Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

Thank you for response, sharol. Is there a chicken processing plant in Kansas?

Probably, but I have such a small flock, that it isn't feasible. If anyone knows of one, please post back. It is a challenge for me. My dad used to butcher chickens for us to eat on a regular basis when I was a kid (60 years ago), but those memories aren't particularly pleasant. HEChicken has convinced me that doing it myself is potentially more humane than taking them somewhere anyway, so we shall see how it goes.

 

[chicken danz]

Just a quick brag on my kids and their 4-H chickens--

Congrats on your children's wins. Very nice.
I had learned last week that one buff orpington cockerel that had come from me won reserve Champion. I honestly couldn't imagine any one else in the county having something that would win over him. Yesterday I ran into another one of my chicken customers. His pair of buffs that came from me got Grand Champion and Best of show. Now I feel really good.
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My baby ducks are doing well they have grown so much in the 10 days I have had them doubled in size... though they are still fairly skittish (( My hens are getting along real well and I can tell who the pigs are out of my flock lol I am hoping to take my camera out and get better pictures my phone camera is pretty lame

They will stay skiddish unless you handle them a lot. They need to imprint on you.

Hello BYC in Kansas!

Raising free-range hens from Holton, Ks.
Interested in joining in on conversation about free-range hens.


Thank you for reading!
J&L Poultry Farm
Jason Hill

Join in and welcome to our group!

On a sad note I lost my rooster that wasn't doing too well.

I'm very sad!!! He was slow but still alive when my husband checked on him this morning. At noon he was dead. He was a sweet rooster and had fit into my flock almost flawlessly. So now I need a new Silver Laced Wyandotte rooster. If anyone has one or knows of one please PM me.

So sorry about your rooster. I was really hoping you caught him in time.

Thanks for the PM Trish! I'm clueless as to what it was that got him. I'm doing preventative measures with all my other birds. So far so good, X fingers!

Any idea if it's a virus or a bacteria? I wasn't sure which it might be. I've been trying to boost their immune systems as well as give them plenty of time in the fresh air and sunshine.

It was most likely a virus. That is what 99% of the illness is, aside from poisoning or mold. Like I explained earlier you can't treat the virus, only the bacterial infections that can result from it. Those will cause pneumonia etc that will end up killing them...which is why you use the antibiotics at all. Combining the virus that wild birds bring in and the heat its just a really bad time of year. I live in dread this time of year for fear of what my birds might catch. Again in fall when the migratory birds go through the virus are pretty bad. I really wish I had an answer to stop all this.
I have one rooster in my boy pen who is wheezing some. I think he will go to freezer camp this week for sure as well. I had him as a back up rooster but I really don't need him so it's probably the best thing to do.
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I was thinking about raising chicks from hens also. I don't want to cage them, but I don't see any other way for the breeds to not mix, since all of my chickens are free-range. Are the cockerels chicks mostly given away for free?

You can sell cockerels for meat if you care to raise them. There's a fairly good market for them but of course you never make money on them. I sell mine as meat birds simply because I feel it is the most humane. Giving away cockerels isn't easy unless they are pure bred and good breeding quality.
The only way that I know of to assure pure breeds is to temporarily pen the birds together for breeding. My long range plans were to let one breed/color out to free range each day. I had considered letting the hens all free range without a rooster but it is nice to have a rooster with the girls as a protective measure.
I have a group of layer birds that always free range and I don't care what breeds them. I am still working on a plan because now my good breeding stock have to stay penned. You can always let them free range if you don't plan on hatching though.
I've been on the go for days and I'm hoping to start catching up to life this week. My poor birds have been paying the price. I have several customers who wanted things this weekend after a long dry spell of not selling birds but I just couldn't be available. I sure hope I didn't loose sales because of it. Family comes first though.
I am beyond exhaustion. It will be days before I can find the time to get caught up. My house is totally trashed and I have hauled in tons of stuff from my parents' things to add to the mess.
I could really just use a day of rest. Not going to happen soon though.

 

[chicken danz]

Jason Hill there is a USDA facility near Garnett that processes chickens for people at a very reasonable price. I've never personally used them but know gobs of people who have. Here is some info about them.
http://kansasruralcenter.org/kansas-farm-profile-baumans-cedar-valley-farms/

 

[Jason Hill]

Thank you so, much chicken danz!

