Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Yellow House Farm]

Joseph-
Scrub legs/feet first....then after washing with the Tide, you can add Downy softener to the rinse water for a nice finish to the feathers. Some like to add some white vinegar to the first tub rinse after the Tide cleansing...then you could of course do the Downy as well. I think it is always best if you have a wash sink with a faucet/spiggot so the rinsing can be as clean as possible...and of course warm water is appreciated by the birds (-;

OK, so, what is the "washing/scrubbing" action. Does one soak? Rub? Shake? Plunge? What exactly does one do. I've never really had to wash anything besides feet before.

I'm definitely picking up the Downy after work tomorrow.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

You know, once you get the hang of it, it's really quite alright. We have found that everything--absolutely everything--is a bout set-up and flow. The right tools, everything in place, the right scald, music playing in the back ground and friends who want to play. A couple of friends over to help makes it a really fun visit, and we're more than happy to send them some with some birds for the pleasure they bring to the morning.

I'm gonna have to try this again next year. First time we processed any, the birds were TOO big and a bit tough/stringy (plus we skinned them as opposed to plucking, flavor wasn't so great). Hopefully, next yr I'll be better at identifying culls sooner and can process before they are too old

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Here are some photos of a couple pens I built using modular panels.

Pen #1
10'x 20' x 6'.
Total number of panels used: 8
Lumber used: 2x2

Side panels: 10x6 (5) I used two panels to make each side, 1 panel for the back and 1 door panel which attaches to the coop.
Roof Panels: 10'x 10' (2)
Door Panel: (1) Custom built to fit this coop.


DYI Ruff Estimated Cost for this run: $215.60 (does not include roof or coop)
Side Panels 6 X $20.20 = $121
Roof Panels 2 X $32.20= $64.40
Extra 2" x 2" boards to support roof 6 x $2 = $12

Estimated cost for each 10'x 6' side panel: $23.20 each
Estimated Cost for roof panels: $32.20 each
See calculations below:

Wire: a 150 X 3 foot roll of wire cost $65. I used 20 linear feet per side panel at $.46 per linear foot. Cost for Wire: $8.60
Lumber: 2"x2" X 10 cost $3.00 per board. I used 5 per panel= $15. The corner braces were made out of scraps.

Total Cost for a 10' x 6' Panel: $ 23.20
Roof Panels: wire: 30 linear feet of wire $13.80, lumber $12 cost per roof panel: $32.20



Here are some picture of Pen #1






Roof is reinforced with extra 2"x2"s






Custom built panel fits around coop. Door is built into this panel





Junction where the side panels and roof panels meet



Corner junction. I hang feeder up at night from to keep rodents from eating food.

Pen #2 ON A SLOPE

Modular panels are great when the ground is flat, and not so great when you have a slope. The slope here was so significant that we had to prop the side panels up to make them level. (please note the triangle on the ground). We could have avoided propping up the panels by putting the coop in the run, but the pen would have been tilted I like the coops on the outside of the run so they don't take up run space, and so I can collect eggs with out going inside.




These runs are built with 16'x 8' panels. We saved panels by putting pens side by side so they could share interior panels.


Here is the photo of how the panels are propped up to be level

These panels were built the same height (8 feet) but because of the slope we had to raise the side panel up and then attach it to the front panel. Notice the different levels. In this photo, you can see the slope is in excess of 1' per 16' based on the different heights of the panels.


Four 16' panels will create two 8' x 16' runs with a wire divider in the middle.

When the budget allows, I will cover these runs with a corrugated roof. This sunshade is just over 1 year old and already torn in multiple places.

You know, one can do some pretty cool specialized breeding with runs set up like this.

 

[fowlman01]

I do the feet last. As I am washing the bird the dirt under the scales is loosening up. Seems easier to me . the trick to keeping white birds easy to clean up is to keep them clean from the time they feather out until they molt. White birds win more than any other color, but they have to be pristine.

W

 

[Yellow House Farm]

I'm gonna have to try this again next year. First time we processed any, the birds were TOO big and a bit tough/stringy (plus we skinned them as opposed to plucking, flavor wasn't so great). Hopefully, next yr I'll be better at identifying culls sooner and can process before they are too old

Don't worry about the size and age, you just have to change the cooking. These sound like birds for an immersion pre like coq au vin or cacciatore. You can just cook them slowly in a red sauce for a few hours, and they'll be delicious--as will be your sauce.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

I do the feet last. As I am washing the bird the dirt under the scales is loosening up. Seems easier to me . the trick to keeping white birds easy to clean up is to keep them clean from the time they feather out until they molt. White birds win more than any other color, but they have to be pristine.

W

Everyone's pretty clean. This should go alright. I'm just making sure I've the right idea before I go charging in. I'm a bit of a clutz though; so we're avoiding bluing.

 

[cbnovick]

Everyone's pretty clean. This should go alright. I'm just making sure I've the right idea before I go charging in. I'm a bit of a clutz though; so we're avoiding blui

Joseph,
Here's a good link to check out for the washing and/or show prep. Very nice gal and Master Exhibitor who's taken the time to put this up on her website. She's done very well with White Silkies and White Rocks, most recently.

http://www.harvestbreezefarm.com/PreparingforShow.html

 

[kwMississippi]

X2??

can anyone answer this question?

 

[kwMississippi]

What is a good size to build a show/travel box for large fowl?

 

[ronott1]

What is a good size to build a show/travel box for large fowl?

There was a discussion about show boxes a month ago on this thread. Walt and the dragonlady had tips about it. Sadly I did not save that information to my Chicken notes. Google does a much better job of searching BYC than BYC's search engine so start there.

Best!