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  1. lokua

    Butchering knives & cleavers for poultry -- which are best?

    I use the havalon baracuta for everything (same as the piranta just bigger). No need to hack through bones, just slip the blade between joints and your meat stays bone fragment free. If you go easy and don't cut bones the blade will easily last 30+ complete birds from killing, to gutting, to...
  2. lokua

    How long to cool off carcasses?

    The stiff legs are just rigor mortis. That goes away after a day or 2 in the fridge. I keep mine in ice water for a few hours then stick em in the fridge for 2 days. I cut up most of my birds, so fitting in bags is not an issue. For birds to be frozen whole I cut a slit in the skin over the...
  3. lokua

    Another Whizbang build and a question

    Here is a link to Kimball's blog, he describes the home made tool in detail. I made one very similar and it worked well. A few minutes soaking in very hot and soapy water will help too. http://whizbangplucker.blogspot.com/2010/04/coming-soon.html?m=1
  4. lokua

    Home made chicken plucker / how to make

    I highly recommend the whizbang plucker book. Lots of minor details can be changed to suit your salvaged materials. My pulleys are 18 and 2 inches. My drive shaft is 1and 3/16. My drum has a bottom and a discharge hole on the side. The exact details can vary you just need a bunch of rubber...
  5. lokua

    How long to bleed out??

    In my experience all the blood is out in about 30 seconds then the twitching starts and lasts about a minute. Be prepared for this because on occasion it can be violent enough for the bird to flop out of the cone. Realize that the bird is dead by this point and cannot feel anything. Use a very...
  6. lokua

    HOW OFTEN DO I CHANGE THE WATERERS?

    I use a big five gallon waterer for my six layers. Rinsed and filled with plain tap water about once a week they do just fine. If its off the ground high enough the water stays clean.
  7. lokua

    Practice beheading chickens.

    When I wanted to practice butchering and test my plucker I simply picked up a few cheap spent layers at a nearby livestock auction. Its easier if you aren't emotionally involved the first time. I bleed out birds for meat but beheading is fine too. The physical task is quite simple. You don't...
  8. lokua

    Whizbang Plucker

    The plywood has held up fine through three small batches so far. My drum is the plastic outer drum from a washing machine. (don't do what I did and try using the motor and transmission from it, it doesn't work)
  9. lokua

    Whizbang Plucker

    http://www.surpluscenter.com/ has some of the best prices for electric motors, bearings, and pulleys. Here in western PA plastic barrels are plentiful and cheap on craigslist. Look there first. I purchased my plucker fingers from cconly via Amazon and they are the cheapest and work fine (Kent...
  10. lokua

    Can the turkey fryer be used again?

    I use my pot for "actual food" just scrub it out throughly and it will be fine.
  11. lokua

    Can meaties eat "crimped" corn?

    They will be fine as long as they have access to grit, it will get ground up in their gizzards.
  12. lokua

    How much time??????

    A weekend with good weather should be plenty of time if you have a decent plan and you have all of the materials. (if you are like me there will be one or two extra trips to the hardware store near the end)
  13. lokua

    Hoop Coop with 3 Cattle Panels 12x10, 10x10, 12x9 or ? ?

    As far as calculating center height you can use an online calculator like this. http://www.handymath.com/cgi-bin/arc18.cgi?submit=Entry Just enter the length of the panel for arc length and your desired width or height Being able to stand may be wishful thinking though even at only 8 feet wide...
  14. lokua

    Just a thought.....

    If the meat birds you are talking about are Cornish cross they will require special care to survive to laying age. If you somehow manage to get fertile eggs (possible I'm sure but not easy) they won't be Cornish rocks hybrids anymore and they won't have the same qualities.
  15. lokua

    Can i raise bantam in this aquarium till processing or is it too small?

    I think we need to be honest about the size of that tank. The one pictured looks to be about 18 by 36 inches not three by five feet. (That would be a 300 gallon tank) The birds will certainly survive in there but you will need to add a cover to keep them in. Seems like a crappy life to me...
  16. lokua

    Heat lamps

    I also live in western PA and mine have been in an unheated/uninsulated coop from 8 weeks of age on without issue. As long as your coop is dry and draft free they will be fine. If the previous owner used heat I would just do exactly what they did, that is what the birds will be acclimated to.
  17. lokua

    Hay vs Pine

    I always recommend pine shavings only. Straw is not absorbent enough to be good bedding. Even if you can get bales of straw cheaper you will have to replace it much more often and you wont save anything. I used to use it in nest boxes and wet spots in the run but it lays flat and starts to stink...
  18. lokua

    Can anyone tell me how long it takes until you can sex chicks?

    Obviously any bird that is available sexed from a hatchery can be identified by a skilled person on the first day. Some breeds can be sexed by the wing feathers and I believe it can be done on day one. I'd say it could easily be eight weeks before the sex is obvious sometimes longer. Most...
  19. lokua

    Washing machine plucker

    I am currently in the process of building one. I have seen many that basically just put a normal pulley driven whizbang plucker inside the drum of a washer. Mine actually uses the motor and transmission that came with the machine. While this option is definitely cheaper it is harder to make and...
  20. lokua

    Whizbang Plucker

    I imagine any name brand "farm duty" motor will outlast the rest of the plucker for home use. (I think the plucker fingers and plastic tub have a useful life of 10-15 years before they get brittle from age) If your on a tight budget an old table saw motor would likely last a long time with...
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