Recent content by firstbatch

  1. firstbatch

    salt in the water after butchering?

    thanks Dan, that is what i am afraid of - salty chicken....i want to experiment, but dont want to ruin any meat! We only eat meat we raise ourselves or hunt ourselves - so the stakes are high if we ruin several chickens.
  2. firstbatch

    Mixing breeds in the coop

    thanks. my rooster isnt to cranky, but he likes to show whose boss...he is only 2, same as the leghorns...I will let the RIR get some size to them before i introduce them.
  3. firstbatch

    salt in the water after butchering?

    we have several large coolers that we use when we go elk hunting to keep the elk on ice til we get it home and hung in the walk in cooler. We use those coolers to let our chickens rest between butcher and final cut up into the freezer. it was in those i was considering doing a salt bath of...
  4. firstbatch

    salt in the water after butchering?

    thanks to both of you for the replies. I hadn't expected them so quick probably a good idea to get them out of the water after the first little bit...do you set them directly on the block ice? Last year we didnt salt the water, was wanting to compare a little I guess. Thanks again.
  5. firstbatch

    Mixing breeds in the coop

    is that true when putting new layers in with older? I have 6 leghorn layers and a rooster, and want to put in my new RIRs - i have 7 that are about 8 weeks old. Can I put them together and let them hash things out? Or should I wait til the Rhode Islands are comparable in size first?
  6. firstbatch

    Meaties 101

    excellent post. I would like to pick your brain just a bit. After they are processed and resting for a couple days, I do not have fridge space for 40 birds. Last year (our first) we put them in coolers and kept them in very cold ice water - we have an icemaker in the shop so it is easy to...
  7. firstbatch

    salt in the water after butchering?

    ok, so saw the 'notable archives' across the top and found the one i was looking for regarding the processing. Sorry about that. Would still like input on if anyone adds anything to the water while the birds are resting before the freezer...
  8. firstbatch

    salt in the water after butchering?

    I am sure this has been asked before, we will be inviting our meaties to the freezer this weekend. Last year we let them rest in ice water for about 3 days before final cutting and into freezer, we did not use salt in the water. Any opinions on that? I am thinking I want to try it this year...
  9. firstbatch

    How much feed a day?

    thanks so much. That is what I wanted to know. Love this forum!
  10. firstbatch

    How much feed a day?

    So, hoping this is an easy one for those who raise chickens regularly...on my first batch. I have 26 cornish x's they are 5 weeks old and growing great! I just switched to doing the feed 12 on and 12 off, but curious how much they should be going thru a day. Is there a formula? I was...
  11. firstbatch

    flavor of cornish x

    Thanks for the replies...put my mind at rest. I definately imagine we will branch out into other varities of birds, but was hoping for a once thru of the whole process to decided what we wanted to do. I do like the idea of duel purpose birds.
  12. firstbatch

    flavor of cornish x

    New to raising chickens at all, eggs or meat, we decided to try both. We chose the cornish x for meat birds (25) just to see how it goes. We will likely over the winter do some more research and try a different breed next year - assuming the processing part goes ok. I hunt with my husband and...
  13. firstbatch

    Tough meat

    Is there a ratio of salt to water for the coolers during the 'rest' period? We are going to be processing our first ever batch of CX birds in about a month, trying to get a good handle on what I need to have ready to go.
  14. firstbatch

    herbs, help please?

    Hello. I was hoping with all the knowledge on this site someone might be able to put me in the right direction. I have a bunch of herbs I grow on my property here and i would love to be able to preserve them thru the year. I have sage, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, several mint varieties...
  15. firstbatch

    Freezer Camp invite in Western Washington

    cool. have a number or website...i suppose i could just google it eh? we just got our birds so we are a ways out from harvesting, see if I can make some arrangements :-)
See more
Back
Top Bottom