The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

@armorfirelady
Sorry he had to go. You did a great job. I still think it will be hard for me to do one of my own birds since I have so few and I "know" them all.

I had to edit the post on my lap top. I think I labeled everything ok. I have to say it wasn't easy but I said a little prayer. thanked him and just did it. I think the worse was the smell when dunking him. If i was able to do it outside it probably would of been better. But we are not allowed to butcher animals so I had to do it in the garage with the doors closed. The dogs were to interested in what I was doing but they were my alarm system if someone pulled in the yard. & I was afraid one of my neighbors down the street called the Town this morning to complain so I didnt want them to pull in the driveway & see me. Hopefully since he was quiet this morning no one called to complain this am.

 

[lalaland]

AFL, wa;y to go!

It is hard to do, but worth it. I had chicken and dumplings last week from one of the roosters. I keep telling myself, I eat chicken from the store and they had a horrible life, while the roosters and hens here had a wonderful life. Still not easy!

 

[Leahs Mom]

@armorfirelady

Quote: Well....your editor did make a couple of interesting assertions..... Sounds like a spa to me.

 

[Lacy Blues]

@hoosiercheetah

PS:
If you are good a wiring, and have some heavy, suitable wiring to work with, I think I'd try the cinder block thing.

I have some bricks and blocks around here that I've built up where I have pyrex bread pans sitting in them with the rim/handles of the bread pan sitting on the brick edges to raise it up off the floor. (I'll get a photo later.) That would be an ideal setup to use and put a heat source under it since it can be completely lined with bricks/block.

Only thing w/my setup is that it would always have light on under there showing through the glass. But if you take the in at night and turn the light off, it would work beautifully.... (I have LOTs of bricks and patio blocks around here in the "storehouse".

Now that I'm going to have more indoor room, I might just consider doing that myself if I can find some good way to wire it that it's safe.....

(I just didn't have enough room indoors to make that work in the hen shed.

What about ceramic bulbs? They emit no light, just heat.

There's also the pavers that are the same size as the cinder block sides. You could use one for a base, carve a space in the bottom of your cinder block for the wire to fit comfortably in and then put your pyrex into the cinder block holes to keep them warm. You could also have a paver for the top and instead of bringing them in at night, just cover them up with a cinder paver...

Hey this is getting me thinking about my own situation... I think this could actually work. I have more than one pen as well and putting a thermostat on the switch would turn them on only when its cold. hmmm......

 

[Lacy Blues]

BEWARE PICTURES OF PROCESSING A CHICKEN. IF YOU DONT WANT TO SEE THEM THEN SCROLL RIGHT BY (I don't can't use the spoiler option on my IPad)



I believe the lungs, liver & ? I cant remember what the small dark organ is. Gallbladder?

I believe this is the crop. It was covered in yellow fat. Not thick fat just a layer around it.

the intestines

I have no idea what this is. Its at the opposite end of the anus.

Above is the proventriculus... the "stomach" if you will, where digestion begins. It is between the crop and the gizzard.




Heart, lungs, kidney? & testicles Heart, liver, testicles.

If I have mislabeled something please let me know. I couldnt label them on the pictures because I dont know how.

I'm cuious to hear from the old timers is that fat is normal? I didnt see any in the breast area just when I cut him open to remove the organs. He was 21 weeks old and on FF once a day since he hatched. He has been foraging in their space since then. And of course leftovers as we had them. I thought he was real skinny. But being so young I was surprised he has some good meat on his breast. He is currently resting in the fridge in a milk bath. His hatch mates were enjoying his heart. If I cant eat him he wont go to waste. His hatch mates & the other hens will enjoy him.

I'm not really an old timer but I believe the fat is normal. They need a little. He didn't have much. Winter is coming and his body was probably preparing for it.

 

[hennible]

Any of you who home butcher please share how you use the different parts in the thread a tacked onto my signature... If any one has pics of cleaning gizzard or peeling feet I could use them... Also liver recipes... Perhaps how to clean intestines for consumption...
Thanks all

 

[Lacy Blues]

That's a really good idea hennible. I usually give the innards to my animals so obviously, I have no idea how to use them in something that would taste good.

 

[hennible]

Well feeding bits to your other animals is a way to use them up none the less

 

[ronott1]

Any of you who home butcher please share how you use the different parts in the thread a tacked onto my signature... If any one has pics of cleaning gizzard or peeling feet I could use them... Also liver recipes... Perhaps how to clean intestines for consumption...
Thanks all

Good idea!

Please post your experiences with oregano oil and Flavus here. It should go better than the "new BYC myth" post you were hit with on the other thread.

 

[armorfirelady]

@armorfirelady

He is currently reading in a milk bath in the fridge.

Well....your editor did make a couple of interesting assertions.....  Sounds like a spa to me. 

Ugh autocorrect is not my friend. And my son has my iPad keyboard as a split keyboard. And while it does make typing easier I can't see what I am typing.

And he is going to have a hard time reading without his eyes lol

AFL,  wa;y to go!   

It is hard to do, but worth it.  I had chicken and dumplings last week from one of the roosters.  I keep telling myself, I eat chicken from the store and they had a horrible life, while the roosters and hens here had a wonderful life.  Still not easy!

I keep telling myself that to. We will see how it goes in a couple of days lol
@Lacy Blues
Thanks for the help. Gizzard.....I should of known that....I was close with crop lol
I have no idea what his lungs are then. Hopefully they still are not in him lol. As for the fat I'm guessing your right. There doesn't seem to be any around his breasts. I just didn't realize his gizzaed would have fat around it,

As for what to do with his innards? His hatch mates got his heart. I could of gave them the rest but I didnt. But they do love fish guts . If I can't eat him after he rests in the fridge a few days the hens can eat him. Regardless they will get the carcass if we eat him no waste here.