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    To kill a hen or to not kill a hen, that's the question...

    You can shoot her, chop the head off, or break the neck. All methods are fast and work well when done right. I did the broom stick for 2 hens yesterday and ended up shooting a rooster in the head with a pellet gun as he got away from me. All were pretty much instant death. Do some reading up...
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    To kill a hen or to not kill a hen, that's the question...

    If you have to think that hard about whether to cull a bird, then do it. She has no redeeming qualities other than being physically healthy, which really only means she will be perfectly fine to eat.
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    Future plans for 2025! Breeding for large meaties, barring, lacing and EE

    Beginning to sort through the adult flock and cull any that won't be used for my breeding plans. Yesterday I processed the smallest BJG hen and the rooster plus the prairie bluebell whom I confirmed was not laying. The hens went swiftly via the broom stick method, the rooster played possum and...
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    Incubating Shipped Turkey Eggs (Tips?)

    I received the first order of eggs yesterday, 3 of the 6+1 were cracked. It was clear they were pressed against each other, the only buffer between eggs was toilet paper so I'm not surprised. I sealed the least cracked egg with finger nail polish but I'm not optimistic about it. A couple eggs...
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    Jersey Giant Growth

    Oh I wasn’t really expecting to get the weights Meyer states but barely getting half the stated size? Disappointing to say the least. Before putting hands on them I was expecting at least 8-10lbs live for the roo and 6lbs for the hen. Hatcheries shouldn’t be listing the max size of show quality...
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    Show off Butchered Heritage Type Chickens.

    With chicks growing fast it is time to start reducing the adults. Starting with a m/f pair of BJGs and a prairie bluebell that has never laid. All just under 1yr. PBB Live- 3lbs 9oz —> 2lbs 6oz BJG hen - 5lbs 1oz —> 3lbs 9oz BJG roo- 6lbs 9oz —> 4lbs 10oz Left to right is PBB, BJG hen, BJG...
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    Jersey Giant Growth

    Apparently talking about it yesterday gave me the pep talk I needed to go ahead and do the deed. I ended up processing the smallest hen and the rooster plus a prairie blue bell that hasn’t laid yet. All are just under a year old. Live weights for the BLJ hen and rooster are 5lbs 1oz and 6lbs...
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    Jersey Giant Growth

    I wish I had kept weights on my 4 BJGs as they grew but the results would have been unimpressive to say the least. I bought them from Meyer Hatchery last May so they are nearly 1yr old. I imagine getting BJG from someone who breeds to SOP would have much better stock that lives up to being...
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    Possible Pre-Broody Behavior?

    Bantam hen is still going strong despite having to fight with the other hens to keep her box. She just had to choose the most popular nest box to go broody in. I've seen her take two short breaks to eat and drink before running back to the coop. Checked eggs and most seem to be developing, plus...
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    Roo or pullet?

    Certainly a boy, just be prepared in case it develops a bad attitude once it matures. It seems the favorite cockerels as chicks often turn into little terrors, at least for me!
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    Helpppp chicken breeds

    Well not all chickens (even of the same breed) are created equal, some are more consistent layers, some lay bigger eggs, some are larger/smaller and other may look big but are actually lanky, or look small but are really quite plump and meaty. Look at all your birds and keep track of who is...
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    Helpppp chicken breeds

    Start by asking yourself what you want from your birds. Just eggs, meat and eggs, friendly birds? Do you plan to hatch eggs in the future for meat and/or more birds that lay colored eggs? Once you find out what you are looking for in your flock either sell or butcher the rest. It's not fun...
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    Is the egg fertilized ?

    Looks more like a white blob than a bullseye so I would say infertile.
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    Future plans for 2025! Breeding for large meaties, barring, lacing and EE

    Chick update, they survived a chilly 33F night just fine. Cornish X are weighing in at 2.5-3.5lbs while the cockerels only weigh a bit over 1lb at most. They are so relaxed compared to the laying chicks, one wanted to nap on my foot. Layer chicks are looking good, I suspect a few more are...
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    Incubating Shipped Turkey Eggs (Tips?)

    I'm being impulsive, again... Been wanting heritage type turkeys since last year and now that my brooders will be empty soon and my meat bird grow out pen is likely to be empty in another month I've decided I'd give it a try by hatching eggs. I know it would be cheaper and more certain to get...
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    What breed is he?

    Looks like Rhode Island Red to me.
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    2025 Chicken Wish List

    Most of my wish list breeds have been checked off aside from the cochin, which was a failure to thrive and died about a week after arriving in the mail. I couldn't help myself while at the feed store and bought 7 more chicks, a cream legbar, barred rock, golden laced wyandotte, white leghorn...
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    Future plans for 2025! Breeding for large meaties, barring, lacing and EE

    Everyone is outside now! The new layers will stay under the lean-to for another day before I let them out into the run. I want them to know where the safe zone is first. Cockerels and meat birds are staying out for good this time, the brooder they were in just gets too nasty with the constant...
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    Possible Pre-Broody Behavior?

    I think it is happening this time. My most promising broody, my only bantam, sat on fake eggs all last night and was still on them this afternoon so I popped some eggs under her. She has always been vicious even when just laying an egg but she is even more so now. She has one of her own eggs, I...
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    Breeding Question

    I specifically started with large breeds like black jersey giants, brahmas, and a couple large fowl mix mutts along with colored egg layers. The large fowl mix cockerel I had was huge at just 20ish weeks. Tall and lanky, he was a jerk to the girls and quite frankly rather ugly. He dressed out at...
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