Hello from West Georgia!

[Aunt Goaty]

Hi!

I joined because my 15 yo daughter decided that she wanted to raise chickens for her year-long Ag class project for school. We've never had chickens before, so this has been an interesting learning experience!

We were given an incubator and some fertilized eggs by a friend of mine, and managed to hatch 5 out of 12 eggs. The chicks stayed in my daughter's room for the first 6 weeks, and boy am I glad we have them out in their own coop now!

Now we need to figure out how many are male and how many are female, and decide what to do with the extra males! My thought is the stew pot...but that would mean I would be the one to take care of all the dirty work, as well as the cooking...not too sure how I feel about that. But I guess I could be persuaded to learn!

Thanks for letting me join!

 

[ronott1]

I process the extra boys that hatch by myself. You likely have 2 or 3 which is not too bad. I usually process 2 or 3 at time. The go into the fridge for 2 days and then into the freezer.

Young ones can be braised while older ones make good stew. Pressure cooking will make them tender too.
I am adding a link with cooking information. Click to open the pdf

 

[theoldchick]

Howdy! I let someone else process my roosters cause I'm a wimp!

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under Aunty Goaty Welcome!

I am guilty of being a whimp also and advertise any roosters for rehoming.

You can post some pictures on the Breed or Gender Forum if you would like some opinions/assistance is determining gender.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello.

Personally, I have found the Topic of the Week articles a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to Backyardchickens.com aka BYC!
We are glad you joined our flock.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

Please check out and enter these two current contest:
This first one ends today!!
Official BYC Coop Article Contest - 2017 - Win a Auto Coop Door Kit

Official BYC Caption Contest - 10/09/2017 - Pic by Faraday40

 

[N F C]

I've never had to process one of my birds but I did a quick search and found this thread that gives links to the how-to's:
how-to-butcher-a-chicken.22610

Best of luck to you and your daughter, I hope you both enjoy your birds!

 

[Pork Pie]

Welcome to BYC. You have some great advice and links above, so I'll just say hi

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[staceyj]

As a parent I can say that a lot of the tough part of raising teenagers is because for a few years there it's hard to find things to have a conversation about that doesn't lead so some kind of conflict.
This is awesome that you've agreed to a "project" that involves so MUCH. So much Time
Money
Effort and especially
Emotional investment.

My hat's off to you for being your daughter's partner in this. You are the safety net.
Everyone here will be YOUR safety net.
You are in for a year of
Laughter
Learning
(Even tears maybe, but hopefully not.)
But you'll be doing it together and making a lifetime of memories.
Cherish them.
Welcome to BYC.

 

[Dee Dee N Desiree]

Hi!

I joined because my 15 yo daughter decided that she wanted to raise chickens for her year-long Ag class project for school. We've never had chickens before, so this has been an interesting learning experience!

We were given an incubator and some fertilized eggs by a friend of mine, and managed to hatch 5 out of 12 eggs. The chicks stayed in my daughter's room for the first 6 weeks, and boy am I glad we have them out in their own coop now!

Now we need to figure out how many are male and how many are female, and decide what to do with the extra males! My thought is the stew pot...but that would mean I would be the one to take care of all the dirty work, as well as the cooking...not too sure how I feel about that. But I guess I could be persuaded to learn!

Thanks for letting me join!

What a great project for your daughter! My niece and I are raising a flock. We did an eggs-eriment when we got our first eggs. We cooked store bought eggs and then cooked our eggs the same way and did a taste test. Hands down our own eggs were the best eggs I have ever had! I wish you all the best.