First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

Hello again, Ralphie,
I admire your gumption but still tell you it is very unlikely as the two hormonal systems required to do as you allude are incompatible. One would conflict with the other and you would have either a layer OR A broody one; certainly not both. Somebody is salting your nest as a big joke if no other hen is about to do the job. You have some detective work to do! Oh, and did I tell you to have a Happy Thanksgiving despite your delusions?
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Sincerely yours,
Neal, the Zooman (and avian reproductive physiologist, geneticist, et al)
 
Are you sure?

Maybe your alligators are just better at hiding than those further south!
Ha! About 40 years ago my mama bought 2 10" long alligators. Kept them in a round tin washtub for about 6 mo. By then they were about 3 ft long. or so. So she decided to let them loose in a nearby lake. I kid you not. Kids swim in that lake. I didn't know until later. Forty years ago. What must they be today. 10'? I shudder to think. No I'm never gonna swim in that lake. I don't think I ever told anybody local about her. A very tough lady but couldn't stand to kill anything. We raised chickens and beef. Never a morsel for our table.
lau.gif
 
Hello again, Ralphie,
I admire your gumption but still tell you it is very unlikely as the two hormonal systems required to do as you allude are incompatible. One would conflict with the other and you would have either a layer OR A broody one; certainly not both. Somebody is salting your nest as a big joke if no other hen is about to do the job. You have some detective work to do! Oh, and did I tell you to have a Happy Thanksgiving despite your delusions?
he.gif

Sincerely yours,
Neal, the Zooman (and avian reproductive physiologist, geneticist, et al)
My guess is the turkey was not fully broody. maybe just some habit.

She would sit on the eggs for a day or two then quit. She would keep the babies warm and raised them the whole time she laid eggs.. There is no one close to here with turkeys to salt the nest....

She was just a yearling when this happened, I have found a young animals behavior an be all,,,,,,,,,,,,(expletive deleted) up. Her broodiness was very erratic. The first time she tried to hide a next, she would sit on the eggs with her "turken" babies. The tom was close to her it was just weird.

She only sat for about 2 weeks then abandoned the next.

I am not usually prone to delusions. But I hope you had a happy TD.
 
Did your mother ever visit Minnesota?

About 2 winters ago they found an alligator frozen in the ice in a lake just north of Minneapolis.

It seems it could not fair well in our balmy climate.

If I recall correctly an alligator needs 85 degrees or better to digest its food. There would be lots of undigested food up here.




Ha! About 40 years ago my mama bought 2 10" long alligators. Kept them in a round tin washtub for about 6 mo. By then they were about 3 ft long. or so. So she decided to let them loose in a nearby lake. I kid you not. Kids swim in that lake. I didn't know until later. Forty years ago. What must they be today. 10'? I shudder to think. No I'm never gonna swim in that lake. I don't think I ever told anybody local about her. A very tough lady but couldn't stand to kill anything. We raised chickens and beef. Never a morsel for our table.
lau.gif
 
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Tomorrow is butchering day for half of my meaties. It's the first time we are processing more than 1 bird, and I am nervous and have a ton of questions.

1. We are butchering them first thing in the morning, so they will have had at least 12 hours with no food. It is helpful/important that their crops be completely empty? I want to give them a very small amount of sprouted wheat fodder, just to get them all congregated around the food dish so I can collect them easily.

2. How long do you have (50 degree weather) between killing them, to get them plucked, gutted and on ice before meat quality/spoilage becomes an issue.

3. After they are plucked and gutted, do you do anything other then put them in the refrigerator? I've read that some people soak the birds in a water/salt brine for a few hours first. Has anyone done that?

4. How long do you let them rest in the refrigerator before shrink-wrapping and freezing. I was thinking of 48 hours.

5. Do you tightly cover them in the refrigerator when resting, or is them some value in letting air circulate around them?

I'm sure I'm going to shed a few tears. I know this is light years better then buying chicken in the market, but emotionally, it's going to be a hard day. They are such friendly and trusting birds.

Thanks, everyone.
 
Tomorrow is butchering day for half of my meaties. It's the first time we are processing more than 1 bird, and I am nervous and have a ton of questions.

1. We are butchering them first thing in the morning, so they will have had at least 12 hours with no food. It is helpful/important that their crops be completely empty? I want to give them a very small amount of sprouted wheat fodder, just to get them all congregated around the food dish so I can collect them easily.

I use a fishing net to catch mine it is fast and easy. Mine would congregate at my feet because they live to serve me....OR cause they think I am going to feed them. A little treat to keep them close will make no difference on their crops just do not over feed it.

2. How long do you have (50 degree weather) between killing them, to get them plucked, gutted and on ice before meat quality/spoilage becomes an issue.

I remove the heads off 5 at a time. I take off the head then place a half hitch rope/line around their feet so they can hang upside down and drain blood. I then scald them and pluck them in the same order. I found if I do over 5 the water gets colder and the feathers are harder to get off. I do not think spoilage is a problem if you are reasonably fast and sanitary.

3. After they are plucked and gutted, do you do anything other then put them in the refrigerator? I've read that some people soak the birds in a water/salt brine for a few hours first. Has anyone done that?

As soon as they are gutted I put them in a cold water soak. My water comes out of the well at around 45 degrees. I let that water run over them while I clean the rest. I have had it be as long as 2 hours. I have never had a problem yet.

