Posts by xC0000005

I could easily tell by three weeks, and by 3.5 there was no doubt what so ever.  The thing is I kept track, and the ones I thought were pullets at 2 weeks turned out to be.  The boys were always larger.  Then again this...

My wife picked up another set of meat birds.  A few more than we had agreed on.  I have a container of fermented feed up there for the day olds, and they are pecking at it.

That's a fantastic idea.  I might try it, as I have hardware cloth available.  

You'll definitely feel a difference when they are ready.  The ones I bagged and tagged today are firm to the touch.  The ones that have rested have that "squishy" feeling that tender meat has.  I gave mine three days in...

I'm guessing nine weeks (we had confusion over how old they actually were).  21 - wow. Hope you had a plucker.  We did ours by hand and I'll have a plucker when I raise the next set.

I just (about five minutes ago) finished sealing and loading my last five into the fridge to rest.  Five hens, average of 5.21 lbs, and no meaties left!

Meaty Madness, Round 1 is complete. I put the last five in the cooling bath and am going to quarter and bag them in a bit.  This round were all pullets, and the heaviest dressed out at 6.5lbs, the lightest at...

We ate our first one tonight - meat was tender and juicy, flavor was great.  I had worried reading other descriptions that had them tasting mushy or bland, but they were delicious.  As we cleaned up dinner, my wife looks over...

I do the opposite of what Beekissed does, and oddly for the same reason. :)  I slit one side, then the other.  I used my flashlight and did some tests and found that my birds stopped responding to light in about 11 seconds...

This wasn't to me, but I did in six on Saturday in about 30 minutes total each.  I used a ceramic bladed knife and slit the throats, often accidentally getting the windpipe too.  My criteria is that you do it once and...