 

[sharol]

Jason Hill there is a USDA facility near Garnett that processes chickens for people at a very reasonable price. I've never personally used them but know gobs of people who have. Here is some info about them.
http://kansasruralcenter.org/kansas-farm-profile-baumans-cedar-valley-farms/

Thanks for that link. I've been looking for a source for grass fed beef. Do they do their own processing of beef, do you know? I noticed that they don't sell much beef, but if they do their own processing it would be a real positive. The best beef I've ever had was processed by a man at Fall River who used humane slaughter practices (as I recall, and it was a long time ago, he was kosher), and the beef was much more tender than commercially processed varieties. I'll give them a call on Monday.

 

[chicken danz]

I don't know if they process their own beef or not. I use the locker at Olpe for my beef just because it is the closest that I know of. If you go to the Kansas Dept of Agriculture website, you can get their phone number and call them for a list of all USDA inspected meat processing facilities. I do know there is one north of Topeka and I think at least their used to be one at Alta Vista and they used to sell it by the side, half, or quarter, as well as by the pound stuff. Not sure if it is still operating or not.

 

[chicken danz]

Instead of doing things I should this afternoon I built a new screen door for my brooder house. DH had tripped on my cleaning board and landed on the old one and broke it off the hinges. It was just cobbled together with old scraps anyway. I still used stuff we had on hand and a couple pieces of scrap but the new one looks much nicer. I covered it in hardware cloth instead of chicken wire too so hopefully it will be a little safer as well. The whole point is to let some breeze get in there when its really hot.
I also spent a bunch of time out measuring here and there with a 100 foot tape. I don't know if I can get a permit for the building site but I think I figured out where to put my poultry building. Where my house sits on my land and adjacent to the road there is no great place to put a building to protect the birds from harsh weather and where I can look out and see the pens from the house. I have to keep in mind how far things like electric and water need to run to it as well in order to keep costs down. It's not at all what I had planned but I think I have figured out the best place for it. I need to run the ideas by DH in the next couple of days and see how much he disagrees. I will pay to put it in but ultimately I will need his help with some labor and stuff.
Well I've got to get back out there and feed and water the birds.

 

[adventerousone]

I went out to the river property today and caught grasshoppers for my chickens ... it is so fun to watch them catch them ) Hoping I can catch more tomorrow at my moms and bring them home.. also got my Black East Indie duck to eat 2 of them ... that is a big step for him he usually runs when trying to feed him... my compost is doing awesome ) very excited for this batch to be ready to plant in... my babies are so fun they still run but not as skittish today though I spent a bunch of time in their run feeding and watering them.. their pool was filthy... but I added to the water level today .. very fun to watch them chasing eachother in the pool.... lovin my flock

 

[adventerousone]

Hello BYC in Kansas!

Raising free-range hens from Holton, Ks.
Interested in joining in on conversation about free-range hens.


Thank you for reading!
J&L Poultry Farm
Jason Hill

Welcome to the thread ))) There is so much information here..

 

[Trish44]

I was thinking about raising chicks from hens also. I don't want to cage them, but I don't see any other way for the breeds to not mix, since all of my chickens are free-range. Are the cockerels chicks mostly given away for free?

It's usually hard to get rid of roosters unless you find someone just at the right time who has lost one & needs a new flock rooster or something. I ended up taking 13 young roosters to the auction at Yoder last month because I didn't want to feed them all any more. That's one of the downfalls of hatching a lot of chicks for people because most only want pullets. On most breeds though they have to be sold straight run because you can't tell the sexes until later on.

We went to OKC yesterday to take the girls down for school clothes shopping. They have this thing every year I guess that is called tax free days & you don't pay any sales tax. We only just heard about it a week before so it was short notice. In addition to the no tax thing they had things marked down like 50% at the outlet mall we went to so we got a lot of nice things for the girls as well as shoes for school. It was pretty much chaos there since everyone else was school clothes shopping as well, so it was packed. We got to see our little grandson for a few hours, he sure is growing fast & he's a little chunk. He's a really good baby & rarely cries, he's just pretty happy most of the time. We didn't end up getting home till midnight & we were all pretty tired after all of that. I think my DH & I both fell into bed & were out pretty fast.