Recent content by smfritch

  1. smfritch

    old turkey???

    Thanks everyone. He's going to be our Easter Sunday dinner then. Steve
  2. smfritch

    old turkey???

    I have a Bronze tom that is 9 months old. I'd like to butcher him but I'm not sure if he's to old to eat. Any advice???? Thanks, Steve
  3. smfritch

    Rapid onset & death...

    Quote:
  4. smfritch

    Rapid onset & death...

    Our turkeys were active eating and drinking and seemed content. An hour later, one is dead and two others went down an hour later. They were about five days old. They were in the same brooder as our chicks and about the same age. They all seemed to get along fine. The brooder was sanitized...
  5. smfritch

    Meat birds that won't die at 10 weeks....

    Okay, I just raised a batch of Cornish cross meat birds. Although they are easy to raise, They are the most loathsome, pitiful things we've ever raised. Half of them went lame by the 6th week. Our goal is to find a breed that we can raise and eat some of them and keep a few for breeding more...
  6. smfritch

    Tai & pin feather pulling - Bleeding.

    Some of my 3 month old girls are having their tail feathers and tail pin feathers bloodied. I think it may be some of the older birds doing it but I haven't been able to catch one in the act. I remove the bloodied bird, clean it up, stop the bleeding and return it to the flock the following...
  7. smfritch

    Cost chick to table...

    Cost is not a factor really. I just like to know where my food comes from and how fresh it is.
  8. smfritch

    Cost chick to table...

    Thanks guys! that's just what I was looking for.
  9. smfritch

    Cost chick to table...

    I'm sure this comes up all the time, but what does it cost to put a chicken on the table. I have the space, hardware, water and time. I have about fifty laying hens & pullets and I'm thinking about starting to grow our own meat birds. I have slaughtered chickens before but its been a while...
  10. smfritch

    What do you need in a brooder

    I put chicks in mine..... But seriously,,, a warm temperature controlled environment with food and water. There is a thread about brooders at the beginning of this forum that may help....
  11. smfritch

    Dead and dying chicks from a "hatchery"

    Quote: Just because the buyer is in California doesn't mean the chicks didn't pass through some very cold weather to get to her. Personally I don't think Katrinag needs to chill out. I agree with her. Why would you not drive an hour to get the chicks you knew had had an extra long trip and...
  12. smfritch

    Dead and dying chicks from a "hatchery"

    Quote: I know I new here, but from what I have been reading, that long in transit in good weather would have been hard on the chicks right? You are correct. I've been doing this for a long time and this is the first time I've ever had anything like this happen. One of the hatcheries I use...
  13. smfritch

    Dead and dying chicks from a "hatchery"

    I picked them up within minutes of their arrival at the local post office! As far as the weather changing, They were in the route from the hatchery and the post office to me for FOUR cotton picking days! They would have been fine if the hatchery had not left them in a truck for 48 hours in the...
  14. smfritch

    Dead and dying chicks from a "hatchery"

    Their initials are RB. They are going to credit back the charge to me VISA. I told them that I would not be ordering any more birds from them, From what they told me, many others had called them the same day with the same issue. I feel that they knew there was an issue with the chicks...
  15. smfritch

    Dead and dying chicks from a "hatchery"

    I just found out that they are not really a hatchery. Their chicks are drop shipped from other un-named hatcheries. I was going to post a photo of the mound of dead chicks that were in the box, but i felt it was too graphic. My wife is really shaken up about this.
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