Recent content by Morrigan

  1. Morrigan

    Question on Sussex chickens and heat

    Sussex tend to be pretty hardy. I've raised mine in (dry heat) temperatures into the 110+ degrees, and haven't lost one yet to the heat. When it gets over 100, I put misters out, which probably wouldn't work in high humidity situations. But, I've also noticed that my Sussex are really good at...
  2. Morrigan

    Processing Cornish X at 6 weeks?

    I hope is all goes well for you! If you think about it, please report back and let us know what the final weights were and whether you were satisfied with the process. A lot of people have similar questions and it's really helpful if they can hear how things turned out.
  3. Morrigan

    Processing Cornish X at 6 weeks?

    I kind of did mine in reverse in terms of protein. They got chick starter for the first 2 or 3 weeks, which is at 18% protein. There were a few heritage chicks in the brooder with them, so I wanted to give a more conventional feed. After they were with the main flock they got purina flock...
  4. Morrigan

    Processing Cornish X at 6 weeks?

    Starting at around 3 weeks, they only had access to feed during the daylight hours (they had to leave the coop for it). Days were long in May when I was raising them, so basically they had access to the outside and the feeders from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  5. Morrigan

    Processing Cornish X at 6 weeks?

    I think you will be fine. They do grow fast near the end. Caveat: it depends a bit on how they are fed/keep, the strain of CX you have, as well as your goals. Some strains grow faster than others, but in my experience they are breeding for faster and faster growth. To relate my own...
  6. Morrigan

    How much meat am I losing if I cull a cockerel at 14 weeks?

    I personally butcher any heritage type cockerels between 13 and 16 weeks old. It depends a bit on how you plan on cooking them, but that to me is the sweet spot. They are not yet creating total havoc in the flock (fighting, chasing hens), yet they are big enough to be worth the butcher, plus...
  7. Morrigan

    The end is always so hard.

    Morrigan is now at peace. We looked in on her around 8 last night and her head was still up, she was alert and she looked comfortable. This morning she was in the same spot but her head was down and she was no longer with us. It looked like a peaceful end. I’m very sad, but also very...
  8. Morrigan

    The end is always so hard.

    She definitely will be remembered and will always have a special place in my heart.
  9. Morrigan

    The end is always so hard.

    Herobrine sounds like an amazing hen.
  10. Morrigan

    The end is always so hard.

    This was her last December, as a still pretty vibrant 11 1/2 year old.
  11. Morrigan

    The end is always so hard.

    Thank you, your words are helpful. This chicken really touched my life.
  12. Morrigan

    The end is always so hard.

    This isn't a post looking for advice on a cure, but more sharing my thoughts (and grief) upon reaching that point where you know there is nothing more you can realistically do. I put it here because so many who have searched for, or offered, help and cures on this forum, eventually reach this...
  13. Morrigan

    1 year old hen passed suddenly

    In my 12 years of chicken keeping it's happened to me twice. First time, I found a 1 year orpington dead under the roost. We had a big storm that night, and my best guess was that this was a factor but I don't know. All other chickens were fine. Several years later it happened again to...
  14. Morrigan

    Has anyone tried one of these handheld pluckers?

    Seems a bit gimmicky to me. I hand-pluck though, and am just used to doing it that way.
  15. Morrigan

    Jumbo Coturnix quail for Meat?

    This is very interesting. I take it that this is a video of your set-up. It looks like you basically lined a hutch/cage with cardboard boxes. What type of dirt is in the boxes, and what is the poop cleaning process like? We used to keep rabbits, and still have the old hutches. I keep...
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