BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

It was 17*F here this morning with wind chill of 7*. My Chantecler and Dark Cornish started off laying slowly but they have been out in the breeze and snow covered ground and going back in 2 or three at a time to lay. So far by 11:AM, half of them have laid and the others are in the nests doing their thing. The high today is supposed to be 30*.

I honestly thought the Dark Cornish and perhaps some of the Chanteclers might take off today but that is not happening apparently. They are in a much smaller 'coop' than what we used for the large laying flocks and there is very much more ventilation. I've decided to keep the Cornish with the Chanteclers....let the strong survive.

For the first time in over 3 years, a hawk was seek close enough for Jason to take appropriate action. It was too small to carry off one of these birds but it surely could have done serious damage.

I'm getting cold just thinking about those temps! We fell as low at 24º the other night but still warmed up to about 50º by the afternoon and that was definitely cold enough for me. Heck, it's in the 40s right now and I'm shivering.

Those hawks are persistent. I was told very bluntly by a neighbor that the hawks around here are "protected" and I have "no right to shoot them". Uh huh.

 

[DesertChic]

Thanks - on my own. Taking a last look at online guides on processing/evisceration, then off to get some more ice - the water bottles didn't freeze all the way yet. I want to get started as early as it's light enough to see, so I don't feel rushed.

- Ant Farm

I do all of the processing on my own as well, though my husband usually hangs around for moral support and to offer help as soon as I may need it. He's really good about that, but on principle alone I insist on doing it all myself. He helps with cleanup, which I greatly appreciate, because after processing just three birds my back is usually hurting so badly that I need to lay down for a few hours.

What I can tell you is that it gets easier with every bird your process. That first one...that was the most emotional for me...but as you continue you just sort of get into a rhythm and become a bit more mechanized. Good luck! I know you'll do great! But I still wish I were there to help and have a glass of wine with you afterward.

 

[hellbender]

I'm getting cold just thinking about those temps! We fell as low at 24º the other night but still warmed up to about 50º by the afternoon and that was definitely cold enough for me. Heck, it's in the 40s right now and I'm shivering.

Those hawks are persistent. I was told very bluntly by a neighbor that the hawks around here are "protected" and I have "no right to shoot them". Uh huh.

Hawks are protected here too but not nearly so well as our chickens.

 

[bnjrob]

Quote:
Yep, our backs don't like the butchering process either. It has gotten better though since I made a new slaughtering station. The cone is hung up at about 6 ft so we don't have to bend over to reach the bird's throat. Just not having to bend over to do the slaughtering has been wonderful. Back still bothers me with plucking because the table I have isn't high enough, but once I get a chance to retrofit the table with longer legs and a hinges, it will become part of the butchering station that I made, with two tables that are a little bit higher than counter height.

 

[hellbender]

Yup, we loose 1-2 to juvenile hawks in the late summer and early fall . . . their punishment is that the chicken killed is too big to carry off. No reward. They try elsewhere next time--lots of woods to hunt in next door. Victim becomes dog food. Tough being a young bird used to mom and dad feeding them . . . most die of starvation before getting the hang of hunting.

In that case, this youngster was spared a miserable winter.

 

[jbkirk]

Hawks are protected here too but not nearly so well as our chickens.

 

[hellbender]

Yep, our backs don't like the butchering process either. It has gotten better though since I made a new slaughtering station. The cone is hung up at about 6 ft so we don't have to bend over to reach the bird's throat. Just not having to bend over to do the slaughtering has been wonderful. Back still bothers me with plucking because the table I have isn't high enough, but once I get a chance to retrofit the table with longer legs and a hinges, it will become part of the butchering station that I made, with two tables that are a little bit higher than counter height.

We use a low table with very comfortable chairs for plucking. There
is a hole in the middle of the table where as many as 4 people can drop feathers into a garbage can.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I got all five done in roughly 3 - 3.5 hours.




All resting in the fridge, and everything rinsed except scalder (water still too hot) - taking a break before going back out to sanitize. I will get weights when I put them in their shrink bags in the kitchen either later today or tomorrow. The main delay was waiting for the scalder (need to start that much earlier next time). And yes, the dispatch of the first one was hardest - primarily because my knife wasn't sharp enough (though I had erroneously thought it was), and I think my aim was off. It was awful, needless to say. Switched knives (I had a selection) for the second, better, but still not sharp enough and still unsure of my aim. Took about 15-20 minutes to do a detailed dissection of the neck of that one to see if I could aim better (it was hard to realize where the vessels were from the photos and videos, vs. in person). Then for the third, I got a bread lame that I never use from the kitchen (a razor blade on a holder to cut slashes in bread before baking). And the third was better with regard to the aim and the clean-ness of the cut, but I made the mistake of turning my back for a minute, and he flipped himself out of the cone and I had to catch him in the air and put him back in - that was sort of horrible (and Dumbledore and the rest started alarming...). Fourth easier, fifth easiest, dispatch-wise (and I held them in place the whole time), but they were also harder in that it was harder to round the last two up in the pen. I'm getting a box cutter or scalpel for next time, which will be easier to control than the lame.

Plucking was not a big deal, mostly, though a little irritating when they stuck to my hands. And the evisceration, while not expertly done, was not all that hard for me. I was fairly happy with my set up, though the poor ginger plant near the area is probably dead now (being trod on and drowned). I was using a fish cleaning table which was at a good level fairly high. The cone was at an ok height for me. I set up in a little nook next to my deck such that everything was there within a turn and a step, and also sort of private, like a little work zone.

I'm pooped. I'm going to get the rest of the stuff cleaned up and set up for tomorrow (I also need to set up a dog crate for the Naked Necks to put them in tonight). I haven't decided whether to do 2 or 4. I need to check available fridge space, I suppose.

I may order pizza tonight...

- Ant Farm

 

[bnjrob]

Quote:
I don't think I could pluck if I was sitting. But it sounds a lot more comfortable than standing for a few hours at a time. I just have not found myself being able to do certain things while in a sitting position.

 

[Beekissed]

If I do pluck, I usually string them up by the feet at the same level as my killing cone and shuck them down where I can stand upright....I can't imagine shucking while seated at a table, but maybe seated while the bird is hung from the tree?....though I'd probably get covered with feathers doing that. Nowadays I never pluck and I do my skinning while standing also...but I have a table that's high enough to make that ergonomically comfy.