Colorado

[wsmith]

I can share my own personal experience on this. I have introduced younger birds into an already established flock. I would put them in an attached pen where they could see each other until the younger ones were old/big enough to "possibly" defend themselves if needed.

The first new introductions took about a couple of weeks for things to settle down. They're all fine, now. I've just introduced another four young ones. They're going through the "pecking" order. The (two currently on the low end of the order) are making the biggest fuss, often chasing the young ones around until they run back into the hen house.

I keep watching for injuries or missing feathers, and so far there haven't been any. The younger ones DO stay in the house most of the time. They wander out every once in a while, scratch around until the Buff Orpington (yes, I was surprised she was like this) or the AustraWhite chase them back inside. I keep water inside, and put a small bowl of food in there each morning. Anything more than that, they need to go outside to get.

It's been almost scary to watch the establishing of order, and I've needed to refrain myself from stepping in, but so far, things seem to be working themselves out.

One exception to all of this. I DID need to remove my Rhode Island Reds. They were out right mean to the new ladies. I plan to try to reintroduce them in a month or two, when these latest youngsters are closer to full sized. If they still can't play nice, I may need to keep them separate.

Good luck!

That's one of the problems that is more severe when dealing with hatchery birds. Its always an issue, but hatchery birds are bred for egg production and fertility, not personalities. For whaterever reason, it seems like many hatchery bred birds have tendencies for bad temperments, which comes out when introducing new stock. It happens with breeder chickens as well, but from my observations, not to the same extent as most hatchery stock. Most small scale breeders won't put up with bad personalities in their stock. Aggressive chicken tastes good......

Gradual introduction lessens the impact and severity of integration. My stuff has gone well, but I also put the juvenile birds inot a growout pen for a couple of weeks, then make the creep gate accessable to them so they can go in and out to escape.

 

[P-Funk]

No takers on the roo, eh? Any suggestions? Dumb Friends League maybe?

 

[rj23]

Help!  Somebody!  Wendell?  This Buff Orp roo has to go!  At this point I don't care if it's straight to your dinner table.  He crows all day and is is going to give away my entire operation.  (The hoa here doesn't allow chickens) Period.  He hatched 3/27, is just beautiful, but won't SHUT UP.  There's a smiley for this, but, GAAAAAAHHHHHH.

Where are you located?

 

[FrogEggs]

Help! Somebody! Wendell? This Buff Orp roo has to go! At this point I don't care if it's straight to your dinner table. He crows all day and is is going to give away my entire operation. (The hoa here doesn't allow chickens) Period. He hatched 3/27, is just beautiful, but won't SHUT UP. There's a smiley for this, but, GAAAAAAHHHHHH.

I would take him, to send to freezer camp with mine, but I am nearly 2 hours from you.

 

[cosbackyard]

No takers on the roo, eh?  Any suggestions?  Dumb Friends League maybe? 

I got rid of mine within 24 hours of posting on the co chickens FB group. Lot of roos on there lately. Someone could eat free chicken all year just by taking all these free roos!

 

[FrogEggs]

So.... my roosters are now drawing blood. One of my EEs (Luna Lovegood) has no tail feathers, and a wound. She's patched up and in an x-pen, for her own protection. One of the Orloffs (Sweetie) and one of the Leghorns (we can't tell them apart, so whichever needs sympathy, my 10yo calls Hedwig) are bleeding - they've been patched up with Vetericyn and Rooster Booster. And it's time to start sending the boys to Camp.

Since they have to have empty crops, I have (well, actually, my kids have) put the two meanest in a dog crate in the run. They will be the first to go, tomorrow. I thought my kids would be upset, but they love the girls, and are glad to get the meanies away from them. Hubby is ready to let them all be coyote feed. Although they are not as big as I'd like, at least I won't be wasting them.

This is my first time killing anything other than mice and spiders. I don't have great knives, or any other supplies. Can you all help me with a list? I have watched videos, was at the live demo at Wendell's place, etc. I think the worst part will be the manual plucking.

Anyone in Pueblo wanna join me?

 

[maggiemo]

Get an box knife or a hunting filet knife. Cut deeper and harder than you think you will need to the first couple of times. It is better to cut their heads off than not cut deep enough. After you do the first one or two you will be able to cut deep enough until you sever the vein and not the wind pipe. It's better to have them dead the first time than to make a perfect cut IMO.
Plucking is easy, or should be if you get the temp right. I find 165F to 170F is best. The books say lower but I think our altitude needs a higher temp. If I see steam and the water isn't boiling that is about right.
Good luck
mo

 

[FrogEggs]

Get an box knife or a hunting filet knife. Cut deeper and harder than you think you will need to the first couple of times. It is better to cut their heads off than not cut deep enough. After you do the first one or two you will be able to cut deep enough until you sever the vein and not the wind pipe. It's better to have them dead the first time than to make a perfect cut IMO.
Plucking is easy, or should be if you get the temp right. I find 165F to 170F is best. The books say lower but I think our altitude needs a higher temp. If I see steam and the water isn't boiling that is about right.
Good luck
mo

Thanks. I do have a large hunting knife (my dad's), that I believe is pretty sharp. I forgot I even had it until you replied.

So I need:
Cone
cleaver
thermometer

what else??

Our BBQ broke, so dh said just scald them in stock pot on stove...... seems like a bad idea to me. Any ideas?

 

[wsmith]

Thanks. I do have a large hunting knife (my dad's), that I believe is pretty sharp. I forgot I even had it until you replied.

So I need:
Cone
cleaver
thermometer

what else??

