BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

Don't remember accurately but could have been 4-5 mo.? I know I didn't wait as long as I normally do(around 6 mo. or more for canning, less if for freezing), as I had wanted to get the fall butchering over so I could move on to more pressing things. These breeder quality WRs grow out a little slower than most birds that are raised expressly for meat~my rooster is a year old and is just now getting spurs~ and mine especially, as they are free ranged and eating mostly what they forage, so they don't put on the weight like a penned bird would.

I just skinned two cockerels in slightly more time than it usually takes me to pluck and process one bird. Wow! I certainly understand the appeal now. My son is especially excited by the fact that I carved up the carcasses into parts and can now make one of his favorite chicken meals using the thigh meat only. Now I only have two more steps left in my 'skinning-the-chicken' evolution: I want to get one of those machines that seal up the meat to make them easier to freeze, and I want to eventually start canning some of the chicken.

This has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me.

Thanks to all of you who posted on here the advantages of skinning, and thanks especially to you @Beekissed for the outstanding video!

 

[lpatelski]

I just skinned two cockerels in slightly more time than it usually takes me to pluck and process one bird. Wow! I certainly understand the appeal now. My son is especially excited by the fact that I carved up the carcasses into parts and can now make one of his favorite chicken meals using the thigh meat only. Now I only have two more steps left in my 'skinning-the-chicken' evolution: I want to get one of those machines that seal up the meat to make them easier to freeze, and I want to eventually start canning some of the chicken.

This has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me.

Thanks to all of you who posted on here the advantages of skinning, and thanks especially to you @Beekissed for the outstanding video!

Awesome!

I skin slightly different from Beekissed. After trimming off the wings and legs...
I use to trim the wings and hocks with. They fly through bone! $14.00 at Lowe's.
I flip the bird on it's chest, start at the neck, and cut toward the tail with a sharp knife. You only have to go partway. If you nick the meat it's on the back.

 

[DesertChic]

Awesome!

I skin slightly different from Beekissed. After trimming off the wings and legs...
I use to trim the wings and hocks with. They fly through bone! $14.00 at Lowe's.
I flip the bird on it's chest, start at the neck, and cut toward the tail with a sharp knife. You only have to go partway. If you nick the meat it's on the back.

Pipe cutters? Nice! I actually used a combination of poultry shears and a scalpel, which worked pretty well on these birds since they're young, but I may just have to get one of those tools for when I process older, tougher birds. Thanks for the tip!

 

[wannahomestead]

sub'd to follow this

 

[cyborg]

Don't remember accurately but could have been 4-5 mo.? I know I didn't wait as long as I normally do(around 6 mo. or more for canning, less if for freezing), as I had wanted to get the fall butchering over so I could move on to more pressing things. These breeder quality WRs grow out a little slower than most birds that are raised expressly for meat~my rooster is a year old and is just now getting spurs~ and mine especially, as they are free ranged and eating mostly what they forage, so they don't put on the weight like a penned bird would.

I just skinned two cockerels in slightly more time than it usually takes me to pluck and process one bird. Wow! I certainly understand the appeal now. My son is especially excited by the fact that I carved up the carcasses into parts and can now make one of his favorite chicken meals using the thigh meat only. Now I only have two more steps left in my 'skinning-the-chicken' evolution: I want to get one of those machines that seal up the meat to make them easier to freeze, and I want to eventually start canning some of the chicken. This has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. Thanks to all of you who posted on here the advantages of skinning, and thanks especially to you @Beekissed for the outstanding video!

I just skinned two cockerels in slightly more time than it usually takes me to pluck and process one bird. Wow! I certainly understand the appeal now. My son is especially excited by the fact that I carved up the carcasses into parts and can now make one of his favorite chicken meals using the thigh meat only. Now I only have two more steps left in my 'skinning-the-chicken' evolution: I want to get one of those machines that seal up the meat to make them easier to freeze, and I want to eventually start canning some of the chicken. This has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. Thanks to all of you who posted on here the advantages of skinning, and thanks especially to you @Beekissed for the outstanding video!

