Recent content by Theo

The "disappearing eggs" could be the result of other chickens eating them. I had a broody that would sit like a champion, but the second she got off the nest to get a drink, the other hens would quickly eat an egg or two. The meanies!

All of theses are great replies. Thanks! I have clay soil, so maybe digging a hole about 2' deep in my garden would do it. I can cover with fencing scraps and bricks. My well is only 25' deep or so, but the garden is more than 100 feet away, so perhaps the clay will contain seepage. I will make...

I am interested in raising 25 Cornish Cross for home butchering. I've butchered a few chickens over the years, and I have a buddy who has experience who will help, so I think I am ready for a project of this magnitude. However, I am unsure how I will get rid of a biggish bucket of guts on...

Thanks!

I thought I would try growing turkeys this year. I wanted to raise some Midget Whites, enough for some to put in the freezer and a trio left over for breeding. I have a small place, 1.5 acres, in the country so I don't have to worry about neighbors or city regulations. I ordered 12 poults from...

I just got 8 chicks hatched by a friend's broody hen. My friend said they were straight run--she brought me the ones that ran straight into her hands! The hard to catch ones stayed with their mama.

The last time I bought 4 chicks at a feed store, 1 was a cockerel. That's 75% accuracy. My friend bought 3 chicks last spring, one was a cockerel. That's 66% accuracy. I think the claim of 95% accuracy is farfetched.

I think we should have a permanent thread called "Would You Eat This?". I have read some very interesting and often hilarious threads on iffy eats. Road kill, freezer fossils, dumpster delights--I am interested because I was raised to believe that stuff would kill ya. A year ago I had never had...

I've done 3 home chicken slaughters so far, and I've gained confidence. So much that I decided to include my DH in the processing of two young roos we had roaming at large on our farm. They had been crossing the road (bwah!) and getting into the neighbor's yard, much to the old man's vexation...

Yes, I worry about the dog. The rental is out in the country--no children for miles around but there are sheep in the fields seasonally. I've asked the tenant, a friend, not to let her brother bring his dog when sheep are around, and so far she has respected that request.

The bean test sounds good. I'll try that tomorrow.

So what model of crockpot do you all have, and are you satisfied with it? I really, really think mine is not functioning properly. I don't think holding food at perhaps 80-90 degrees for an hour or more can be safe. The chicken was very cold but not frozen.

I know a lot of you swear by your crockpots. I have not used mine a lot; I never liked the way it cooked. I used it maybe twice and put it away for a long time, around 8 years. This morning I got it out to cook my rooster. I popped the chicken parts in and turned it to "high". After one hour...

Thanks for the replies. I've got roosters in my crock pot as we speak. These will be the first home butchered birds we have eaten.

I had three roosters running around the yard, having become too aggressive to coexist inside the covered run with the rest of the flock. They were on the short list for butchering. My tenant's brother's dog escaped from the house, and before you can say chicken and dumplings, all three roosters...