I let mine have their winter respite; I usually have enough eggs put away to hold me over, but miscalculated this year.
My oldest ladies, how I love them, are being removed from the flock so my resources can go toward the pullets; I should get eggs starting around Thanksgiving, hopefully...
I used the shears that came with a "Pioneer Woman" knife set this time. Most the time I angle in with my knife to sever the muscles, trying to aim between vertebrae, and then twist which is admittedly tricky. The shears required more force which drew concerns about blade integrity, but the job...
I'm not an early morning person, so I'm strongly considering after dark until they are inactive for winter.
Oooo! I'll check that out if they get worse. I only really noticed them yesterday during processing; I'm thinking they're trying to get the queens ready for hibernation.
Me, backing away from my table for the umpteenth time: Mom, is there a patron saint of wasps?
My Mom, calmly minding my kids: I don't know.
Me: how about the patron saint of MENTAL BREAKDOWNS - GET AWAY FROM ME, DAGNABBIT!
Does any one have tips for keeping yellow jackets away while processing? I was battling them yesterday and got stung once (somehow only once). Greedy little critters were not content with the parts I'd set aside and kept trying to check where my hands were working.
I was probably quite comical...
Mine are definitely going to wander through the butcher area come morning. My "run" is a 4 foot fence that half the flock hops over. A few wander out my yard on the daily as well. Fences are merely suggestions to them.
I'm getting four cockerels from someone local that I'm going to dispatch this evening. When I butcher my own birds, I throw the feathers and whatnot back in the run for the flock to pick through/disperse.
The guts and such I planned to feed to my dogs and soldier flies. Would I need to be...
Just wanted to return to this thread to say none of the other chickens (all 60 or so) have developed any ailments at all, so I think the issue was unique to this individual.
Closest I got to an ailment was my older cock (3 years old) up and died of what I presume to be a heart attack. I was...
Ugh. "When it rains it pours". I mercy culled a 5 year hen 2 weeks ago, mercy culled a 2 day chick 2 days ago, and today had an impromptu harvest of my 3 year cock due to a heart attack. He literally just threw himself on the ground, flapped around, and died. 😫
Thank you all for confirming what I feared. It's done. Pruning shears weren't sharp enough for decapitation, but still efficient enough for cervical dislocation. @CabritaChicks , I'll probably order those shears.
@alinas2010 , I find counting to help. In this case, I setup my shears, counted to...
That's my plan. Just had to take care of human kids real quick. The salve was to temporarily alleviate the pain of raw nerves/keep things moist until I could locate the shears.
Shears have been located, and infant is nearly placated. She may just need to be put in a bouncer and deal with being...
It's calm and quiet for the moment, so at least relatively cozy. Not my first time mercy culling a chick, but I hate mercy culling chicks.
Naturally, this is the one I was excited about due to it's "unique" coloring.
Alright. I got it cozy under a brooder plate and slapped some "hen-saver" salve on just before posting because I got a cranky infant to handle first. After I get my kiddo settled, I'll put it down.
It's not my first time, but it's always harder with chicks. I'm thinking pruning shears will be...
2 days old, from broody hen
Is there any hope, or do I end it's suffering? She was taking good care of it yesterday. Not sure if it was Mom or another jealous hen who was trying to chick nap.