4. How long do you let them rest in the refrigerator before shrink-wrapping and freezing. I was thinking of 48 hours.

I put mine in shrink wrap bags as soon as they are fully cleaned. I clean them twice, once before going in the cold water bath and once after the bath, the second cleaning I do in the house, in the sink under running water. I then pat them dry and put them in the shrink wrap bags. If I am going to vacuum pack them I do it after the resting period. I rest for 2-3 days. I just do not like the idea of them being in the fridge unwrapped. (Germophobe here) But then I also wear sterile surgical gloves to put dishes in the cupboard from the dishwasher.......My family makes fun of me for this. May the germs teach them a lesson!

5. Do you tightly cover them in the refrigerator when resting, or is them some value in letting air circulate around them?

Read above. I see no reason for the air to circulate around them and spread germs, I just want them to be cold and resting.

I'm sure I'm going to shed a few tears. I know this is light years better then buying chicken in the market, but emotionally, it's going to be a hard day. They are such friendly and trusting birds.

And now you will see why God made booze! It helps. BTW make sure you have a new box of surgical gloves, I go through a lot of them on cleaning day.

A good comedy on TV helps after the sad day. Once I get the birds into the house so they look like a chicken from the store the pain starts to diminish. Or is it the Schnapps kicking in, one can never be sure.

Thanks, everyone.
 
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Hey Ralphie,
You are a wise patron of the butchering arts! I would not change one whit any of the particulars which you have elucidated except I don't bother with the gloves. Another hint to the general reader/member: Don't name anything you plan to eat! It is much easier and facilitates the butchering.
My best to all,
Neal, the Zooman
P.S. Oops! If any of you great folks called and did not get an answer, it is because I left my cell phone at the other end of the house when visiting the desktop computer in the den; so call again, I'm on my way to retrieve said instrument even as you read this.
 
Thanks Ralphie, this is really helpful. We had hope to kill all 10 birds before starting the plucking and cleaning, but maybe we will do two batches of 5 instead.
 
Hey Ralphie,
You are a wise patron of the butchering arts! I would not change one whit any of the particulars which you have elucidated except I don't bother with the gloves. Another hint to the general reader/member: Don't name anything you plan to eat! It is much easier and facilitates the butchering.
My best to all,
Neal, the Zooman
P.S. Oops! If any of you great folks called and did not get an answer, it is because I left my cell phone at the other end of the house when visiting the desktop computer in the den; so call again, I'm on my way to retrieve said instrument even as you read this.


LOL Most people do not. I have long ago decided to not judge others or expect them to act on my phobias. ( I suffer from severe PTSD and if I can get away with just a few phobias I think I am having a successful life.)

I try to not name my birds, but I find some earn names or just get them. I am curious what names some of you have given some of your babies?


I have JJ the tom turkey I bought that started my venture into poultry. He came pre-named.... MY DW said the hens we got with him needed names, Hence Myrtle and Ethel. Little did she know this would lead to being over run with birds...

I have Brutus Because he looks like Brutus from the Popeye cartoons, or did as a chick.

I have Rick, Brutus's best friend or ex bestie, I am never sure. Because he has a bent messed up toe. Named after a good friend of ours who has a messed up finger.

I have "the turken" A Delaware hen Ethel raised hence Chicken/turkey,,or Turken.

I have " the ICU Baby" a hen that is the bottom of the pecking order and was in our ICU for several weeks after a pecking order beat down.

I have even resisted naming my little barred rock that was raised by Ethel, even though she deserves one. I know some people find it strange to not eat animals with names, to me it is natural. HOWEVER< I was traumatized as a kid when my folks butchered "patty" our pet pig.


Neal I think you forgot to give me your number!!!
lau.gif
 
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Tomorrow is butchering day for half of my meaties. It's the first time we are processing more than 1 bird, and I am nervous and have a ton of questions.

1. We are butchering them first thing in the morning, so they will have had at least 12 hours with no food. It is helpful/important that their crops be completely empty? I want to give them a very small amount of sprouted wheat fodder, just to get them all congregated around the food dish so I can collect them easily.

2. How long do you have (50 degree weather) between killing them, to get them plucked, gutted and on ice before meat quality/spoilage becomes an issue.

3. After they are plucked and gutted, do you do anything other then put them in the refrigerator? I've read that some people soak the birds in a water/salt brine for a few hours first. Has anyone done that?

4. How long do you let them rest in the refrigerator before shrink-wrapping and freezing. I was thinking of 48 hours.

5. Do you tightly cover them in the refrigerator when resting, or is them some value in letting air circulate around them?

I'm sure I'm going to shed a few tears. I know this is light years better then buying chicken in the market, but emotionally, it's going to be a hard day. They are such friendly and trusting birds.

Thanks, everyone.

After I clean them, I put them in a cooler with ice water. They cool quickly and then I drain them as much as I can and put them "standing up" in a covered pot in the frig. I refrigerate them 3-4 days before shrink wrapping them (use the kind of bags you dip in the hot water and shake 'em to get any water off 'em before bagging 'em) and then freeze them. I wait the 3-4 days for the rigor to relax and it helps them shrink wrap easier cuz they're not so stiff. I read where you don't want to freeze them for at least 3-4 days to allow the rigor to relax. I cooked one yesterday and OMG! So tender and moist! I did mine one at a time (just me doing them). Slit their throat, plucked, cleaned 'em and then into the cooler. I hope to do my last two tomorrow.
 
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