Recent content by smilingcat

  1. smilingcat

    Found something really different in butchering and deboning X.

    So we've been raising and butchering meat birds for too many years to count, besides I only have 8 fingers and two thumbs to count years. :rolleyes: We butchered our chicken 3 days ago and they've been resting in a commercial fridge all that time. Today, we decided to break apart the chicken and...
  2. smilingcat

    ordering chicks

    And oh, after the first two three days, check for pasty butt. Soften and wash off with warm water. Must be done immediately when you find one. chicks can die within 6 hours or thereabouts after getting pasty butt. Continue to check for pasty butt for first two to three weeks.
  3. smilingcat

    ordering chicks

    When ordering or wanting different breed of chicken, do keep in mind of some unwanted behaviors. Try to stay with similar looking birds. If you want banties, make them all banties. or if you decide to go with frizzled stay with mostly frizzled. The problem arises from our experience is that if...
  4. smilingcat

    Good experience with Bresse Farms in Pototoc MS

    What I wrote on their facebook and google map: Prompt, courteous and great customer service. Didn't have enough birds for us so called us for substitution if it was okay. Got a Bresse instead of legbar. Ordered bunch of pullets and chicks. Chicks were very well packed with ample heat pad, still...
  5. smilingcat

    grrr my coop and run is supposed to be secure.

    stuffed tunnel with 0000 steel wool. made it nice and fluffy. Well "it" kicked it out this morning and the trap was tripped but no "it". I think it was smart enough to kick enough debris on the trigger to trip it. Rat? don't think so. First go around it managed to push around whole bunch of two...
  6. smilingcat

    grrr my coop and run is supposed to be secure.

    Good idea about cayenne pepper. Already have a vertical barrier on one side. Took most of yesterday. This morning, we found a new spot in the run where "it" came up. Can't find a tunnel where it came from and the hole is around 3 to 4 inch in diameter. Could be a ground squirrel, definitely...
  7. smilingcat

    grrr my coop and run is supposed to be secure.

    Well this morning I went and checked on my layer coop and run. All chicken are accounted and safe. They go into the coop at night and the hatch is locked down tight. Only things that can get inside it are flat bugs. The attached enclosed run is also secure, I thought. Never had problems until...
  8. smilingcat

    Broiler survey

    factory raised chicken for meat. Have you seen those CAFO chicken operation or been near one. You can smell them mile away. And it has a very distinct smell that you can't miss. Well maybe a turkey house. Sewage treatment plant attempts to control the odor and do a pretty good job. commercial...
  9. smilingcat

    Most important aspect of butchering?

    I just did an "emergency" butchering of a roo. What we had here was "failure to communicate!" My partner for the last few days says, roos breast is really enlarged! I said, "it's a meatie. It better have large breast." This went for a few days. So yesterday, I checked on the meaties. That...
  10. smilingcat

    Keeping Cornish x clean

    My meaties prefer to sleep by their feed and water. Right now we only have 6 birds. 12sq feet of coop plus 16 sq feet of run. Run is not a tractor where I can move it in the field. That space is for my layers. Coop and run gets additional inch or two of wood shaving every day and depending on...
  11. smilingcat

    HELP! How long can birds stay in ice water?

    go buy more ice and ice the birds so that you will have ice still in the morning. Then its like being in a fridge.Make sure the birds are immersed fully in the water ice mixture. You can also add salt to brine the birds while at it but that will cause the ice to melt quite a bit faster...
  12. smilingcat

    Relentless Hawk...Help!!

    You do that and the game warden finds out, you're in one heap of trouble not to mention, your bank account will be cleaned out. Make your chicken unavailable to the raptor, have a netting over the run so that the chicken are safe underneath. If the food isn't available, the bird will go else...
  13. smilingcat

    Relentless Hawk...Help!!

    Years ago, when my father was still alive and of sound mind, he had contacted a game warden about a problem wood pecker pecking our house and destroying the side of the house. DFG warden came out and gave him paper work to fill out to be reimbursed for the damage. Told my father that the bird is...
  14. smilingcat

    Permission to shoot neighbor's dogs

    Original post says she lives in a country. 8+ acre property qualifies as one. If the neighbor was ugly to another neighbor about the dogs and not take responsibility, you can do one of two things. Catch the dogs and take'em to a pound. Or SSS rule. As cruel as it may sound, I wouldn't hesitate...
  15. smilingcat

    Alternatives to wood shavings?

    Find a nearest feed store and see if they carry coarser wood shaving. Are you using ones for gerbils and other little critters and the ones you can buy at a pet store? If so, the wood shaving is really fine. We use coarser ones carried by our feed and tack store. Buy the shaving in bales...
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