Maine

[lazy gardener]

Looks like I have a second pullet laying this morning. A nice blue egg, different shape and color than the one yesterday. I'm very pleased with these pullets as I didn't expect them to be laying before the BSL or RIR which are both a week and a half older!! Of course they would start laying the day after I bought 30 eggs at the grocery store!

Thanks folks for the info re: clean butchering practices.

 

[MEMama3]

I want eggs

I check neurotically and still no eggs. I am seriously considering getting ANOTHER chicken just for the joy of collecting (I have trouble with patience LOL).

On another note, the rain is killing the progress of my coop addition. And, to make matters worse, my temporary makeshift door is made of plywood and the rain is destroying it. First it swelled and now (because I had to yank to get it open this morning) it has disintegrated in one corner.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I want eggs

I check neurotically and still no eggs. I am seriously considering getting ANOTHER chicken just for the joy of collecting (I have trouble with patience LOL).

On another note, the rain is killing the progress of my coop addition. And, to make matters worse, my temporary makeshift door is made of plywood and the rain is destroying it. First it swelled and now (because I had to yank to get it open this morning) it has disintegrated in one corner.

Had that happen to me, too. Thought I'd be really smart and make a pop door that would open and double as a ramp... That lasted until the first real rain of the year and then it swelled so much I couldn't close the pop door at night, which caused me to panic that my birds would get eaten by night predators, which caused me to concoct the most crazy of devices to keep the door closed.

Now the pop door is just a swinging door, that is protected by the elements from the overhead roof. Much smarter plan.

 

[cyndischicks]

Rain, rain go away my little Chicky's want to go out to play! lol Actually just want to finish chicks new house to get them out of the dining room! Can't believe how much rain we have had, where is summer? Thanks for the info on 2 roos with 10 girls, hopefully they will get along. Already told my DH that if they have chicks we will be building on to the coop. Not a good idea when this one isn't finished yet!! I look forward to all the fun/work with my Chicky's! By the way I named my 2 roos, Cogburn and Cornelius! Trying to remember everyone's names, I'll will get there. Hopefully tomorrow and Sunday will be better weather, my girls are trying to escape to run around the house!

 

[MEMama3]

Had that happen to me, too. Thought I'd be really smart and make a pop door that would open and double as a ramp... That lasted until the first real rain of the year and then it swelled so much I couldn't close the pop door at night, which caused me to panic that my birds would get eaten by night predators, which caused me to concoct the most crazy of devices to keep the door closed.

Now the pop door is just a swinging door, that is protected by the elements from the overhead roof. Much smarter plan.

That is what the finished door will be (just a swinging door under the eaves) when I can get out there to finish it. This rain is killing me!

 

[Widget]

Yuck. Everything is so wet and muddy.

The garden really needs to be weeded. Seems the weeds are growing well like weeds and the veggies are cowering in fear. The beans don't seem to have budged in a week. The peas are doing great with many pea pods about 2-3 inches long. The tomatoes are also doing well. I have a few small green tomatoes already. The corn has finally come up but it is pathetic when compared to the local farms where the corn is already 2 ft tall. Pumpkin plants are starting to spread out but the cucumbers are still thinking about it.

The birds were happy to get out this morning. First thing the ducks did was run over to the kiddie pool to take a bath. I'm sure they feel a bit better. Now if they could only eat all the bugs that have emerged thanks to the rain.

Went to grab a bale of hay for the horses. Noticed a reddish thing on top. It moved and slithered into the hay bale. Looked more like a corn snake but we don't have those around here. Probably a young garter snake or red-bellied snake. Of course it was nowhere to be seen when I opened the bale. Oh well. It is harmless and if it is still in the haystack as long as I see it before I reach in and grab a bale everything will be fine.

 

[yankeehill]

We don't do that.

As we process we clean all the utensils and the table with a Chlorox Clean Up Wipe after each bird, and during if it gets messy. Immediately after processing they get rinsed with the hose really good and go into a cooler of cold icy water. Immediately after finishing the days group of birds, they go inside, get another good wash in the kitchen sink then get cut up or put into their shrink bags and then off to the fridge for 2 days then the freezer. It's cleaner than anything commercially done.

If I were to use bleach though I'd do 1%

What is the purpose of cutting them, then putting them in the fridge for 2 days, then freezing?

 

[yankeehill]

We had an injury last night. One of our ducklings was found caught in the electric netting this morning. Poor fella's leg is swollen, and he's got an area on his head that appears burned. He's a bit lethargic right now, but I'm thinking it may be just from the trauma of the electricity and being trapped and struggling. We'll give him until morning, and if he doesn't come around and perk up, we'll put him down. We'll keep checking on him thoughout the day.

In other farm news:

I'm meeting a fella from NH on Tuesday to sell my Blue Silver Foxes. That'll pay for the rabbits feed for about a month. Maybe more, since it is cull time and it's the growers that eat MUCH more than the adults.

We'll fix the hog pen this week and get it ready for this years piglets. I'm leary now that we've agreed to buy them. A friend of mine is selling them - it's her first litter, and she has not yet cut, wormed, or gave them iron. If it weren't a friend, we'd back out of buying them, but we don't want to lose a friendship over this. We'll worm and iron them when they come, but there is NO WAY a boar is coming on our property. She's supposed to have the fella come and cut them this week. (They're still young yet - 7 weeks).

And we'll order our Freedom Rangers on Wednesday. Can't wait to see how they grow out and how we like them. We've never raised meat birds before, and we chose these with the hopes of putting them in the electric netting field and letting them free range, thus potentially cutting the feed bill. I'll do my best to keep track of finances while raising them.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

What is the purpose of cutting them, then putting them in the fridge for 2 days, then freezing?

We cut them up to use for eating... keep a couple baggies of legs, thighs, etc, and a few whole birds. Depending on what we want/need. The extra pieces left from cutting them up we roast and then make into stock (we also save the necks when buchering for this). The extra meat that falls off the bones we freeze for stew meat.








We put the meat in the fridge for 2 days after butchering because they get rigor mortis. Giving them 48 hours for the muscles to relax again makes for a less chewy bird. We wait for the rigor to pass, then either eat or freeze.

 

[Widget]

Pyrless Stargate Command
aka Samantha (or Big White Fluffy Thing)
2/16/2005-6/29/2013

She peacefully crossed the Rainbow Bridge this morning.