Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

We were going to do the same thing this summer but found our well casing wouldn't take the electric pump and the pipes for a manual pump at the same time. We had really wanted a way to draw water when the electric is down. We store a lot of water for when it goes down for a couple of weeks but for longer than that, we might be hurting. I can dig down a bit and hit the underground spring that feeds our well, but it would take a bit to get that spring to settle down and I couldn't do it if the ground were frozen. So, I get where you are coming from...back in the day we used to have a hand pump and it was wonderful to not have to worry about water or lack of power.

As it is, we have an outhouse, wood heat, gas stove and kerosene lamps, so other than the water, we are good for awhile on keeping things going in a power outage. Our wheat grinder is electric and that's a downside...wish I had a manual grinder for that.

 

[Beekissed]

Fifty-something meat birds lost, I'd be sick I tell ya! Bee you need to get a small generator. Just enough to keep the refrig and freezer cold.

If life doesn't buck me off next year I plan on raising some meaties. Plan on hatching out some DelawareXBuckeye crosses and ordering some CX. I MIGHT get ambitious and raise a few goats and a couple pigs, may even start rabbits. Sounds delicious to me! lol

Generators take gas, we've found...gas enough to keep one running for up to 2 wks is just defeating the purpose. We've done without a fridge or freezer for many a long year back in the day, so it doesn't bother us much...just got caught with my pants down on preparation is all.

 

[Triple Willow]

Generators take gas, we've found...gas enough to keep one running for up to 2 wks is just defeating the purpose.  We've done without a fridge or freezer for many a long year back in the day, so it doesn't bother us much...just got caught with my pants down on preparation is all. 

You don't have to keep it running the whole time. Just crank it up from time to time to get things cold. I forget how many days a freezer will stay good in an outage if you don't open it. It is a good while.

 

[BCMaraniac]

We were going to do the same thing this summer but found our well casing wouldn't take the electric pump and the pipes for a manual pump at the same time. We had really wanted a way to draw water when the electric is down. We store a lot of water for when it goes down for a couple of weeks but for longer than that, we might be hurting. I can dig down a bit and hit the underground spring that feeds our well, but it would take a bit to get that spring to settle down and I couldn't do it if the ground were frozen. So, I get where you are coming from...back in the day we used to have a hand pump and it was wonderful to not have to worry about water or lack of power.

As it is, we have an outhouse, wood heat, gas stove and kerosene lamps, so other than the water, we are good for awhile on keeping things going in a power outage. Our wheat grinder is electric and that's a downside...wish I had a manual grinder for that.

I did invest in a manual wheat grinder, so I am good there. I thought about a sun oven, but I haven't really given that a really good look.. Hubby and I have been cooking in our dutch ovens, and one of these times I am going to try my hand at baking bread in one.

 

[Beekissed]

Oh, TW, if you could only see our fridge and freezer, you'd laugh about gassing up a generator to keep them running!

Mom has two fridges and both are as bare as bones all the time and the freezer currently holds two bags of ice, several bags of bones for the dog and odds and ends of things of no importance. Very rarely does it have anything of real substance because we jar up most things.

We just don't eat much that comes out of the fridge...we don't drink milk, very little cheese, the eggs stay on the counter, some bagels and then we usually have a salad cut up in there, a few condiments, couple jugs of water. That's about it...really. We live like bachelors here...nothing in the fridge.

We used to have a generator and it never got used so the hoses all dried up and cracked. We gave it away to my sis.

 

[Kassaundra]

I have been disturbed reading posts of people referring to caponizing their chickens, and as you know I think it is cruel. I emailed a dear friend of mine who is an avian vet and asked his opinion. He has written several texts on avian medicine, is the Chairman of Education and Residency of the the College of European Zoological Medicine among other things. He's a pretty big name worldwide in Falcons and avian medicine. Below is his response. His credentials are also listed. I hope those who caponize their birds will rethink what they are doing.

Caponization is a procedure promoted among poultry and pheasant breeders to improve meat flavour and quality. I agree with you the procedure is usually carried out without anaesthetic and carries a high percentage of mortality due to internal bleeding. This is caused during the procedure by damaging major blood vessels close to the testes. This should be banned by law. The procedure is cruel and most of the time useless, as the tested tend to regrow due to inadequate removal.

