Quote: I just put 8 BR in the incubator an hour ago. Do you want some?? Just let me know!
A lady I know mentioned that there is a farm not far from here that raises turkeys and I think I will try her when I'm ready to try again. I have little confidence since losing the two I bought last April. I really hope it was not some disease that claimed them. Of course, that means I killed them (and I can't feel good about that.)
SCG, I don't have experience with this, but a local neighbor told me that if you butcher ducks after a couple of hard frosts, they will have fewer pin feathers. She won't butcher her muscovies until November at the earliest. Maybe your timing was just off. Another tip....put Dawn dish washing liquied in the scald water to break down the oils on the duck feathers. I've never done this......mind you..........I took mine to the processor and had them done for $5 each......still had a few pins that I had to remove but all-in-all well worth the $5.
As you found out, removing one changes the dynamics, and not always the way we expect. I had a full experience with a house full of cats--25--when one left, the relationships changed in totally unexpected ways. Go figure!I love spreading the turken love! You're on! They'll do great in your heat!
Arielle, I almost cried when I found out how many feathers the ducks had. We had already done 6 or 7 roosters that day, it was hot (well, for Maine), I was sunburnt, and I decided to do a duck. It was Kowalski, so I was sad about it, but he was causing a lot of problems for another duck that I had (only one female means the males start to pair off together - and one male was the center of attention for both Kowalski and another unnamed pekin, and that male was not returning the affection. Unfortunately getting Kowalski out of the way means the other pekin is just zeroed in on this male... ah, the problems of life on a small farm). Anyway, I digress. We only did one (mostly for time and effort but just in case we didn't like the way it tasted as we never had duck). Unfortunately we loved the way it tasted. Next time I'm going to have to do the other pekin male. Maybe we'll try skinning it this time but the skin was sooo delicious.
I just hope your kids are happy in what they do and it pays the bills - I love anything science/math related so being a pharmacist works for me. I wanted to be a park ranger, but it is only a seasonal job and wouldn't pay enough so I'm glad I went into pharmacy. I was miserable in retail pharmacy, but hospital worked well for me. Unfortunately I spent a large amount of money getting my Pharm.D. degree, and now I'm a manager!Such is life.
I did my geese in Feb with a LOT of dawn, I'll pay $5 for a bird next time!!!! LOLSCG, I don't have experience with this, but a local neighbor told me that if you butcher ducks after a couple of hard frosts, they will have fewer pin feathers. She won't butcher her muscovies until November at the earliest. Maybe your timing was just off. Another tip....put Dawn dish washing liquied in the scald water to break down the oils on the duck feathers. I've never done this......mind you..........I took mine to the processor and had them done for $5 each......still had a few pins that I had to remove but all-in-all well worth the $5.