Our BBQ broke, so dh said just scald them in stock pot on stove...... seems like a bad idea to me. Any ideas?

Here's how we do it:....

1. On the day before, we select the ones to be processed and put them into smaller pens or cages with water, but no food. This makes it easier to clean them and the crops and guts are mostly empty.
2. Early that morning we put a large kettle of water on the fire pit or propane burner (like a turkey fryeer) to heat. We like it to be between 140-160 F. Adding a tiny bit of dishwashing detergent to the water helps cut the oils in the feathers, assisting in the plucking process.
3. We use cut down traffic cones, and place the bird head down, beak forward into the cone, then slit the throat. It usually takes about 5 minutes for him to drain.
4. When the bird is drained, he is taken to the scalding station, where the scalder submerges the chicken in the water for a minimum of 30 seconds, moving it around to get the scalding water to all parts of the skin. As was stated previously, be careful of the temperature and how long it scalds. You don't want to cook the skin, as it will tear.
5. When scalded, we take it to the plucker. We built our own using a drum and fingers we purchased. It is in a wood box cabinet that is mounted uner a work bench in the chicken area. It's driven by a 3/4 hp electric motor. We turn the plucker on and carefully hold the chicken so that the fingers grab the feathers and pull them off. The fingers should pluck against the lay of the feathers. If properly scalded, this will remove 90% of the feathers in about a minute or even less. We don't try to get all the feathers off with the plucker.
6. At this point we move to the finishing station. This is where we have a wood closet rod mounted on some shelf hangers. From the rod are some twine loops which we place over one or both feet of the chicken, suspending it upside down. At this point we finish getting any remaining feathers. The twine loop cinches down tightly so we have both hans free to do the job. This takes about 5 minutes or less. any stubborn feather areas can be re-scalded and finished up.
7. When completely plucked, we rinse the bird from the hose and move to the gutting table. This is a folding plastic / steel table we got from a popular bulk store. Each peerson gutting has one or two favorite knives and a large cutting board. I won't go into the gutting process here. My daughter who is 5' tall and weighs 110 is great at this station, as she can get her hands into the cavity for quicj cleanout. She can do this in less than 3 minutes.
8. The bird is rinsed again, and placed into a cooler until all are done.
9. We now move the operation inside the house. We do a final pin feather picking and make sure each bird is ready. At this time we also dunk the whole bird into a very mild bleach solution to kill any germs that may have been introduced.
10. Now the birds which are going to be frozen whole are placed into freezer bags, and plut into the fridge. The others are cut up into pieces and sorted. Some are deboned, while others are left bone in. Wings are placed into bags for hot wings. legs and thighs are bagged. Breasts are bagged separately as well. The backs and necks we also bag for use in making broth.
11. Clean up everything and you are done.
12. We refridgerate for at least 24-48 hours before freezing or cooking.

 

[FrogEggs]

Here's how we do it:....

1. On the day before, we select the ones to be processed and put them into smaller pens or cages with water, but no food. This makes it easier to clean them and the crops and guts are mostly empty.
2. Early that morning we put a large kettle of water on the fire pit or propane burner (like a turkey fryeer) to heat. We like it to be between 140-160 F. Adding a tiny bit of dishwashing detergent to the water helps cut the oils in the feathers, assisting in the plucking process.
3. We use cut down traffic cones, and place the bird head down, beak forward into the cone, then slit the throat. It usually takes about 5 minutes for him to drain.
4. When the bird is drained, he is taken to the scalding station, where the scalder submerges the chicken in the water for a minimum of 30 seconds, moving it around to get the scalding water to all parts of the skin. As was stated previously, be careful of the temperature and how long it scalds. You don't want to cook the skin, as it will tear.
5. When scalded, we take it to the plucker. We built our own using a drum and fingers we purchased. It is in a wood box cabinet that is mounted uner a work bench in the chicken area. It's driven by a 3/4 hp electric motor. We turn the plucker on and carefully hold the chicken so that the fingers grab the feathers and pull them off. The fingers should pluck against the lay of the feathers. If properly scalded, this will remove 90% of the feathers in about a minute or even less. We don't try to get all the feathers off with the plucker.
6. At this point we move to the finishing station. This is where we have a wood closet rod mounted on some shelf hangers. From the rod are some twine loops which we place over one or both feet of the chicken, suspending it upside down. At this point we finish getting any remaining feathers. The twine loop cinches down tightly so we have both hans free to do the job. This takes about 5 minutes or less. any stubborn feather areas can be re-scalded and finished up.
7. When completely plucked, we rinse the bird from the hose and move to the gutting table. This is a folding plastic / steel table we got from a popular bulk store. Each peerson gutting has one or two favorite knives and a large cutting board. I won't go into the gutting process here. My daughter who is 5' tall and weighs 110 is great at this station, as she can get her hands into the cavity for quicj cleanout. She can do this in less than 3 minutes.
8. The bird is rinsed again, and placed into a cooler until all are done.
9. We now move the operation inside the house. We do a final pin feather picking and make sure each bird is ready. At this time we also dunk the whole bird into a very mild bleach solution to kill any germs that may have been introduced.
10. Now the birds which are going to be frozen whole are placed into freezer bags, and plut into the fridge. The others are cut up into pieces and sorted. Some are deboned, while others are left bone in. Wings are placed into bags for hot wings. legs and thighs are bagged. Breasts are bagged separately as well. The backs and necks we also bag for use in making broth.
11. Clean up everything and you are done.
12. We refridgerate for at least 24-48 hours before freezing or cooking.

THANK YOU!