Hatching Eggs / Paypal CHAT Thread

[Deerling]

Oh you guys, watching the thread is killing me! I would love those Faverolle eggs. I just keep chanting to myself "Your incubator is full. Your three months is up in May. Your incubator is full. Your three months is up in May."

Doesn't help I'm stuck at the computer under a napping baby.

 

[tdhenson86]

Hi guys. I just wanted to stop in. I know I seem pretty upbeat on here and honestly it's the one place I feel like I can truly have a little me time. I just want you to know that if I owe you a swap egg or wood/art it's coming. I've been having hard time keeping up. I have a tendency to take too many things on and become overwhelmed. It's like I keep forgetting that I have kids and a small farms as well as normal life. Normally it's not that big of an issue. As most of you know, we've been dealing with the sale of the house we own in Portland. It's been up and down. I don't like airing too many personal woes as this, as silly as it may sound, is sort of my personal sanctuary. Anyway we've had good and bad news with the house and last night we got more bad news. It's not end of the world news but it basically looks like we're going to basically walk away from the house even. Well sort of even. Let's just say the realtors are getting any profit that might be in it. It's sort of heartbreaking on many levels as we put so much time and effort into that place and the people who are buying it have negotiated a steal because we are in a position where we have to close. It's just been a depressing 24 hours for me. Sorry to be Debbie Downer this morning. I just want people to know that I'm not at all flaky and will most definitely be sending the things that I've promised and owe. I'm just not in a mind frame to work on artwork at the moment let alone artwork that involves burning things. This too shall pass and I'll be fine. I'm still just in shock form the last 24 hours.

No worries! We all have bad days!

Chin up!

 

[caj1985]

Oh you guys, watching the thread is killing me! I would love those Faverolle eggs. I just keep chanting to myself "Your incubator is full. Your three months is up in May. Your incubator is full. Your three months is up in May."

Doesn't help I'm stuck at the computer under a napping baby.

They will still be available in May or a sideswap is always an option when your incubator is empty.

 

[puglady]

Hi guys. I just wanted to stop in. I know I seem pretty upbeat on here and honestly it's the one place I feel like I can truly have a little me time. I just want you to know that if I owe you a swap egg or wood/art it's coming. I've been having hard time keeping up. I have a tendency to take too many things on and become overwhelmed. It's like I keep forgetting that I have kids and a small farms as well as normal life. Normally it's not that big of an issue. As most of you know, we've been dealing with the sale of the house we own in Portland. It's been up and down. I don't like airing too many personal woes as this, as silly as it may sound, is sort of my personal sanctuary. Anyway we've had good and bad news with the house and last night we got more bad news. It's not end of the world news but it basically looks like we're going to basically walk away from the house even. Well sort of even. Let's just say the realtors are getting any profit that might be in it. It's sort of heartbreaking on many levels as we put so much time and effort into that place and the people who are buying it have negotiated a steal because we are in a position where we have to close. It's just been a depressing 24 hours for me. Sorry to be Debbie Downer this morning. I just want people to know that I'm not at all flaky and will most definitely be sending the things that I've promised and owe. I'm just not in a mind frame to work on artwork at the moment let alone artwork that involves burning things. This too shall pass and I'll be fine. I'm still just in shock form the last 24 hours.

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

WHAT I have found from others is if you boil it then you can eat even an old chicken, of course that limits your dishes. We have eaten roos up to 16 months old never any older yet.

Thanks!

The biggest thing about processing our chickens was getting the hubby used to being organized. He'd never slaughtered livestock and had no idea the work that went into it. Now, he's really good about setting my my bench, and shackles and will even help do the catching, but the actual killing... nope, not him. I use a rod on the ground to break their necks and open the throat to bleed them while in the shackles. Then the usual, scald, pluck, take out the innards. And finish by binding before a cold ice pack. I have found that tough birds, if you let them slack well (3-4 days in fridge)before braising them will help with a old fella. Alot of times toughness is from rigor in the muscles, slacking allows it to pass from the muscles and gets a usually more tender bird. I say usually because no matter what I've done with banties, I can't get a tender bird. They get the chicken soup and stock duty at our house, LOL

