Against the odds hatching thread (with pictures and questions)

[aart]

They swore the setup was no waste...

Yep, but they aren't. Have seen some mods to try to fix that.

It’s hard to tell what I’m looking at in your picture... Do you have other pictures?

I went thru several iterations, thought the 3" deep dish would do the trick but the tubing on the edges really helped. I think it eliminated the billing out, but not totally sure as I didn't really 'test' it.
Here's the deets:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-waste-free-funnel-bucket-feeder.67218/

 

[K0k0shka]

Yep, but they aren't. Have seen some mods to try to fix that.

I went thru several iterations, thought the 3" deep dish would do the trick but the tubing on the edges really helped. I think it eliminated the billing out, but not totally sure as I didn't really 'test' it.
Here's the deets:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-waste-free-funnel-bucket-feeder.67218/

Oooh! This is entirely different. Very creative. I like it! I’ll have to try it, thanks.

 

[K0k0shka]

So far the chicken vs. human feeder score was 2:0 in favor of the chicken. Let’s see if aart’s contraption will outsmart the chicken! Thanks @aart for the idea!

I left it outside at first, so they’d get used to it. They took to it very quickly:

Here it is in the coop, with my smartass chicken. He wasn’t able to rake anything out (yet).

Here are some close-ups. I made the bottom of the feeding ports rounded instead of straight, to make the lowest edge (where they’re most likely to rake out of) as short as possible. I also made the pipe shorter, so that I could see the bottom of the jug from the feeding ports. That way I can see when the feed is getting low without having to open the lid.

 

[K0k0shka]

The boys forced my hand with their sudden crowing contest this morning, so I had to commit a triple mass murder today. The Partridge Orp is the only cockerel left out of 6 now. My personal favorite, Zeiko the cuddly lap chicken, had to go, too He was a big boy though - 5 lbs 8 oz when plucked and gutted (at 16 weeks). We have a rotisserie attachment for the grill, so that’s where he’ll go. I’m resting one of the others for 2 days and will then make soup out of him the same way I did the first chicken, to complete the experiment and see if resting makes a difference. I’ll report on the results. For science!

 

[aart]

That's the most interesting carcass I've ever seen.
Did you use a torch on the 'hairs'?

 

[K0k0shka]

That's the most interesting carcass I've ever seen.
Did you use a torch on the 'hairs'?

Not a torch, but I do singe the carcasses to burn the hairs off, yes. I wrap the bird in newspaper and light it. As the newspaper burns away, the hairs get burned off. As a bonus, it gives the meat a nice smoky flavor. I really miss that smokiness in store-bought chicken, in addition to the better overall flavor of homegrown meat.

 

[K0k0shka]

I did my experiment and rested one of the chickens for 2 days before making soup out of him, to compare against the one I made soup out of without resting the meat. It just so happens that they were both the same breed as well - my two Barnevelder boys, so the comparison is even more direct (if that even matters). The conclusion - the resting did absolutely nothing. In both birds, everything but the breast was very tender and flavorful. The breast was much chewier, though not horrible. I just don't like breast in general, so I'm biased against it. The rested breast was in no way more tender than the non-rested though. Which is sad because I had high hopes for this method, after hearing the rave, and because I was hoping it would redeem breast meat for me, which it did not. I still don't like it. Oh well. Maybe the method works better on older birds, but I'm not convinced. After killing 5 chickens, I sort of have a reputation in my neighborhood now, and might be doing some favors for neighbors with unwanted roosters (and insufficient guts). So I'll likely be getting my hands on more homegrown meat to cook. One rooster in particular is quite old, and would be a good test case for resting old meat. Speaking of which - would there be any harm or danger to me if I ate a rooster who had bumble foot? This one has a really bad case and has been wasting away since last year. It will be a mercy killing, and I'm torn between not wanting to waste the meat, vs. not wanting to end up getting something if I ate a sick bird...

 

[aart]

It just so happens that they were both the same breed as well - my two Barnevelder boys

Both 14 weeks old?
Not the birds in pics in post #654?

 

[K0k0shka]

Both 14 weeks old?
Not the birds in pics in post #654?

One was 10 weeks old (un-rested), the other was 14 (rested) and the second in post #654.

 

[K0k0shka]

No shortage of groceries there

@aart remember this? The photo isn't showing up in the quote so here it is:

From way back in the day. This chick grew up to always have this "stuffed full" look about her, and she's still the fluffiest of them all as well, and one of my favorites. Total sweetheart. Most of that is fluff, but she does eat well and it does look like she's about to pop