Recent content by AutumnThyme

Thanks, I will try just upping the wound care and see if she can resolve it without antibiotics. It's not draining pus, just looks a bit swollen. I want her to have a good life while she's here, but I was not looking forward to having to hold her for an extra 30 days (or however long) for the...

Hi there everyone, got a problem here. I'm going by the posting guidelines, so here goes: 1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) Red broiler, 13-ish weeks, maybe 8 lb??? 2) What is the behavior, exactly. She was injured on both...

Hi all, Yesterday, I walked into the local TSC with a few minutes to kill before picking up my husband from work. I figured I'd have a peek at the cutie widdle fuzzy chickies (NOT buy any, of course!) and price rabbit food (thinking of getting into meat rabbits). Wellll... when I saw that they...

Hi there, and welcome to BYC. I purchased some chicks from Tractor Supply this spring also. I bought mine on March 28th, and they were all no more than a week old. I estimate that they will be 18 weeks old this Friday, July 25th. My 3 Golden Comet pullets started laying promptly at 16 weeks...

**GRAPHIC DETAILS WARNING!** Thanks everyone for the good advice. I got through the first one from start to finish & I'm not totally pleased with the method I chose. First off, although he seemed peaceful through most of the process, it took him a long time to bleed. I cut only one side...

I'm going to be butchering 6 of our 8 cockerels in the morning, and I have a few questions about doing this whole thing by myself. I have a large canning pot to scald in, but no outdoor heat source. Should I put on 2 pots and switch them out? Also, how long might it take for a noob like...

Thanks. I think it was right before I fed them! Makes sense now. I'm starting to "see" which ones I'll need to cull, too. I've decided that even if I don't know which is the keeper, it's not too early to start noting which ones are definitely NOT keepers, so that narrows it down! Thanks for...

Thank you for the good advice. I still haven't picked a "winner" yet, but today I had a couple roos bite at my hand when I approached them or handled nearby hens. The bites weren't particularly vicious, but I swatted in their general directions each time it happened. Is this the beginning of...

If you like heart, liver, or gizzard, save those aside. Chicken feet (scalded & peeled) are GREAT in the stockpot, as are backs, necks, other bones, and wingtips. I'd imagine the same goes for ducks. Heads, lungs and digestive tract I'd bury either in the dirt or well down in a hot compost...

Hi there, everyone, I really appreciated the advice on my last post about choosing which cockerel to keep. Mine are now almost 11 weeks (give or take- being feed store chicks, we don't know exact hatch dates ;) ) and I can feel butcher time sneaking up on me. All the advice I've seen about...

Good luck in your poultry adventures, and welcome to BYC!

Oyster- That sounds a lot better than "chicken butt cheeks," which is what I've called them up till now!

Now, that's the way I want to go- peacefully relaxing in a warm bath!

That's how I'd like to go- peacefully relaxing in a warm bath!

Mine are almost a week younger than yours and they've been outside (run and unheated coop) since about 5 1/2 weeks. Couldn't wait to get the stink out of the basement! We've had some 30-40 degree nights, but they huddle together and make do. I haven't lost a single one, but maybe I've just...