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I posted this in the raising chicks section without realizing there was a section just for legal issues! I'll copy and paste my original message below. To add another update, I just got an email from a lady saying at TS in another Texas town is doing the same thing and the workers there couldn't...

Boy did I get a nasty surprise at TS last night. Went in to grab a bag of layer pellets. I don't usually buy feed from them, but I just realized the layer pellets my local feed store carries contain a petroleum based preservative. So that led me to TS. Anyway, they are having their 'Chick...

I have a friend wanting to buy some of my home hatched/raised BSL pullets. They are almost 13 weeks old and have been raised very natually. No meicated feeds, in a tractor and now started free ranging. Very nice healthy girls. I'm not looking for top dollar prices, just what's fair for us...

I guess the biggest problem is that the coon isn't stupid. Too darn smart actually. I've had the traps out for several nights now and still haven't caught the big coon that's been killing my hens (haven't lost any more hens either though, they've all agreed to settle into the coop and stay...

I haven't posted on this section of the board much but I just have to share my latest trials and tribulations. Posted a little while back about having issues with a raccoon killing my birds. Still having issues with the 'coons! I borrowed 2 live traps from a neighbor after trying to track the...

This topic seems to come up on a regular basis so I thought I'd post an accouting of my costs to date. The Rangers themselves were $1.14 each shipped. I ordered 50, but lost 7 (6 within the first 24 hours, 1 several weeks later that I culled due to some sort of neurological issue). I got no...

My husband and I have really been debating what kind of knife would be 'the best' for the killing cut (we've decided that slitting the throat is our prefered method of killing) and then butchering. We've gotten the job done, but feel that there's room for improvment when it comes to the tools...

My husband and I butchered 8 of our 43 Freedom Rangers today at 10.5 weeks old. I noticed that the biggest birds really hadn't gained much if any size in the last week so I figured it was time. I'm going to give the remaining birds another week to see if they'll fill out a little more. I has...

I guess in some ways this may seem like a no-brainer. Seems that any bird that gets up, runs around and burns calories free ranging runs the risk of burning off energy instead of using it to pack on meat/fat. I let my Rangers out of their tractor this morning. Opened the door and they all flew...

I haven't figured out how to post pictures here yet, so I posted some to my blog. My Rangers are 8 weeks 5 days today. http://stephensfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/ I weighed a couple yesterday. One pullet that was average size for the flock weighed exactly 4 lbs. I also grabbed the biggets...

I just weighed a couple of my Rangers. They are 8 weeks 4 days old. One of the average sized pullets weighed 4 lbs even, the biggest rooster handy to grab weighed almost 5 lbs. This seems really light to me. There are some birds smaller, but only a few that are as big as the biggest (and he is...

Well, I'm not at all please with the Little Giant incubator I borrowed from a friend. That thing was a total pain in the butt and I had a heck of a time trying to regulate the temp within it. It was in a climate controlled (central A/C) room. The temps in the incubator would not stabilize. I...

I know this has been answered before, and I tried to search but my darned slow dial up connection is making it difficult to do. Can someone give me a rough idea of the ratio of live weight to dressed weight for meat chickens? Freedom Rangers specifically if you know! Thanks- Liz

When do y'all typically process your turkeys? I have 4 Rio Grande Wild Turkey poults. I know they'll grow slower than the commerical super-grow birds. I'm fine with that! Aside from the fact that I like heritage breeds, these little guys were free! A neighbor gave me hatching eggs, and one of...

Well, My FRs are almost to week 8 (this Wed). They sure have grown a lot in the last week!! They sure are eating a lot too. Looking at them this morning (and feeling, gotta pick 'em up and do the squeaze test on occasion ya know), they are not nearly big enough to butcher. I'm actually...

What do y'all do with your extra layer roosters? This year between a variety of events I ended up with a small assortment of layer roosters than I just don't need. It's not worth it to even try to eat them (I have 44 Freedom Rangers for meat). Should I just list them for free on Freecycle/...

Hubby and I moved all the Rangers to the small pasture behind my garden on Sat. The Rangers are now free to range! Except the stupid birds are spending more time sitting in the tractor looking stupid than anything else. Grr!! A few will venture out, get lost in the weeds for a bit, then...

Ok, if this is a nutty question just tell me so. But is anyone else finding that their Ameracana hatch rates are lower than hatch rates for other chickens? I put 6 eggs from my Ameracana hens under a broody hen I had... so far only 2 are hatching (one has hatched, pretty little brown EE...

Yea, I've heard turkey poults are so dumb they make a stump look bright. I have 7 Rio Grande Wild turkey eggs (and 6 EE) under a broody chicken hen that should start hatching this coming Sat. Then hen is in a safe spot (had another hen hatch out chicks there a couple weeks ago) so I'm just...

My Freedom Rangers turned 6 weeks old yesterday. They are round, stout birds, but not huge monster birds. I have a hard time imagining that in the next three weeks they'll balloon up to butchering size (I'd like 5-6 lb dressed weights)! I'm starting to think that maybe I'm feeding them wrong...