Recent content by ben_r

  1. ben_r

    should i lock the coop at night

    Quote: Absolutely this. Underestimate raccoons at your own peril. Those d*mn things could learn to pilot the Concorde if it meant they could steal a chicken. Worst thing is, they don't just kill one to eat, they kill them for fun.
  2. ben_r

    Are you a propagator, preservationist, or a "crusader"?

    Mostly crusader, partly propagator. I'm thrilled that a co-worker and a friend are considering raising laying hens based on seeing my flock, but primarily I am interested in providing healthy eggs for friends and neighbors.
  3. ben_r

    should i lock the coop at night

    I just latched mine, because I figured I was in the city and there were no large predators around. Trust me, lock it now. Imagine going out one morning into a very quiet, very messy run...
  4. ben_r

    DIY HUMANE way to Kill Slaughter Chicken (Stun-kill, Gas)

    Quote: We're not talking about outright toxins now (if we in fact ever were). Most of the current discussion regarding gas is on inert, benign gasses that already form a fraction of the atmosphere, but which do not support life (N2, CO2 etc). These gasses would have no significant effect on...
  5. ben_r

    DIY HUMANE way to Kill Slaughter Chicken (Stun-kill, Gas)

    Quote: Are you sure that it was CO2 (carbon dioxide)? Combustion engines produce CO (carbon monoxide), which will cause confusion, drowsiness, and headaches before it knocks you out. Elevated CO2 blood levels cause hypercapnia, leading to panic and hyperventilation...
  6. ben_r

    DIY HUMANE way to Kill Slaughter Chicken (Stun-kill, Gas)

    Quote: Came here to post this. As divers know, the panicky feeling of running out of air comes not from oxygen starvation, but from CO2 oversaturation in the blood. So long as galline physiology works in the same way (I'm not a vet, unfortunately, and cannot confirm), a chicken in a nitrogen...
  7. ben_r

    odd chick sexing technique, anyone seen this?

    I wonder if I could use the Monty Hall approach... so if I change my choice, it's a pullet?
  8. ben_r

    odd chick sexing technique, anyone seen this?

    This site shows an interesting method of sexing chicks at two days: pick it up by the base of the neck and hold it there. If it relaxes and droops, it's a pullet. If it moves around and kicks up its feet, it's a cockerel. Has anyone else heard of this? If it's true, what reason could there be...
  9. ben_r

    Michigan Chickenstock 2010/Who will be Attending?

    Welcome to byc, Jenny! (I'm Jenny's co-worker and will be attending as well)
  10. ben_r

    Michigan

    I'm here too... in Lansing, a block from Sparrow Hospital. I started last spring with four BR chicks from Soldan's, got them big and fledged out, moved them to the coop. Then one night the neighbors came by cuddling one of the pullets which ended up pecking at their window. We went back to the...
  11. ben_r

    Poultry sale law in PA

    I intend to eventually operate a pastured poultry and egg farm in Pennsylvania. In some states, like Michigan and Virginia, a processor may not market poultry directly to the public without a state or federal inspector, inspected facilities, etc. This is why people like Joel Salatin offer...
  12. ben_r

    Can you de-crow a rooster?

    Quote: But the neighbors might not...
  13. ben_r

    Can you de-crow a rooster?

    Quote: ...because he is delicious? The OP asked if a rooster could be made not to crow; that's the only way I know how... aside from more terminal methods.
  14. ben_r

    Can you de-crow a rooster?

    Quote: You're right on the money, although caponizing aint like clipping ones nails. Its a surgical procedure, performed without anesthetic. 'Taint for the faint of heart. True, but it can be done at home. There are a few threads in the meat birds forum that document the procedure and show...
  15. ben_r

    Can you de-crow a rooster?

    Once a rooster is mature, there's no realistic way to stop him from crowing. However, if you caponize him before he matures, I'm pretty sure he'll never develop the crowing instinct. Or any other rooster instinct.
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