Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Leahs Mom]

http://www.ilovechickenpoop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_71&products_id=190

 

[Lacy Blues]

Broody poop... still stinks to high heavens! I don't really know whether its better than non ff broody poop or not. I'd have to have one each in two buildings being fed ff and non ff to really know the difference. Still stinky!

 

[Missa Chickabee]

Yeah - thanks for the info on free-ranging Bee - very helpful.

Chickabee - How did you set up the fishing line? A grid? How far apart?

As for forage, I planted drought-resistant goat forage grass mix, white clover, crimson clover, field peas, and buckwheat and winter rye. We'll see how that works out in the spring.

I ran the fishing line between the two sides of fencing about 8 to 10 inches apart. The contributor who told me about this went two feet apart. I felt that was a little wide for my comfort level. But they ran theirs over an entire orchard! And the hawks keep out from what I understood.

Thanks for the suggestion for planting!

 

[Missa Chickabee]

Snarfed they be now.


Who stole my identity and put those in here!!!???

 

[Beekissed]

It was weird but when I started this flock on the FF, quite a few of them had some BIG seriously broody-like poops right off hand...for all the world like they had been constipated and this FF cleaned out the blockage. They were huge, black and tarry...incredibly stenchy. Then no more after that...smooth sailing and white capped poos like they should be in a flock.

 

[nyanamia]

oh lawwd, I've seen enough poop today at the animal shelter (I work in the cattery) ! And now I come on here and there's MORE poo! lol

Bee, I watched some of those field dressing videos. I didn't know you could just pull a pheasant apart like that... The breast and skins came off so clean! Can you do the same thing with a smallish cockerel? I wonder how much strength it would take. I don't think I'd want to try it that way with a bigger meat bird.

 

[Jeanette56]

Here are the links to some good tutorials on slaughtering/dressing out chickens that I saved on my Pinterest board.
I hope you find them helpful. I'm still trying to work up the courage!

http://razorfamilyfarms.com/animals...-kindness-how-to-make-and-use-a-killing-cone/

http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2006/08/processing-chickens-with-my-son.html

http://www.cultivatinghome.com/2008/10/how-to-butcher-chicken-easy-way.html

 

[Beekissed]

Good links! The only thing I saw that I don't recommend is chasing the bird down right before butchering(third link). This creates a lot of adrenalin in the system you don't want and is unnecessarily rough on the bird, causing undue stress from the excitement and fear of being chased. I always take mine off the roost the night before and either cage them or tie them and leave them with their flockmates in the coop until the next morning's processing.

 

[Beekissed]

oh lawwd, I've seen enough poop today at the animal shelter (I work in the cattery) ! And now I come on here and there's MORE poo! lol

Bee, I watched some of those field dressing videos. I didn't know you could just pull a pheasant apart like that... The breast and skins came off so clean! Can you do the same thing with a smallish cockerel? I wonder how much strength it would take. I don't think I'd want to try it that way with a bigger meat bird.

You can...we used to do it with wild grouse and smaller broilers but I don't do mine like that. All my birds are bigger than the typical wild fowl.

 

[Costa Rica Art]

Here are the links to some good tutorials on slaughtering/dressing out chickens that I saved on my Pinterest board.
I hope you find them helpful. I'm still trying to work up the courage!

http://razorfamilyfarms.com/animals...-kindness-how-to-make-and-use-a-killing-cone/
http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2006/08/processing-chickens-with-my-son.html
http://www.cultivatinghome.com/2008/10/how-to-butcher-chicken-easy-way.html

Great links, the chicken cone is the best thing for taking care of dispaching a chicken that I've heard of. One other person agrees that after a couple of minutes the chicken goes into a trance like state. Not only is that good but not having the chicken struggle and bleed all over, a person feels much more humane. In my opinion after, as a young lad, dispaching hundreds of chicken on a stump with a meat cleaver and tossing them in the barn lot,

the cone is better all the way.