moving behind the lambs.
My point is that people so often look to a single reason for a breed (exactly like you did with Kunes) that they rule out the bigger picture and getting a better return for slightly more effort. You're going to wait 2 years to harvest a 200lb live weight Kune when you could have a 350lb Berk in 7 months with more frequent rotations.
Forget all that. Why aren't you out bow-hunting for wild hogs in Kauai? Saw so many of them when I was there.
The first video I watched from you you were loving kunekune pugs I
When I started watching you kunekune pigs were your pick. Make up your mind if you want to have a following I have kunekunes and love them . U lost me changing your mind never watch u again
Link that video? Pretty sure I didn’t say that. We’ve always done faster growing breeds.