Incubators Anonymous

[discoveregg]

Quote:
Keep them. My goal is 400 chickens + other fowl by november. I need them for a CSA program next year

CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products (fresh poulty, beef, pork) may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

 

[riane'smimi]

For those of you wanting to butcher your roos and older hens ,there are some really good videos on youtube.com .Shows how step by step.
They show how to kill and dress out the chickens.
I just can not picture myself killing the chicken .I don't think I could. but I do know how to dress them out and get them freezer ready.It's the killing part that I can not get passed.I don't find anything wrong with it and I know they have to die in order to eat them

..

 

[discoveregg]

riane'smimi :

For those of you wanting to butcher your roos and older hens ,there are some really good videos on youtube.com .Shows how step by step.
They show how to kill and dress out the chickens.
I just can not picture myself killing the chicken .I don't think I could. but I do know how to dress them out and get them freezer ready.It's the killing part that I can not get passed.I don't find anything wrong with it and I know they have to die in order to eat them

..

Back on the first page of this thread, LilyD wrote "I highly recommend getting hitched up with someone who knows how so that you can really watch in person someone doing it. It makes more sense when you watch then watching a video on you tube." For me at least, I need the hands on approach with someone helping me the first time. I think the first few times would be difficult

but I free range my birds and like the idea of knowing what I'm eating. Plus, where I live, a local organic CSA farmer is selling their birds for $20.00 EACH, processed! If I don't get on the wagon and stop hatching, I could actually break by butchering, even with my hatching habit ... maybe

 

[Cattitude]

There are killing cones you can purchase to assist with that part of the chore, or you can do it the way my folks have done all my life: take them to the chopping block and use the axe. Just don't have any roosters loose when you do it; they will "fight" the dead chicken.

 

[LilyD]

Quote:

Back on the first page of this thread, LilyD wrote "I highly recommend getting hitched up with someone who knows how so that you can really watch in person someone doing it. It makes more sense when you watch then watching a video on you tube." For me at least, I need the hands on approach with someone helping me the first time. I think the first few times would be difficult

but I free range my birds and like the idea of knowing what I'm eating. Plus, where I live, a local organic CSA farmer is selling their birds for $20.00 EACH, processed! If I don't get on the wagon and stop hatching, I could actually break by butchering, even with my hatching habit ... maybe

I totally agree with you discoveregg I need to actually be able to do it with someone watching the first few times that way if I run into something I haven't seen before or that makes me have questions there is someone there to ask. The first time we processed the guy who came did all the work to show us how. The second time I watched him gut and process. This time I will be doing the gutting with someone watching me. Someone else gets the job of killing, I'm not ready for that yet. But since we have so many people there are a bunch of roles for everyone to do.

 

[mstricer]

Quote:

Back on the first page of this thread, LilyD wrote "I highly recommend getting hitched up with someone who knows how so that you can really watch in person someone doing it. It makes more sense when you watch then watching a video on you tube." For me at least, I need the hands on approach with someone helping me the first time. I think the first few times would be difficult

but I free range my birds and like the idea of knowing what I'm eating. Plus, where I live, a local organic CSA farmer is selling their birds for $20.00 EACH, processed! If I don't get on the wagon and stop hatching, I could actually break by butchering, even with my hatching habit ... maybe

I totally agree with you discoveregg I need to actually be able to do it with someone watching the first few times that way if I run into something I haven't seen before or that makes me have questions there is someone there to ask. The first time we processed the guy who came did all the work to show us how. The second time I watched him gut and process. This time I will be doing the gutting with someone watching me. Someone else gets the job of killing, I'm not ready for that yet. But since we have so many people there are a bunch of roles for everyone to do.

I still can't do it. That's what the old man is for, even if he doesn't like it, he at least do his part. I do all the rest, plucking,gutting and freezing. Plus I do all most of the cooking.

 

[Cattitude]

Guys, I am in trouble as a member of IA.

My incubators are full, but there are NO eggs in the hatcher. None. And none due to be put into the hatcher until Thursday.

Something is very wrong.

 

[LilyD]

Quote:
Oh my it sounds like a hatching shortage scary to think about

 

[SkyWarrior]

Quote:

Back on the first page of this thread, LilyD wrote "I highly recommend getting hitched up with someone who knows how so that you can really watch in person someone doing it. It makes more sense when you watch then watching a video on you tube." For me at least, I need the hands on approach with someone helping me the first time. I think the first few times would be difficult

but I free range my birds and like the idea of knowing what I'm eating. Plus, where I live, a local organic CSA farmer is selling their birds for $20.00 EACH, processed! If I don't get on the wagon and stop hatching, I could actually break by butchering, even with my hatching habit ... maybe

I've gotten lazy and prefer to skin the chickens over plucking them. That's really the hunter in me (I've had to dress out deer). It's not pretty, but I've gotten faster and can process a bird in 15 minutes. No, not a speed record.

 

[LilyD]

Quote:

Back on the first page of this thread, LilyD wrote "I highly recommend getting hitched up with someone who knows how so that you can really watch in person someone doing it. It makes more sense when you watch then watching a video on you tube." For me at least, I need the hands on approach with someone helping me the first time. I think the first few times would be difficult

but I free range my birds and like the idea of knowing what I'm eating. Plus, where I live, a local organic CSA farmer is selling their birds for $20.00 EACH, processed! If I don't get on the wagon and stop hatching, I could actually break by butchering, even with my hatching habit ... maybe

I've gotten lazy and prefer to skin the chickens over plucking them. That's really the hunter in me (I've had to dress out deer). It's not pretty, but I've gotten faster and can process a bird in 15 minutes. No, not a speed record.

I would skin the chickens accept I really love crunchy chicken skin. We are doing a batch of about 70 birds on the first of October. It will probably be our last time having help after that we will be in charge of doing it ourselves. The guy that comes out to help us is very good and is nice enough to teach us as he works so we are learning each time. He only charges 3$ per bird which isn't bad, but it would be nice to not pay anything and then the birds are free and clear other than the feed cost.