- Feb 13, 2014
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(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? Yes and No, I had chickens years ago.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? Zero
(3) What breeds do you have? NA
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? Web search
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?. Video production, reloading, wood lathe, camping.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm just an old coot that was raised on a working farm. We usually had 25 to 50 chickens at a time. Most of them raised for fryers. I had the job of feeding watering and keeping the coop clean (as you can with chickens.) When harvesting time came we would take 30 to 40, depending on the year and set up a de-assembly line. One station to wring their necks and yes, we did it the old fashioned way, grabbed the neck, gave a spin and snap and toss the head in a bucket. One station to boil-dip, pluck and a torch to burn off the hair. Then the women folk would clean and dress them.
We also had cows, pigs and horses, again my main job as a kid was feeding and care. The old man took care of crops and other farm chores as well as working part time to keep things together. I showed some of my cows and one horse at 4H shows.
All that's well and good but that was the late 50's to mid-60's. After I got out of the Navy I never wanted to see a chicken or cow again, unless they were on a bun. I got training in electronics and computers and started a life of sitting on my butt and hitting keys on a keyboard.
Now that I’m almost at retirement I am looking for a slower lifestyle and am considering rising a “few” chickens, not like back on the farm, mostly for eggs. After I retire we have plans to move to a more rural area.
So I figure a lot of what I remember about livestock is still valid but over half a century I figure I have forgotten a lot of it and there might be some new and innovative ideas and gear invented over the past 40 years. I thought this might be the place to find out.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? Zero
(3) What breeds do you have? NA
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? Web search
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?. Video production, reloading, wood lathe, camping.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm just an old coot that was raised on a working farm. We usually had 25 to 50 chickens at a time. Most of them raised for fryers. I had the job of feeding watering and keeping the coop clean (as you can with chickens.) When harvesting time came we would take 30 to 40, depending on the year and set up a de-assembly line. One station to wring their necks and yes, we did it the old fashioned way, grabbed the neck, gave a spin and snap and toss the head in a bucket. One station to boil-dip, pluck and a torch to burn off the hair. Then the women folk would clean and dress them.
We also had cows, pigs and horses, again my main job as a kid was feeding and care. The old man took care of crops and other farm chores as well as working part time to keep things together. I showed some of my cows and one horse at 4H shows.
All that's well and good but that was the late 50's to mid-60's. After I got out of the Navy I never wanted to see a chicken or cow again, unless they were on a bun. I got training in electronics and computers and started a life of sitting on my butt and hitting keys on a keyboard.
Now that I’m almost at retirement I am looking for a slower lifestyle and am considering rising a “few” chickens, not like back on the farm, mostly for eggs. After I retire we have plans to move to a more rural area.
So I figure a lot of what I remember about livestock is still valid but over half a century I figure I have forgotten a lot of it and there might be some new and innovative ideas and gear invented over the past 40 years. I thought this might be the place to find out.
and Welcome To BYC!
