Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

Can someone please help me right away?! The boys butchered 3 roosters and I've seriously been picking the little feathers out for so long my fingers are all cramped up. There has to be an easier way that standing there with a pair of tweezers. Even when I get the feathers out sometimes it looks like they're still there and there is black stuff in there.

Mommahen, do you dunk them first? Remember when I was talking about Cyrus and how I realized the canning pot was already out and the water was already hot? Well, if you dunk them in water between 150-170 degrees (you don't want hotter or it will start to cook them), for about 30 seconds, it makes plucking MUCH easier. I was literally just pulling them out by the handful yesterday. I said about 30 seconds but in truth I don't really know the ideal time. What you do is dunk the whole bird and then after around 30 seconds, try pulling out a wing feather. If it comes out easily, its time. If not, wait another 10-20 seconds.

 

[mommahen10]

Danz, you did an awesome job at remembering all that to post! Wow! That's funny about the energizer bunny, my dad always calls me the energizer bunny. You know you could put frozen meat right from the freezer to the pressure cooker and it'll cook fast. I used to do that with a small one all the time but now the small one won't cook enough for all of us. I long since got rid of this little electric pressure cooker, I'm sure I'll want another one sometime. It was so convenient. Beans even went fast without soaking them. Ya know, sometimes I don't know how I keep up but really it's not just me. I think the kids prefer for me to cook and they do a lot of the work outside. That is until things get messy out there and then I get them all working toward cleaning up. They do the chores every morning and night, I do spot checking to make sure all is done. They really don't want me to do that stuff becuase (again, my fingers mispelled) then they have to clean the kitchen. Our garden was a success because we watered from the pond, we bought a pump and had cords strung a really long way. I've never worked as hard as I did this summer, but knew that garden HAD to make it or we wouldn't be eating. We lost a chunk of income in May and of course that comes out of grocery money. I felt the pressure, and I don't regret our work, I'm thankful for all of the homemade goodness.

I'm going to type and not correct, lets see how bad it gets.

I udnerstand what you are saying about the house not being what you want. My favorite house was the over 100 year old house we had in town, but it was intown. This house, its' not efficient at all. I used to get up before the kids and get things ready before their feet hit the floor, I can't do that here at all. If I get up early so does everyone else so I can't get a head start. There isn't enough rooms here, there would have been in the other house. I wish we had that house on this land, that would have been amazing! It was my dream house, I LOVE old houses.

Danz, how on earth did you get it moved by yourself? I'm stiill trying to figure out what to do with our turkeys. I want to make them their own space.

 

[HEChicken]

Oh never mind, I just went back and read where the boys already did most of it and you are just doing the pin feathers. If you have a blow torch, you can burn them off but other than that I have no ideas. As Josie said, skinning is another option although they don't roast well with the skin off as they dry out too fast. If I am roasting, I prefer to pluck but if I'm doing a slow cooker or casserole, skinned is fine.

 

[mommahen10]

They dunked them and the feathers are mostly removed but there are these broken looking feathers, and little pieces beneath the skin. How do you get them out? They make it look yucky. I'm debating on skinning them so I don't have to deal but I'd rather not. Will they just cook and go away?

 

[mommahen10]

Okay, we will try the torch. I'm thinking I could cook them with it on and then remove the skin so it'll taste better?

 

[mommahen10]

Some of them are super fine like thin hair, some are like just the base of the feathers stuck in there. Some are nearly impossible to get out. I'm sitting there with pointed tweezers.

 

[mommahen10]

I'm going to go get back to work on them. I don't like them sitting out like that. A couple of you that have my cell could just text me there are other ideas.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Somehow, I missed an entire page of posts. I don't know how I did that.

Kansas Prairie, I was just going to ask about turkey set ups. I'm worried that ours will protest not being able to get up high on top of the barn if I move them. They're being good, but I'm worried about moving my EEs to the pen directly beside them, not that they've ever bothered the younger chickens but these are smaller still. I'm also worried about moving them while it's cold that they won't know where to go to get warmed up. They look great though, tons of beautiful thick feathers. So the turkeys, I guessing that I'll have to put a top on their pen to keep them in since they fly. Is that mean? I feel bad locking them up like that, but I also think it's for their own good or they'll be roosting up on the barn roof when it's super cold.

We have a horse barn, with 10 ft tall walls for each stall, we use some of the stalls as chicken coops, my turkeys love roosting up in the rafters. One of my Jakes doesn't fly so well so he often roosts lower. The turkeys can also roost over the chickens but so far we haven't had any trouble. Our turkeys and chickens ignore each other. The turkeys always keep an eye on the RIR rooster because he tried to breed them when they were young.

Josie, I had enough milk to feed several children, when my children cried, or anyone's children cried my milk would drop and I'd soak right through bra pads & my shirt, I'd start to feed them and give them a milk shower milk would be dripping of their little eyebrows and eye lashes, but I couldn't pump much. I tried and tried but pumping wasn't much of an option for me. It took so long and what I did manage to pump was "liquid gold". I had planned to pump regularly...changed plans.
Everyone has their priorities, just do what is best for you, your baby and your husband and don't worry about all of the advice you get. I did learn from some women, and others I accepted their advice, thanked them and went on. You may change your mind and do some things different than you planned, that doesn't make you any less of a mother, just means you are doing what's best for your little family! Just love your baby, take good care of yourself and your DH and that little bundle will change your life in ways you can't imagine.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Wow it was so cold today and I dont have all of my medicines so my body is in lots of pain. I barely got chores outside done. The birds stood staring at me because I didnt chit chat with them like normal. lol
Everyone keeps talking about not getting eggs anymore, I am getting 6 a day. My girls just started in oct but they sure are rolling them out. I have 2 18 pks and a 12 pk in the fridge just waiting to be used.
This morning my 2 toms were talking to 6 wild toms. They were about a half acre out, of course once they noticed me they scattered and my boys stood in the yard gobbling their heads off trying to hear from their friends again. It was so neat to see.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

They dunked them and the feathers are mostly removed but there are these broken looking feathers, and little pieces beneath the skin. How do you get them out? They make it look yucky. I'm debating on skinning them so I don't have to deal but I'd rather not. Will they just cook and go away?

The little ones I burn off with a match. the ones under the skin get out with my fingernails, if it's to bad I skin it.