Awesome! I skin slightly different from Beekissed. After trimming off the wings and legs... I use to trim the wings and hocks with. They fly through bone! $14.00 at Lowe's. I flip the bird on it's chest, start at the neck, and cut toward the tail with a sharp knife. You only have to go partway. If you nick the meat it's on the back.

Awesome! I skin slightly different from Beekissed. After trimming off the wings and legs... I use to trim the wings and hocks with. They fly through bone! $14.00 at Lowe's. I flip the bird on it's chest, start at the neck, and cut toward the tail with a sharp knife. You only have to go partway. If you nick the meat it's on the back.

Pipe cutters? Nice! I actually used a combination of poultry shears and a scalpel, which worked pretty well on these birds since they're young, but I may just have to get one of those tools for when I process older, tougher birds. Thanks for the tip!

Now y'all are making me hungry! The last couple I processed were a couple tough old roosters, so I skinned them and canned them. I'm thinking I need to pull a jar out of the pantry!

 

[Molpet]

I know many here have been missing Hellbender and wondering about his well-being. His son, Jason, gave me permission to update everyone.

It is with a heart heavy with sadness that I report that after returning home to be with his family, Hellbender (Ron) was taken off his respirator and died in the early hours on Thursday, June 16th. His family held a small, private Irish wake for him. My heart goes out to them and to all who loved him, and it is my greatest hope that their grief will soon abate enough for them to smile at their memories of him rather than weep.

I never had the honor of meeting Hellbender in person, but that has in no way lessened the tremendously positive impact he had on me. I miss my friend; I miss his delightfully warped sense of humor, his sagacious instruction, and his enormously kind heart. To this day I cannot comprehend why, of all the people he met here on the BYC, he chose to befriend me and share so much with me. In spite of his numerous frustrations with electronic communication, he never hesitated to offer me guidance and encouragement as I strove to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible about poultry keeping, and he never hesitated to lend me his ear when I simply needed to vent some frustrations about life in general or receive some much-needed advice. He was a very generous man who shared with me his abundant love for his family, his concerns and perspectives on world events, and the wisdom of his years.

Yes, I miss my friend, as I’m sure so many others here do, but I am also tremendously grateful to him for all he gave me. I am grateful for the opportunity to have also met his son, Jason, and his daughter, Ariel, through him, and for meeting so many other extraordinary people here on the thread Hellbender created. It is a tribute to him that so many will continue to learn and grow because of environment he created here.

Thank you, Hellbender. You will be sorely missed.

My condolences to Turk, Jason, and Ariel. Hellbender will be missed in many threads, by many people

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
That was my experience - very fast and easy (and no need to heat water or take time to dry pluck). I'm culling and processing tomorrow, will skin most (if I have the energy, will dry pluck the NNs).

- Ant Farm

 

[DesertChic]

Hi,
Just popping in between work shift. Has anyone heard how chicken folk are doing down in WV with the flooding? Everyone but specifically, Hellbender and his folk? Rain mostly didn't make it over the Alleghenies to reach us here on the western side of the Laurel Ridge of the Alleghenies. Has some sporadic heavy showers but not the flooding they were calling for up here.
Stay dry!
Thanks,
Karen

Just rec'd confirmation from Turk that Hellbender's crew is all safe, sound, high and dry.

The monsoons finally hit here in AZ and gave us some much needed relief from the heat and the drought. Now I'm just hoping that some of this rain makes its way to CA to help put out some of their fires too.

 

[ronott1]

Just rec'd confirmation from Turk that Hellbender's crew is all safe, sound, high and dry.

The monsoons finally hit here in AZ and gave us some much needed relief from the heat and the drought. Now I'm just hoping that some of this rain makes its way to CA to help put out some of their fires too.

No rain is in the forecast for lake Isabella--temps over 100 for the next two weeks.

That part of California will not have rain until October. We have a Mediterranean climate here. No rain form may to October to speak of...like .01 of an inch. That is every year all the time too, not because of Climate Change.

I understand that this is hard to comprehend for those living in other parts of the World. What we have here is a dry or rainy season. For me, rain in the Summer would be very odd.

 

[Turk Raphael]

@lpatelski Jason got his second container of jewelry. He said you would know what is to follow from there.