lice

[gs3]

City girl is new to raising chicks. I want to butcher my 49 jumbo rocks in 3 weeks and freeze them. They have lice and I want to use an all natural way of curing this problem. I purchased CareFree Enzymes Poultry Protector, has anyone used this product and if so have you had good results? Also I thought to save time and work I would skin, cut in half, and put the chicken in freezer bags. Is this a good way for the chicken to stay fresh for the duration of a year or will it freezer burn? Please help with suggestions. Thanks!

 

[chickenfeverforever]

I cant help as far as natural. This is what I use for my birds ro prevent lice and other critters. Its safe for food and most animals. We even use it on our dogs and goats.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...-garden-poultry-dust-shaker-can-2-lb--2204294

You should really air seal the birds for the freezer. Just ziplock bags might be enough for a month but with as many birds as you have, I would say you need to vacuum seal them.

 

[homesteadapps]

Quote:
For lice you may want to research the use of Sevin powder. http://www.poultryhelp.com/sevindust.html

As far as freezing a good quality Ziploc style will work fine. Just try to get as much air out as possible. We've stored them for close to a year without problems. Freezer paper works as good as or better then vacuum sealed bags on skinned breasts. To keep the meat in its best possible state make sure the deep freeze is 0 degrees Fahrenheit or within a couple of degrees of that temperature.

 

[chickenfeverforever]

For 49 birds....I just wouldnt trust them to ziplock bags or freezer paper. Usually freezer paper is good for 6 months. When we butcher a hog, We stored half in paper and half vacuum sealed. We consume everything in the paper first. My thought is with as much time and money as you have in these meat birds....why trust grocery bags?

 

[Saltysteele]

i would use Sevin. worked wonders on my chicks. held them upside down and sprinkled it in their "pits" (at the base of their wings), at the crease where the leg meats the body and around the vent, then flipped them over and sprinkled it on their backs (takes less time than it sounds). 10 days later, did the same thing. no lice. (i also saturated their coop with Sevin spray after cleaning it, the first time i dusted them with the Sevin)

you can spray/sprinkle this stuff on your vegetables and eat them shortly thereafter, so don't think there would be an issue with chickens not slated to meet the block for 3 weeks. every Ag extension that I could find on the interweb suggested using Sevin powder (5% or 10%).

i sprinkle diatomaceous earth in their coop now that the lice is under control, but they say it is usual in prevention, not necessarily with an infestation.

my turkey chicks took off after the lice were gone; grew like crazy

 

[Denninmi]

Another way to help prevent freezer burn is to ice glaze the product. To do this, you need to freeze it solid first -- put it on a cookie tray or similar, separated, so that it won't all stick together. When its completely hard frozen, dip it in and out of a bowl or bucket of ice water a few times, then back into the freezer. You can repeat this a couple of times, allowing about an hour in the freezer between each dip. Its a little time consuming, but works. As an alternative, you can also pack into good quality bags and fill some of the dead space with water, or pack into a lidded container and fill with water. We do this often with fish fillets, works great and really helps keep them fresh much longer.

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Thanks for that suggestion Denninmi, I've never heard of the ice glaze method before. I'll defiantly be trying that as the ziplock bags I have gave me very unsatisfactory results.

 

[chickenfeverforever]

Quote:
My mother in law freezes a lot of meat this way as well. She uses old butter tubs and just puts the meat in and fills it up with water.

 

[Dogfish]

Get the shink bags from Cornerstone farms. Use zip ties to close them up. They work extremely well.

 

[homesteadapps]

Quote:
Great looking product. Might have to try these.
http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/equipment/poultry-packaging/shrink-bag