Arizona Chickens

[dofnup]

Well, since I couldn't find a home for them, and I couldn't keep them much longer, the two Welsummer cockerels had to go to the big coop in the sky :-\. It was my first culling, DH and I did it together, and while it certainly wasn't pleasant, I'm not emotionally scarred I don't think (always a risk since I'm a big sensitive wuss). It sucks but it's part of the job of keeping chickens.

I haven't heard anything but quacks from the coop this morning, we'll have to wait and see who else 'develops'. I might have BLRW cockerels in the future, since those are straight run.

I've been researching those cream legbars...they sound right up my alley (I love blue eggs) ... Maybe by the time I'm ready for a new flock they won't be so rare (read: expensive) XD

 

[girlchick]

X2.... lol.... Oh My! Such Strong words!...umm hmm...support group. .. here I come! !!

...........

Welcome!!

 

[DesertChic]

Well, since I couldn't find a home for them, and I couldn't keep them much longer, the two Welsummer cockerels had to go to the big coop in the sky :-\. It was my first culling, DH and I did it together, and while it certainly wasn't pleasant, I'm not emotionally scarred I don't think (always a risk since I'm a big sensitive wuss). It sucks but it's part of the job of keeping chickens.

I haven't heard anything but quacks from the coop this morning, we'll have to wait and see who else 'develops'. I might have BLRW cockerels in the future, since those are straight run.

I've been researching those cream legbars...they sound right up my alley (I love blue eggs) ... Maybe by the time I'm ready for a new flock they won't be so rare (read: expensive) XD

Yeah....I'm about ready to perform my first cull of a BR rooster who's too aggressive towards me (and really, really noisy). I've now got 33 chickens and roughly half of them are cockerels, so it's time to get serious about culling. I'm not looking forward to that first kill, but honestly I'm most concerned about catching this bad boy without getting too beaten up by him right now. I think my husband is just planning to stand back and watch how I handle this first one. He tells me he'll "help" but he's told everyone else we know that he's planning to watch and not participate, just to make sure that I understand exactly what I've gotten myself into.

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
Pick the bird off his roost the night before and hold him in a carrier until you can process him in the morning. Less stress on you. Plus it gives his crop time to empty, which makes the whole procedure a bit easier.

My first cull was the hardest. Now it is less than a minute of sadness, followed by anticipation of a yummy meal. Only a few seconds of sadness when the bird was a mean one. Revenge can be sweet.

Processing the culled bird is a whole lot easier with a good pair of poultry shears.

 

[pipemum]

I'm thinking of butchering my 2 buff orpingtons. They are quite mean. One goes out of her way to peck at and dominate the Cornish crosses. It's been bad--broken and bleeding tail feathers on the CX, red spots on their shoulders-- I don't let them out at the same time anymore. All the batches of previous CX have had no problem hanging out in the chicken yard with the laying hens till these nasty orpingtons grew up. I just don't know. They are decent layers and I've butchered meat chickens and roosters, but haven't culled laying hens. They are probably about 9 months old now, and I don't have any sort of "pet" relationship with them. They were raised by my EE, and have always been flighty as all heck.

My husband thinks I should give them away, but I can't guarantee that they don't have tapeworm. I did try really hard to give them away before I noticed tapeworm in at least one of my flock--for some reason, nobody wants an unpleasant chicken. A bad tempered chicken that may be infested with parasites...why no takers?

Plus, I've invested $ in feeding them, I should at least reap the benefits of the meat. Reap the meat. hahahahaha.

 

[pipemum]

Twinklin, what is Chromie? She's adorable! Does she have puffy cheeks AND feathered feet? Also, does she have a weird double toe? My silkie/Polish mixes had strange feet.

 

[desertmarcy]

I'm thinking of butchering my 2 buff orpingtons. They are quite mean. One goes out of her way to peck at and dominate the Cornish crosses. It's been bad--broken and bleeding tail feathers on the CX, red spots on their shoulders-- I don't let them out at the same time anymore. All the batches of previous CX have had no problem hanging out in the chicken yard with the laying hens till these nasty orpingtons grew up. I just don't know. They are decent layers and I've butchered meat chickens and roosters, but haven't culled laying hens. They are probably about 9 months old now, and I don't have any sort of "pet" relationship with them. They were raised by my EE, and have always been flighty as all heck.

My husband thinks I should give them away, but I can't guarantee that they don't have tapeworm. I did try really hard to give them away before I noticed tapeworm in at least one of my flock--for some reason, nobody wants an unpleasant chicken. A bad tempered chicken that may be infested with parasites...why no takers?

Plus, I've invested $ in feeding them, I should at least reap the benefits of the meat. Reap the meat. hahahahaha.

This sounds like a no-brainer. Butcher now before they get older and tougher meat. They are still of the age you can use them as roasters instead of stewing hens. If any chicken causes me too much trouble or grief around here, they are history. I have found it is not worth the time and effort to advertise trouble-makers for sale.

 

[Twinklin]

Twinklin, what is Chromie? She's adorable! Does she have puffy cheeks AND feathered feet? Also, does she have a weird double toe? My silkie/Polish mixes had strange feet.

She's a Salmon Faverolles. Yep, she has muffs and a beard, and feathered legs and feet, and 5 toes. The first few days she and the Sultan chick were almost impossible to tell apart. They both have those same characteristics and were both yellow chicks. Now that they have wing feathers and Chromie started getting a lot bigger than Winky I can tell them apart much easier. I know of only 5 breeds of chickens that have 5 toes and I just happen to have picked out 3 breeds that do. The Sultan, Faverolle, and Silkie all have feathered legs and 5 toes. Luckily this time the silkie I got is grey so I could tell her apart easily.

I must really like feather footed breeds because my EE, Ameraucana, and Polish are the only ones out of the 9 I got this time that have plain old normal legs and feet. Even the Olive Egger I got ended up having feathered legs because she looks like she's a Marans/Ameraucana cross and got the feathered legs from marans and the muffs from the ameraucana. I also got a cochin and a marans for some more feathered legs. I also love muffed and bearded breeds so I chose a lot of those as well. Even my Polish this time looks like she'll have them, my last Polish had neither. I was really excited when I saw my latest Polish is showing signs of a puffy face I just want to pinch it!

 

[cyborg]

This sounds like a no-brainer. Butcher now before they get older and tougher meat. They are still of the age you can use them as roasters instead of stewing hens. If any chicken causes me too much trouble or grief around here, they are history. I have found it is not worth the time and effort to advertise trouble-makers for sale.

Ditto. I was given a buff Orp rooster because he had a bad attitude, and tried to attack people. I gave him 2 weeks, using different housing scenarios/number of hens, etc, and he didn't want to change his ways. He is now resting comfortably in the freezer.

 

[aviddamy]

I have a question. I've had chickens since the end of September. How do you know when they are eating enough? Some of my girls are 5-6 months old and still thin. Well it's my buff orpingtons. The rest are fine. I am feeding them mainly fodder now. Two 1 pd seed trays a day that are 3-4 lbs when they are done. I have 19 but 6 of them are a heritage broiler so they eat more than the others.