Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[SimpleJenn]

Nosy Posy is so gorgeous. And Breezy is such a little gentleman. I hope they stay good for you!

What method do you use to cull your birds? I may have asked before but I have a goldfish memory.

Spoiler: Hiding under here

I suspend them upside down in a kill cone until they pass out, then slit the throat to bleed out. After the bleeding slows I then cut the head off. From my experience the first two steps are what is the most humane. Once they pass out they won't feel the rest, and slitting the throat ensures they don't wake during the head cutting.

My method may be overkill but I want to make sure they aren't conscious during the cull.

 

[TOMTE]

Spoiler: Hiding under here

I suspend them upside down in a kill cone until they pass out, then slit the throat to bleed out. After the bleeding slows I then cut the head off. From my experience the first two steps are what is the most humane. Once they pass out they won't feel the rest, and slitting the throat ensures they don't wake during the head cutting.

My method may be overkill but I want to make sure they aren't conscious during the cull.

Thanks! Did you buy or make your cone? Do you use a knife or shears or something else for the last part?

 

[SimpleJenn]

Twofers

Two blue ladies, Navy and Delft

Two more blue ladies, BlueRaptor and Roadrunner

Red and Cemani. Cemani has a jaunty tip to his comb, not sure if it's a fault or normal.

 

[TOMTE]

Cemani has a jaunty tip to his comb, not sure if it's a fault or normal.

From ayamcemani.us:

"[...] the breed calls for a single comb extending off the back of the head with 5 distinct points[...]"

and

"Comb: Single, fine in texture, of large size, straight and upright, firm and even on the head, having five distinct points, deeply serrated and extending well off the back of the head with no tendency to follow the shape of the neck, smooth, free from twists or folds."

Nothing about the comb is mentioned in defects or disqualifications

 

[SimpleJenn]

Thanks! Did you buy or make your cone? Do you use a knife or shears or something else for the last part?

Here's my setup

Spoiler: Butchering equipment

Bought my kill cone, poultry shears, leg holder, and gutter from Amazon. The filet knives and sharpener are from the farm store, and the 12" hemostats are from my husband's job. The rack is from the garage, and the kill cone and leg hanger are mounted to it.
one knife for each side of the station. I sharpen them the night before. The shears are very strong to cut off legs and through wings. We found a knife is easier for cutting the heads off, you can go between the neck bones easier.
Bucket for the blood and heads, and I put a cardboard box on the other side so we can burn everything in the fire pit (under the kiddy pool) when it's cold we toss the box into dad's woodstove.
There's a crate to hold them, and a camping table to place our tools and the carcasses. I have a giant cutting board and big bowls to hold the meat. We also put the hose across the middle of the table to clean. When we're done we sanitize everything outside.

Leg holder. Took a bit to figure out but now I have the hang of it. The legs go on the outside of the two peaks. Then we drop skin, feathers, guts into a cardboard box below.

Kill cone. You can use a traffic cone or build one too, we will butcher often enough to justify a permanent setup. Head goes through the bottom hole, they hang for a minute or two to pass out before throat cutting. Left side is the best for them to bleed out.
Everything can be hosed off, clorox wiped, and sun dried.

 

[SimpleJenn]

From ayamcemani.us:

"[...] the breed calls for a single comb extending off the back of the head with 5 distinct points[...]"

and

"Comb: Single, fine in texture, of large size, straight and upright, firm and even on the head, having five distinct points, deeply serrated and extending well off the back of the head with no tendency to follow the shape of the neck, smooth, free from twists or folds."

Nothing about the comb is mentioned in defects or disqualifications

Interesting. Perhaps it will stand up better as he ages. I don't plan on showing him or anything, he's basically a decorative roo for me. If he breeds the ladies and makes neat fibro babies, that's fun too.

 

[featherhead007]

Please separate her from the bullying

Impossible to do that, she’s a strong stubborn ol bird. Kinda like yourself.

 

[featherhead007]

I had to cull one of my favorite Barred Rocks. I will never do that again, ever! So sad and the act put my mind out of commission with remorse and regret, with clinical depression for months. Never again will I cull any animal under my care.

 

[BY Bob]

@knoturavggrl when Hector was a chick, he developed curled toes. The ladies with him did NOT. Chick boots were iffy at best. When I started supplementING their diet, his toes started straightening. Vitamin powder in their water, rice krispies in their feed. His toes never fully straightened, but did greatly improve.

As I recall, there were a lot of issues on BYC ultimately solved through boosting vitamins that year. I suspect there was a major change in ingredients across the country and across brands.

I am absolutely ZERO help on this one. I've no idea what his coloring should be termed.

I never thought I'd see the day you were stumped.

 

[rural mouse]

I never thought I'd see the day you were stumped.

I'm frequently stumped.....and it usually sparks a trip down an investigative rabbit hole....


Edit: the rabbit hole: there's a snow leopard pattern?!
https://chickenjournal.com/swedish-flower-hen/