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  1. Recon

    Ducks! Should have done this AGES ago!

    I dunno about some of this discussion...... I've done a lot of ducks and geese.... I found them to be marginally more difficult than chickens but not really unbearably so...... especially not unbearably so when measured against how incredibly delicious they are smoked. My mouth starts watering...
  2. Recon

    Can I turn the light off yet?

    They'll gain weight faster with the light on, but some people feel that increases the mortality. I've tried it both ways and I can't really see a direct link to increased mortality from the light. I can, however, see a direct link to lower weights at butchering when I don't have a light for them...
  3. Recon

    How meat birds have changed you

    Quote: I started raising meat birds about 5 years ago after my wife repeatedly brought chicken home from the grocery store that just didn't seem like it could possibly have grown naturally. The meat was massive and the bones were pencil thin. I was completely alone in the process. Friends...
  4. Recon

    Looking to jump in the meat birds?

    Quote: This has been my experience as well.
  5. Recon

    Most economical hatchery to buy meat birds *other than* chickens

    I got some rescue geese about 10 years ago and they are still producing substantial freezer meat. I get about 10 goslings a year from five breeders. They always want to set, and they are good mothers, but the predators just ravage them when I let them set. Consequently, I take the eggs and...
  6. Recon

    Kinda dumb ques...? Home grown turkey vs wild turkey??

    They refuse to ever eat any turkey again... Because they were grossed out by the process? Or are you saying they refuse to eat anything but wild turkey? I know plenty of people who don't eat chicken/fish/beef or whatever after they worked in the processing industry for that type of animal.... I...
  7. Recon

    Meatie - Flipped, Convulsed and Died

    They say it's supposed to be reduced by a 12 on 12 off feeding schedule. They just about had me convinced it was working with my last batch, then in the 7th week (a couple weeks later than I had experienced in the past) I had one flip every day. So I'm not a believer like I thought I was going...
  8. Recon

    Question on letting rigor pass

    I don't have an opinion on your theory re:air, but I have an opinion that my chickens taste consistently better if I wait until after the rigor has passed to freeze them, which usually just means I don't put them directly in the freezer anymore. I let them rest for about 6-8 hours either in ice...
  9. Recon

    My first venture into Cornish Rocks..

    You may not be immediately relieved because 39 are likley to take more than just one processing session! But the things you have described definitely make it easy for me to do the processing.
  10. Recon

    Anyone in Sacramento calif know of processors?

    Quote: I just love the smell in there. I've never found that in an American butcher shop. It's like you are literally in Europe.
  11. Recon

    Anyone in Sacramento calif know of processors?

    Then... after New American does your birds... I shouldn't tell you this.... this is my secret..... Alright I'll tell you..... <begin whisper voice> Take the birds to Morant's on Franklin Bl and he'll smoke them for you. <end whisper voice>...
  12. Recon

    Anyone in Sacramento calif know of processors?

    New American Poultry Processing on Broadway near Riverside.... in Sacramento. http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-american-poultry-sacramento 2.50 per bird if they weigh less than 5 pounds live weight. More if they are heavier. They will loan you cages to transport your birds for a $30 deposit...
  13. Recon

    Do you ever get over the "eating a pet" feeling?

    I have pet-birds, and I have freezer-destined-birds. I don't confuse the two and I never even try to butcher the pets. When they get to old to give eggs, they get lifetime retirement. But no medical benefits. When they go, they go.
  14. Recon

    Water Temp.... I finally figured it out

    I've been lurking, rarely posting, while I raised five or six hundred meat birds over the last couple years. I thought I had learned a lot from this forum, but apparently I wasn't paying quite close enough attention. If you are relatively new to raising your own birds and still figuring...
  15. Recon

    Protein %

    I feed 22% for the first month and then go to 18% for the second month. My birds dress out between 5.5 and 6.5 pounds at 7.5 weeks.
  16. Recon

    Cornish X chick not walking what should I do?

    Seems like no matter what I do, I always loose 10 percent between the time they arrive and the time I butcher. Don't loose any sleep over it. Some of them just don't make it. And it sounds like this one you described may be headed for that 10 percent group... it feels even worse for me when they...
  17. Recon

    Butchering Advice

    I've never butchered at 4 weeks but I've looked at my birds and looked at butcherd game hens in immediate comparison and decided my 4 week old birds would butcher bigger than the store bought hens in my hand.
  18. Recon

    need information about meat chickens

    What's your neighbor got? What's the feed store suggest? That would be where I would ask/look.
  19. Recon

    Removing Cornish X's food for the night???

    I've done both ways and I am now a believer in removing their food. I have much healthier birds and the casualty rate is much lower. When I left the food in 24/7, I figured 10 percent would die before the time I planned to process. Taking the food away seems to equal less than 5% dying early...
  20. Recon

    Meeting with USDA and county reps.

    What county are you in? Did you happen to see that news article yesterday about the SPCA protesting a processing plant that was trying to get permitted in Sacramento? Probably not a factor for you, just an interesting read. Followup note added a few minutes later: They denied the permits! go...
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