Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[bobbi-j]

When I'm doing a single and wish to eat it, I don't bother with scalding or plucking. I just dislocate the neck, hang it for the bleed out and open a vessel. I then just lay it on it's back, split it up the breast and peel back the hide like one would open a jacket. I remove the breast filets, yank down the sleeves a little and remove the top of the wing, yank down the pants(this requires a horizontal cut from the middle of your jacket zipper outwards along the waistline a bit. I yank down the pants just enough to take out the thigh and leg~sort of looks like you are diapering a toddler at this point and getting the pants down enough to change the diaper.

In the end, all is left is a head attached to some skin over the rib/spine area and skin attached to some lower legs...all of one piece. No gutting. This carcass I just toss. I am left with skinless, boneless breast filets, winglets, thighs and legs. That pretty much covers the meat on a dual-purpose breed.

This is how I process, too. If I don't want to eat it right away, or if it's a tough bird, I'll throw the meat in the freezer, and when I have plenty, I thaw it, cut it in chunks and pressure-can it. We LOVE canned chicken! It's very handy to have on hand. You can do so much with it, and it's so quick and easy.

 

[bruceh]

sorry got the long post i just figuring out how to do this.

 

[Beekissed]

Pretty flock, Bruce, and pretty boy!

 

[Hilatious]

Thank You! my husband does this with the breast of game birds. Didn't even think about doing it with chickens and getting the legs the same way. I was not looking forward to culling in the spring but now I have a plan of action that will make it much easier!

 

[bruceh]

Pretty flock, Bruce, and pretty boy!

thank you bee . i can tell the ff puts a shine on those birds like glass.

i just have to figure out what nutrient is missing. the egg eaters are at it heavy. no shells just yolks. can't tell if it is a vitamin or the time of year.

 

[Beekissed]

Time of year, Bruce...you have much protein in your mix, plenty of calcium, they don't look to be heavily molting. Just time of year, I'm guessing. Mostly chickens eat the shells too...could be you have rats eating those eggs. Might want to look into that.

 

[bruceh]

i did not lose one bird. i did my final count of the birds today. well after the storm . the birds were in trees under things. smart birds. they even stood out on pasture in the darn hurricane. well so much for me being nervous.

once again bee was right.

the birds are smarter then.we think.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep....set a big ol' rat trap, Bruce, and see what it catches. I'd say you may have some...time of year for that too.

 

[Mountain Momma]

the picking of a good rooster. my rooster " good boy" who is pictured in my profile. good boy i was worried about at first. however he turned out to be a very good rooster. at first he was a sissy. the other two roosters almost killed him. i put him with the pullets . after some maturing the pullets favored him. so he stayed. after observing him his characteristics improved.i was pleased. he was a good choice.

this what i looked for.
1. how is his temperament with the flock.
2. how is his structure
3. manners.
4. how often does he crow ( and why )
5. how often does he mate ( aggressive or mannerly ) i like when he puts out his 1 wing and hops on 1 foot to impress the ladies
6. do the ladies let him mate.

this my criteria . yours may be different.

I gotta tell you, I like a long post. And they look great! Also good to hear they are survivors.
What do you mean by structure?
As for how a rooster behaves with the flock, in my case anyway, there arent a lot of options. They cannot free range. Usually one stays on the far side and one stays on the close side keeping the flock between them. Sometimes my heavier guy sits on the fence just inside the door where he can see everything and not be seen himself. I thought he was doing that for the elemnt of surprise. Anyway, they eat and they stop hen arguments and after the inital resistance of their youth the chickens dont mind the attention. I worry the larger one is obese but he doesnt seem to eat more than the other one. They both have fave hens they roost with. I've got no complaints. I dont know what kind of roosters I have but they look a little bit like yours. Showy and alert. Glad everyone on your piece of the world is holding up well.

 

[bruceh]

I gotta tell you, I like a long post. And they look great! Also good to hear they are survivors.
What do you mean by structure?
As for how a rooster behaves with the flock, in my case anyway, there arent a lot of options. They cannot free range. Usually one stays on the far side and one stays on the close side keeping the flock between them. Sometimes my heavier guy sits on the fence just inside the door where he can see everything and not be seen himself. I thought he was doing that for the elemnt of surprise. Anyway, they eat and they stop hen arguments and after the inital resistance of their youth the chickens dont mind the attention. I worry the larger one is obese but he doesnt seem to eat more than the other one. They both have fave hens they roost with. I've got no complaints. I dont know what kind of roosters I have but they look a little bit like yours. Showy and alert. Glad everyone on your piece of the world is holding up well.

the structure is the body build. the rooster pictured is a young gun. he is not totally filled out yet. however he is tall and has a nice body. he is alert. he holds his head and body high.. he will fill out some more which should give a nice solid body..

social structure is a whole other element. as you can see with my flock the hens are relaxed. the rooster is on point watching all around while the girls eat.
he has some favorites that mate with him. he loves the black hens. at night when they roost. most sleep right around him, some don't.

the red ones pictured are hatchery rhode island reds.( production red )
the black ones are black sex linked.
the columbians are columbian cross rock
their are 2 ee pictured as well
the reddish buffs with the black tails are held over freedom rangers