Colorado

[wsmith]

Oh, my... You are making me hungry... Good thing for my girls they all have names!

True, once they have names they are kind of out of the processing lineup. LOL

I two weeks we will process the turkey. Then we will be done processing for the year. We are already looking at which hens will go into the breeding pen with Abraham. So far we have #4, #12, #35, and two or three more.

 

[wsmith]

So on Saturday we processed the remaining roosters, 4 Doms and 8 EEs. Sharon came over and helped. Everybody had a job, but Sharon Heather and hannah seemed to be the most skilled pluckers. Most everything went according to plan except for our thermometer for the scald water. It was telling my son David that it was too hot, so he kept cooling it down. Pretty soon we couldnt get feathers to come out... Then we find that even out of the water, the thermometer was reading 147*! Grrrr!!! Digital (*&^(*&^(*&^ !

Dave (the EE owner) went home with 17.5 lbs of cut up chicken, We got nearly 12 lbs. Sharon went home with livers, hearts, necks and other broth fixings!

 

[gardendufus]

Sharon went home with livers, hearts, necks and other broth fixings!

And most of it made a very lovely broth. Fried chicken livers..........YUM!

Thanks to Wendell for helping me to get over the 'can I really work up to slaughtering a chicken' thing that's there 'til you do it. I slaughtered only one, but that's all I wanted, just to know I could do it.

Also the hands on of butchering it was invaluable.

 

[dennarahl]

 Yes, Greeley is by far better. Here is the break down. I called all over to get pricing just a few weeks ago so they may have changed a bit, hopefully not by much.
I ferment my feed so it doesn't matter to me if its crumbled or pellet it all looks like a mash in the end.

Bennet
Layer Pellets: $13.50 50 lbs

Hen Scratch: $13.25 50 lbs
Wheat: $22.00 100 lbs

Flaked oats: $13.50 50 lbs
Cracked Corn: $22.00 100 lbs
They DO NOT offer layer crumbles, chick stater or broiler feed.

Greeley: bulk feed is 500 lbs minimum with $14 tote deposit just bring back the tote & they don't charge you that fee again. All the 50 lbs figures are bagged feed and there is no minimum just the 100 lbs.
Layer mash 16%: $23.14 per 100 lbs

Layer pellet/crumble: $13.84 50 lbs

Hen Scratch: $10.63 50 lbs or $17.58 per 100 lbs

Chicken starter non-medicated: $29.17 per 100 lbs

Broiler feed 20%: $16.89 50 lbs or $29.17 per 100 lbs
Cracked Corn: $21.56 per 100 lbs
What I like about them is when I asked about a chick starter they said they would have the nutritionist call me back. She asked me about how much protein I wanted in it. If I wanted any grains in it. Everything will come non-medicated unless you ask that it be medicated. We also purchase our grain here for our horses too.

If anyone needs help in your area with pricing I'd be happy to do the research and make some calls.

Wow, that's awesome, thanks for sharing that info. Do you have to call ahead to let them know what you're coming for or do they keep it in stock?

 

[wsmith]

Wow, that's awesome, thanks for sharing that info. Do you have to call ahead to let them know what you're coming for or do they keep it in stock?

I wish Greeley was closer...

 

[wattsjadajoe]

Sorry for being "off the grid" for a while. I got a couple of IMs asking if everything is ok. All is fine on my home front. I lost a couple girls due to predators, an issue I'm working on. The DW left a few girls out one night by mistake.....they didn't make it through the night.
There has been a program/server change which was not compatible with chrome. So I have not been able to get on this site...along with a few others.
But the farm is doing good. I got 2 more pigs Friday, and I have 2 sets of kits from my rabbits. One mother had 9 and the other had 8. They are separated by 1 month. We bread them both again on the 1st of Nov. Should have rabbit by Christmas!!

I will try and stay current. Had some issues with the Westmore fire....friends and coworkers lost everything.

Joe

 

[wsmith]

Sorry for being "off the grid" for a while. I got a couple of IMs asking if everything is ok. All is fine on my home front. I lost a couple girls due to predators, an issue I'm working on. The DW left a few girls out one night by mistake.....they didn't make it through the night.
There has been a program/server change which was not compatible with chrome. So I have not been able to get on this site...along with a few others.
But the farm is doing good. I got 2 more pigs Friday, and I have 2 sets of kits from my rabbits. One mother had 9 and the other had 8. They are separated by 1 month. We bread them both again on the 1st of Nov. Should have rabbit by Christmas!!

I will try and stay current. Had some issues with the Westmore fire....friends and coworkers lost everything.

Joe

Glad all is OK. I was getting concerned. How are the Dorkings doing?

 

[mynamesjenelle]

I just caught up too. Got terribly sick a few weeks ago and spent a lot of time in bed - the dr said it wasn't the flu but it still kept me out of commission for about a week and a half. Wendell, I'm glad to hear the cranky rooster tasted good! I would have come over last weekend but our house was a mess from almost a month of no cleaning at all. We're talking about possibly doing meaties next year. It would probably be me doing the processing since he gets attached. I love our layers as pets but if I started out thinking of the chicks as food from the beginning it wouldn't be too bad. The price of humanely raised meat is just so high that the only feasible options are to either buy the cheap stuff and not think about it, or raise our own. The first option is getting harder to deal with...

The flock is still having problems. The BR adjusted to the pinless peepers but she did have a bit of trouble free-ranging. Turns out when we put them on her they kept her from maintaining order in the flock, and now EVERY bird has pecked feathers from everyone else squabbling for rank. So, that was a terrible idea and we took them off of her. She's less of a bully now but all the birds look so haggard

Still only three layers. The light brahma and EE are now 30 and 29 weeks old with no signs of starting soon. The EE's a little wider in the rear and she was hanging out in the coop when it got cold, but that might have just been for warmth. We keep waiting and hoping.

 

[ShysCreations]

We had attended the Nebraska State Poultry Association show in Lincoln the past weekend. Really enjoyed visiting with the other attendees. Show had 900 birds in a nice facility plus a craft show & antique show in nearby buildings.
Egyptian goose--very pretty
Light Brahma roo--just humungous!!
Large fowl and sale area
Silver laced seabright


Waterfowl and other bantams
Bantam speckled sussex


My silkie pullet earned Best of Breed!
Trophy plaques

 

[Coopa Cabana]

We had attended the Nebraska State Poultry Association show in Lincoln the past weekend. Really enjoyed visiting with the other attendees. Show had 900 birds in a nice facility plus a craft show & antique show in nearby buildings.
Egyptian goose--very pretty
Light Brahma roo--just humungous!!
Large fowl and sale area
Silver laced seabright


Waterfowl and other bantams
Bantam speckled sussex


My silkie pullet earned Best of Breed!
Trophy plaques

Congratulations Shy!

That is absolutely fantastic! You must be on cloud nine. You're going to be a Master Breeder/Exhibitor in no time at all. The question is will it be with your Silkies or Cochins first?? Did you get your CI calendar yet - you will, in particular, like November!