Recent content by Kabouter

So I realized I never really discussed my processing here. I think my process was pretty standard but here it is: 1. Killing cone, slit throat, hang for 90 seconds 2. Scald, I have a 20 gallon pot filled with water and a bit of dish soap, 155 degrees for ducks and scalded for about 40...

Processing went really well. I am happy with all the supplies and tools I purchased. My only issue was bird weight. My muscovies weighed in between 55oz (3.4#) and 28oz (1.8#). That is much smaller than I had hoped for. Does anyone else have experience processing at 8 weeks? That just...

I am actually doing ducks, and bought a larger cone as well. I think you should by or make a cone sized to hold whatever poultry you are processing.

I just made my investment in processing materials and here is what I bought: Plucker - $548.00 +shipping fish filet table $69.00 - kill cone $28.00 boning knives $15.92 shrink bags $34.95 Links should work. I already have a huge stock pot and propane burner for scalding, and plan to air...

So just a midway update. The ducks are doing really well and growing quickly. I have not been weighing them, but it appears they will be pretty good size by our 8 week butchering target. The hoop coop performs great! It is very easy to move with the tractor, the watering system is easy to...

Hi everyone, well I did a poor job of taking the time to document while I was building, but here is the duck tractor. So like I said above, it is 8'x12'. Three cattle panels are covered with poultry netting, and the cover is made from a 12'x16' tarp folded in half. On hot wire runs around...

Thanks Bill, I also grew up a bird hunter, so I have dressed hundreds of wild ducks and geese. That experience definitely played into the investment decision. Ha. I am hoping to build the hoop coop this weekend, so I will snap some pics of how I set up the electric fence. However, it is...

High everyone, I am going to grow meat birds for the first time this year and wanted to run my plan past the group. I am building a hoop coop based on these plans (http://www.plamondon.com/hoophouse.pdf) from Robert Plamondon. I have altered the dimensions a bit to provide 100 square feet...

Hi everyone, I am living in southeastern Wisconsin and have been keeping a small flock of laying hens for about 5 years. We sometimes let our flock out to free range, and sometimes leave them in their run, depending on predator pressure. This year we are expanding a bit and are going to...