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  1. Maeschak

    What Ate Rat Caught in Trap?

    Hello All, I caught a good sized rat in my weasel box yesterday. (My weasel box is just a wooden box that contains bait and a Victor rat-sized snap-trap). I chucked the dead rat and re-set my trap. I caught a tiny rat in the same trap this morning (very odd to get one right after the other)...
  2. Maeschak

    If my roo gets butchered..

    No, pressure cooking should not involve boiling. But pressure cooking DOES involve temperatures higher than cooking. (250 degrees if you do it right- without boiling).
  3. Maeschak

    If my roo gets butchered..

    (Pressure cooking works great- will make that chicken wonderfully tender. Boiling an older chicken will make it tough.)
  4. Maeschak

    If my roo gets butchered..

    Well good thing I'm not selling!
  5. Maeschak

    If my roo gets butchered..

    Definitely do NOT let it boil! Very low simmer only. When chicken gets to the boiling temperature the meat fibers curl up and tighten (tough meat)... and they will never relax again no matter how long you cook it. If this happens just chop up the meat into very tiny bits or grind it. The taste...
  6. Maeschak

    Pics of butchered corn x with very weird skin! Safe to eat?

    Ive never seen that... could it possibly be that the bird did not bleed well (visible veins under skin) and then was scalded way too hot? Other than that my only guess would be some sort of skin disorder as another poster stated. I would definitely eat it, though, without a doubt.
  7. Maeschak

    How to mentally prepare for butchering?

    I like to start off my butchering with the jerks first. That always helps my emotions immensely. Wait until one of your cockerels starts terrorizing you or the other chickens and then butcher him first. (That is how I started.) You might be surprised at how much easier it is to do when the...
  8. Maeschak

    Culling Day Saturday

    I believe most people say to let your chicken fast for 24 hours from food and fast for 12 hours from water. I generally just get them in the morning before they have gotten any food or water and that works fine for me. Good luck!
  9. Maeschak

    GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

    Fantastic job! I've never done it before so I can't help you with your questions, I just wanted to congratulate you! I have a set of tools myself and really need to move forward in the learning process... you have given me a bit of impetus. Thanks!
  10. Maeschak

    Can I process an injured turkey?

    I would process her asap, that will give you time to decide if its something you want to try to eat. Perhaps skin her and remove the breast, legs, and wings leaving the body cavity intact so as to not spread bad bacteria. Personally, I would absolutely try to eat her- but I would also eat a...
  11. Maeschak

    Slaughtering Molting Hens

    I have the same task set for me for the next few days... Due to my chickens molting, I had expected to skin the old hens instead of pluck. Did you find that skinning was more than usually difficult as well or did skinning work just fine? I have 10-12 old hens to cull and may rethink my skinning...
  12. Maeschak

    Hen Leg Coloring/Egg Laying Question

    In case anyone is interested in the future I found the linked information useful. It contains time frames for egg laying and losing pigment as well as time frames for the return of pigment once laying ends. In short: Beak is bleached by 4-6 weeks into egg production, Bottom of feet are bleached...
  13. Maeschak

    Hen Leg Coloring/Egg Laying Question

    Excellent info sheet by the way- I've read most of that information in bits and pieces on the internet but never found it all in one place. It also adds quite a few tidbits that I did not know! Thanks again
  14. Maeschak

    Hen Leg Coloring/Egg Laying Question

    Great, thanks. I guess I worded my question poorly. In essence, I was just wondering if anyone knew how long it took of not laying eggs to have pigment color return to the legs. Thanks for the info sheet~
  15. Maeschak

    Deep Dark Brick Red Poop

    Oddly, I was just thinking about my chickens' dark red poop just the other day and thought I should post an update for anyone having similar issues! So yes, I did figure out why the poop was dark red and smelled weird and eventually led to my eggs smelling like seafood: my feed supplier...
  16. Maeschak

    Hen Leg Coloring/Egg Laying Question

    Thanks, and yes, I am talking about yellow. None of my hens, except one, has ever regained leg color during a molt. I assumed that meant that the duration of a molt (and not laying eggs) was not long enough to allow pigment to re-color the leg skin. This one hen I have, however, has lots of...
  17. Maeschak

    Hen Leg Coloring/Egg Laying Question

    Hello All, Does anyone happen to know how long it takes for a hen's leg coloring to return after she has stopped (or slowed down) laying? I have a hen whose leg color is returning during her molt. I am wondering if that means she has been a poor/no layer for a very long time (pre-molt) or...
  18. Maeschak

    Reducing Carcass Waste

    I like to pressure cook stock, here is how I do it if interested: If I am making a deluxe version of stock I first roast chicken bones/carcass and some veggies in an oven. If I am in a hurry I skip the bone roasting and veggies. Break up the bones (raw or roasted, doesn't matter) and throw them...
  19. Maeschak

    Culling mean rooster

    X2. If you can stand eating your beloved rooster, try making stock. Old rooster makes the absolute best stock. 1 rooster has the flavor power of a couple of old hens.
  20. Maeschak

    Transition from Heat Lamp to MHP

    That is what happened to my chicks and their modified MHP when I first started. The MHP was actually too *hot* and I had no idea (I kept checking temps w a good thermometer and temps were never high, always low) ... The chicks refused to stay in the MHP no matter how much herding or redirecting...
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