You can process bantams??? I just put 4 bantam roos down yesterday

 

[flocksalot]

I am ever more appreciative of my hubby! Every weekend he asks what I need done. And then he does it. And if he sees something else is a problem for me, he takes care of that too! Two weekends ago I told him I needed a door on the front of the small old goat lean-to we were turning into a quarantine house. A door appeared. Last weekend we hung cages...just in time to get krafty's roo installed! When I carted cages out, he noticed that there were down branches from the oak that shades the shelter, and they were a trip hazzard. When I came back from picking up the roo, they had been cleared, as well as a few branches that interferred with the door a tad.

Next weekend we are going to do some assessment on what stays or goes. Then he will built transport cages for whomever is going to auction the following week. After that, he'll hang cages for quail in the rabbit house. And built small coops to go in my dog kennel/breeding pens as well as fox-proof them. There's no hurry on those, though. I have nothing of both breeding quality and age. Just egg layers at the moment.

I'm keeping him, and I'm not sharing, either!

Come on you should share! Some of us don't have our hubbies around to help. I need a pouty smilie here.

Just kidding. I can build my stuff better if I build it myself. Hubby isn't a carpenter no matter how many times he tries. Love him, but he should just handle the kids sports and leave me to the farm. He an however install the electric and haul bags of feed just fine.

 

[AyeUpChuck]

Mine will be a year old in April.  Will he be good for more than boiling?

Ill come over and make you coq au vin!

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

If you guys could spend a week with us you would sooooo.... crack up. We have an auto repair shop that we both work at/owners full time. When I go to the post office during the day to pick up chicks/eggs I bring them back to the shop with me, so usually at least once per week we have chicks or I am unpacking eggs at our shop. There are some very regular customers that come in and ask, "do you have any chicks in here today?" Its really quite funny, car repair with chickens. We have several of our Auto repair customers that now buy eggs from us on a weekly basis because of the "packages" in the shop. Today, my little boy's teacher wanted me to bring chicks to the class for the day because they are learning about eggs and chicks (Daniel already is super smart on this subject- I will make him scrambled eggs and he tells me, "aww... chicks" as he is eating them- yeah, weird but, funny) so today I pick up the chicks at the school at 2pm and bring them back to the shop with me and here I am with 9 week old chicks chirping quite loudly behind me as I talk to/call customers. Usually its quite entertaining to most people- still a bit weird. Imagine calling your auto repair shop and hearing chicks chirping in the background. ahh.... just another day in our crazy life

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I can't believe how much those gold laced orps are going for on that Rare breed auction! I had 3 of them last year and since my hen drowned I just ate the 2 roosters.

 

[SewChaos]

Slow cook him.

we have slow cooked several year old roos

This! Mine go in the crockpot, and cook all day long. Add some lemons and some peppercorn....mmmmm!

Sounds like crockpot chicken and dumplins is in my future.

The biggest thing about processing our chickens was getting the hubby used to being organized. He'd never slaughtered livestock and had no idea the work that went into it. Now, he's really good about setting my my bench, and shackles and will even help do the catching, but the actual killing... nope, not him. I use a rod on the ground to break their necks and open the throat to bleed them while in the shackles. Then the usual, scald, pluck, take out the innards. And finish by binding before a cold ice pack. I have found that tough birds, if you let them slack well (3-4 days in fridge)before braising them will help with a old fella. Alot of times toughness is from rigor in the muscles, slacking allows it to pass from the muscles and gets a usually more tender bird. I say usually because no matter what I've done with banties, I can't get a tender bird. They get the chicken soup and stock duty at our house, LOL

I'm going to be doing this all by myself, no helpers. I have to do it all outside too, because my Mr doesn't want chicken gore in "his" garage. I'm concerned about using a knife to slit the throat, I have a tremor and I'd hate to miss. I was thinking about getting super sharp gardening shears - the kind that slice through branches. That would work, wouldn't it?

So basically I can hang him upside-down, cut/slit the throat and let him bleed out, or I can kill him lying flat and then hang him to bleed out? Then I can skin him or scald and pluck him?