Wishing you and your family well

Jaime


Jaime Samour, MVZ (Hons), PhD, Diplomate ECZM (Avian)
European Specialist in Zoological Medicine (Avian)
Director of Wildlife, Wrsan,
Office of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
The President Representative,
Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates

Chairman of the Education and Residency Committee
European College of Zoological Medicine

I know you will never find this practice acceptable, and that is okay. There are many points that are subjective as to " morality" and how much pain or discomfort or how cruel this procedure is or is not. However one thing that this "expert" is dead wrong about and is fact not subjective in any way is the extremely low mortality rate. The expert caponizers have less then .1% mortality rate and those of us learning that are less then expert lose very few after the first couple of birds. I have caponized over 30 and not lost any, my mentor over 200 and lost only 3, the handful of others I know have collectively caponized several hundred and all together lost about 10.

 

[Triple Willow]

I did invest in a manual wheat grinder, so I am good there.  I thought about a sun oven, but I haven't really given that a really good look..  Hubby and I have been cooking in our dutch ovens, and one of these times I am going to try my hand at baking bread in one.

Ah yes, a kindred heart. It is so nice to meet some folks who think and want to live so similar to how I want to. I have been wanting a Sun Oven for several years. There is another solar oven that is a quite a bit cheaper than a Sun Oven. The Sun Oven ($350) is nice and kinda fancy but from what I have read the Sport Sun Oven ($200) is just as good.
http://www.solarovens.org/

But you can also build a solar oven. I had an old grill that I was going to make one out of but mom got peed at me over something and some kid came by that day collecting scrap metal and she sent that off with him among other things. LOL I was as hot over that as that grill ever was. LOL

 

[Triple Willow]

Oh, TW, if you could only see our fridge and freezer, you'd laugh about gassing up a generator to keep them running!    Mom has two fridges and both are as bare as bones all the time and the freezer currently holds two bags of ice, several bags of bones for the dog and odds and ends of things of no importance.  Very rarely does it have anything of real substance because we jar up most things. 

We just don't eat much that comes out of the fridge...we don't drink milk, very little cheese, the eggs stay on the counter, some bagels and then we usually have a salad cut up in there, a few condiments, couple jugs of water.  That's about it...really.  We live like bachelors here...nothing in the fridge. 

We used to have a generator and it never got used so the hoses all dried up and cracked.  We gave it away to my sis. 

Sounds like my boyfriend's house! lol His fridge is mostly full of canned drinks. I've got to have my cheese!

 

[Triple Willow]

I have been disturbed reading posts of people referring to caponizing their chickens, and as you know I think it is cruel.  I emailed a dear friend of mine who is an avian vet and asked his opinion.  He has written several texts on avian medicine, is the Chairman of Education and Residency of the the College of European Zoological Medicine among other things.  He's a pretty big name worldwide in Falcons and avian medicine.  Below is his response.  His credentials are also listed.  I hope those who caponize their birds will rethink what they are doing.

[COLOR=000000]Caponization is a procedure promoted among poultry and pheasant breeders to improve meat flavour and quality. I agree with you the procedure is usually carried out without anaesthetic and carries a high percentage of mortality due to internal bleeding. This is caused during the procedure by damaging major blood vessels close to the testes. This should be banned by law. The procedure is cruel and most of the time useless, as the tested tend to regrow due to inadequate removal.[/COLOR]
 
[COLOR=000000]Wishing you and your family well[/COLOR]
 
[COLOR=000000]Jaime[/COLOR]


 
[COLOR=444444]Jaime Samour, MVZ (Hons), PhD, Diplomate ECZM (Avian)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]
European Specialist in Zoological Medicine (Avian)
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]
Director of Wildlife, Wrsan,
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]
Office of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]
The President Representative,
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]
Abu Dhabi,
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]
United Arab Emirates
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]

[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]
Chairman of the Education and Residency Committee
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=444444]
European College of Zoological Medicine
[/COLOR]

How ironic. Residing in the United Arab Emirates or anywhere in that area, maybe that guy should be more worried about changing the practice of circumcising little girls. It is performed without anesthetic, it is cruel and it should be banned by law!

 

[Triple Willow]

On PBS Martha Stewart is cooking up some big ol' Ancona duck steaks. I suppose it is breast meat. Holy moly that looks so good!!! Looks just like a big ribeye. One of these days I'm gonna get some of those ducks.

That was Muscovy duck breast, not Ancona. I have Ancona chickens on my mind.