Posts by booker81

Thanks for the kind comments! For ease of reference, I decided to also copy the blog to the Learning Center here. The link is now in my signature, and will still live at my normal blog, along with here. It's fun too - I'm amazed at the...

I don't use a composter, but rather toward the end of the year when weeding and culling out plants, I just pull and leave them to die in the garden paths. Early spring, I either empty the chicken coop out, or get a truckload of horse...

If you haven't tossed them, I would keep them in the fridge or freezer and DEFINITELY contact your post office/post master and show them. That is absolutely unacceptable.  It's fine if they don't like chicks in the mail, but that...

I was raised with food livestock, and I think it's a culture thing. There are many (especially in America) that just don't get that upbringing - meat and food comes from the store, placed there by someone else, instead of coming from...

Pretty much everyone has it covered. I scald at 150, and dip/swish until I can pull a wing feather out easily. That way, the skin stays intact - the tearing was most likely due to the high temp at scalding.   Also, for the...

Heh, you can aspirate them, I just didn't care for the inside "skin" part of the cyst. Of course, I'm the one in the family who eats all the roasted chicken skin! That's my favorite part :)

I've had them on roos I've picked up. I just trim off the whole cyst (so there's a hole in the skin over the keel), and call it good.  As for avoidance, no tips there :)

Big hugs, you've sure been through the wringer!   As for fleas, I don't know if it's been the freakishly hot, dry weather, but I know many people, including us, that are battling fleas with very little luck. Our lab has never...

This is the article I wrote - pretty simple. I don't have a cone because I never got around to getting the stuff (no cones or whatnot):   http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-process-a-chicken-at-home

Heh...didn't come back here, sorry :)   Yup, snapping turtle is pretty good, I think. I have another one in the barrel, waiting until I butcher it.   I like to put them in a 50 gallon drum half full of clean water...