Consolidated Kansas

[Polishpal]

Wow Danz you seem very dedicated to your birds C:

 

[22qZoo]

TRISH44-that's funny, my girls have let up on laying the last couple of days too,mine haven't had a light so I wonder what their deal is ?

HECHICKEN -that lamb is too cute ! makes me think SPRING !

DANZ- so sorry about all the dental work you'll have to get,yikes! I don't agree with the system we have where what happens with your mouth doesn't get the same kind of health care coverage as the rest of the body. Vision coverage can be that way too.Maybe they are hoping we won't be able to see our teeth and that will save some money.

POLISHPAL-good to have you back.

 

[HEChicken]

Maybe they are hoping we won't be able to see our teeth and that will save some money.

 

[HEChicken]

Oh, I meant to say, mine also eased off the laying for a few days and I don't have lights either. Besides, the days are so much longer now than they were a month ago that I don't know how big a difference lights would make at this point. However yesterday I got a boatload of eggs again, so I dunno. Maybe they were striking because the coop needed cleaned out and now that I've done that, they're willing to get back in the swing of things

 

[chicken danz]

TRISH44-that's funny, my girls have let up on laying the last couple of days too,mine haven't had a light so I wonder what their deal is ?

HECHICKEN -that lamb is too cute ! makes me think SPRING !

DANZ- so sorry about all the dental work you'll have to get,yikes! I don't agree with the system we have where what happens with your mouth doesn't get the same kind of health care coverage as the rest of the body. Vision coverage can be that way too.Maybe they are hoping we won't be able to see our teeth and that will save some money.

22qzoo I'm afraid you may be right!
It bothers me that dental care is so expensive in the first place. And more so that insurance coverage is hard to get and then doesn't cover much. It's a proven fact that poor dental health contributes to heart problems. Also that nothing hurts worse than mouth and face pain. You have to eat to live, but apparently this isn't important to the insurance companies.
And then there's hearing. I've never seen an insurance that will cover hearing aids. My insurance pays for most of the eye exams but will only pay a small amount on glasses or contacts. So you go to the eye doctor and find out you can't see, but you can't afford the glasses. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?
I sure feel the work I did yesterday this morning. I still have tons to do and I have to get out and catch birds later for the guy who is buying my cochins. Plus I have to get a load of feed today which means more shoveling. I just hope the guy coming to clean the chicken poo out of the coops for his garden doesn't need my help like normal.
I have a class to go to this evening so I have to keep track of time too.

 

[Trish44]

22qzoo, that may be true! We have dental insurance but they consider our dentist out of network but then don't have anybody much for us to choose from who is in network, go figure. We paid extra for awhile for supposedly better coverage but it really wasn't worth it so we opted for the better vision insurance since both of us wear contacts now. I actually have worn them for years, I'm pretty blind without them, but my DH just started wearing them a couple of years ago.

It's weird that all of our birds took a break about the same time. I have had quite a few eggs in the fridge till yesterday when I got rid of 5 dozen, then tomorrow 3 more will go, so that will kind of start me over. I'm starting to collect eggs for hatching for people as the breeders start to lay. It's kind of a slow process.

Well I have to run & get feed as well today, so I'd better get moving soon.

 

[HEChicken]

Last fall I started culling my flock, wanting to start the spring with only the birds I need going forward for breeding purposes, plus a few that have forever homes for sentimental reasons. I was making good progress, but since butchering really isn't my favorite thing, after a few weeks of doing two a week, I started finding excuses to put off the next one and….one thing led to another and I over-wintered a bunch of birds I really never intended to over-winter.

So yesterday I decided even though I have fed them all winter and it is going on spring, it is really time for a few of them to go. They are older hens who even if they lay this year, it won't be enough to justify the feed they eat. I don't have a strong attachment to them so….in the pot they go. Last night I picked a huge BO off the roost. She is a hatchery bird (I assume - she was a rescue a few months ago from an acquaintance who fell on hard times). She spent the night in a dog kennel with water but no food and this morning I grabbed her to carry her to the cone and could feel a really heavy bird in my arms. I figured at least she will provide us with a lot of meat.

But what I found when I got right down to it is that that BO was in the obese category. Not just fat. Holy moly. I'm okay with that as I prefer cooking with animal fats so I always render any we get for future use. So, as I prepared her for the crock pot, I picked off all visible fat and put it in a fry pan so it could render. When I got done, here is what the fry pan looked like:


I have never got this much fat off a bird before - ever. I took it to show DH, who didn't even know I'd butchered, and he was stunned and said I picked well - that is one bird I did NOT need to be feeding

. I agree. I found her ovaries and she still had a few eggs left but none were in imminent danger of being laid - they were just like tiny grains of sand - so I would have been feeding her awhile yet before she laid, and then it wouldn't have been that many.

Meanwhile, I've now rendered the fat and so far have 27 oz of pure, clear, fat with no debris. And I'll probably still get another ounce before its completely done. Stunning.

Of course, that is 28-30oz of meat that won't be in the crockpot. Hmmmm….I wonder if I'll see a noticeable reduction in my feed bill from just that one bird LOL.

 

[Trish44]

Wow HEChicken that was some fat bird! OMG I have never seen so much fat come off of a chicken in my life, she must have really been sucking down the feed.

 

[tazcat70]

Does anyone know what kind of rooster this is?

Kinda looks like a Delaware.

 

[tazcat70]

Heather, one of these times I would like to come and see how you butcher. You can put me to work, and I would get the knowledge.