Maine

[Widget]

The weekend weather doesn't look too bad. Possible showers and T-storms but not the steady rain like it is today. Not that the ground will be dry. My birds will be happy they will get to free range a bit and get out of the muddy mess that is their pen right now. I has hoping to put the finishing touches on the horses' fence but part of that means digging two post holes and using quickcrete to cement them in place. Not sure how well that will work if it is raining.

The turkeys are growing fast. I hope to get their new pen done by next weekend so I can move them out of the basement into the big outdoors. There are five Royal Palms and one Bourbon Red. They are about six weeks old now and rapidly outgrowing the brooder. Not sure as to gender quite yet but odds are I should have at least one pair in the mix.

 

[pellepeterson]

So, it begins again! Wednesday morning my 40 Cornish Rock arrived at the post office from http://www.schlechthatchery.com/chickens.htm. As exciting as this was, I was not truly able to enjoy this moment...the story begins the night before....insert mysterious music here....

For those of you who are not aware, I work as a Paramedic here in Ellsworth. I love my job, love helping people, and love the work family that I have. I was working on Tuesday night, overnight shift. It was around 9pm, a State Trooper friend of mine had stopped in for coffee, we had all just got back from a few calls and were clearing paperwork, when my phone rang (DUM Ta Da Da DOOOM) It was Jules, I answered my phone "HI HONEY!, How are you my beautiful" My usual banter was cut short by the whining dog, and Julie gagging...She was crying, yacking, and screaming at Thor...I was stunned, shocked...what happened to Thor? She managed to blurt out "The $@#$%#^#$@!#@ dog got skunked"...followed by the sound of powerful nausea...then words again "it is all over the dog, all over the house, what do I do?"...

I was not handling this well, I was at work, she was at home, our guardian, our protector, not to mention chicken guard dog was hurt, my love, the woman of my dreams was scared and in trouble and I was stuck...The research started, it was too late to run to TSC for commercial stuff, so I gave her instructions over the phone, hydrogen peroxide...baking soda...dish soap...I guess it worked a bit...she was able to get the dog in the basement and safe. She pretty much cried herself to sleep...I felt so bad.

The next morning, we were off and running as soon as TSC opened I was in and buying up all the Natures Own stuff they had (I hope they restocked), then my phone rang...it was the post master in town..."please come get your chickens, come to the back door, ring the bell, please" I had a moment of excitement...that faded quickly as I walked in the door of our home...WOW!

I have to compliment Jules...she is beyond amazing, beautiful, wonderful...that woman is all that and a bag of chips! She cleaned what she could with what she had, I cannot even imagine what she had to contend with, how bad it smelled before her initial cleaning...I love her! I went to work, the floors the walls, the dog...the dog again...and then repeat it all one more time. I did all that after taking my chicks out of the box, and getting them in the rabbit cage turned chick brooder, they looked great!

Hats off the the crew at http://www.schlechthatchery.com/chickens.htm they sent what I ordered, sooner than I was expecting and they were in excellent shape on arrival. They got fresh water right away with a touch of ACV, they all got beaks dunked and set to roam around the crate, after about an hour, I put in some food, boy don't they go to work quick!

Things were going very well until the kitten...yes we have a cat too (not a fan of them by the way...again, I love my honey)...found the peeping little chickies...I let it be curious, look, sniff, Thor was very upset that the cat was up there and he was not...this was going to get interesting very quickly. Then it happened, I suppose they are programmed to do it, but not in my house, and not to my chickens! The paw went into the cage, I watched the kitten, wiggle its little paw like worm in front of a fish...then, when one of them took the bait, WHAM! That @$%@&^@!&! cat snatched one of my chicks and started to pull it through the wire...I yelled and swatted the cat in the nose, she ran, chicken dropped into the chips and RAN...I grabbed it, assessed it as best I could and saw no trauma, no bleeding, no breaks. I held it for a few minutes, made sure I could feel its little heart beating and that it was still breathing, all was good.

I put the wee one back into the brooder. Wrapped the cage in a thick blanket to keep the cat out and even locked the cat away. Yesterday I had to head to Bremen for a class. Jules had to work at the hospital (she is an amazing critical care nurse), so Thor had the run of the house, cat was in the cellar with food/water and the rotten box of poop and crystals...(UGH). I got home late (Drove from Bremen to Ellsworth to teach another class until around 9pm). I looked into the cage and they all looked wet...strange, very strange...the chips were soaked but they had plenty of water... I began to clean out the shavings and found one dead chick. I think the others buried it. I removed it, cleaned the entire crate and changed all the food and water.

So, the PellePeterson ranch is now officially in the meat bird business so to say, I will start building the truck rack tractor this weekend. I can only hope that the skunk has figured out it is not welcome around here and that my honey knows that I love her! All the kids are at the ranch this weekend and we are looking forward to it! Pics to follow!

 

[yankeehill]

Good Lord PellePeterson! What an eventful time!

How is the skunk smell? Our dog was sprayed a few years ago, and although the hydrogen peroxide/baking soda bleached her hair, it worked well!!!

 

[Widget]

Sounds like a really good story line for a sitcom.

.

I'm sure this damp weather is not helping with the skunk smell. Sad thing is that most dogs don't learn when it comes to skunks. Cats usually do though.

 

[pellepeterson]

Humidity is not helping at all...I have to go get more of the commercial stuff, it worked VERY well. I am on high alert, every time he goes out (on his run...his wireless fence collar is still super funky) as soon as he barks, I holler and yank him inside...The cat and I are going to have to have a discussion...very soon...

 

[superchemicalgirl]

In other news I processed my first meat chicken from beginning to end the other day. It was not easy and I felt pretty wretched for a little bit but I was proud of myself for being able to do it all.

Awesome job. It's a great skill to have (we always have an overabundance of roos) and the way I see it, either I can do it and capitalize on my work, or someone else can. I at least know they lived a good life until the very end. We have some roos that we need to get done, hopefully this weekend if the weather holds for a few hours.

For the person with 2 roos and 10 girls, they may get along especially since they were raised together. There will probably be some scuffles, but not a lot. Your girls may get overmated, and lose back feathers, so you may want to invest in some saddles. I usually have 2 roos in with about 40 girls (give or take) and it's fairly harmonious.

 

[MustardTiger]

Thank you. Yes. If I am going this far - raising them, I want to go through with the whole process. It feels more fair somehow. I do indeed feel better knowing they had a happy little life, uncaged and in the sun for the most part. And we roasted the chicken and it was quite delicious. Even had a few new potatoes from the garden with it



Natures miracle skunk off works pretty well. We have huge skunks here but lucky for me Etta has never met one - yet!

 

[lazy gardener]

Awesome job. It's a great skill to have (we always have an overabundance of roos) and the way I see it, either I can do it and capitalize on my work, or someone else can. I at least know they lived a good life until the very end. We have some roos that we need to get done, hopefully this weekend if the weather holds for a few hours.

For the person with 2 roos and 10 girls, they may get along especially since they were raised together. There will probably be some scuffles, but not a lot. Your girls may get overmated, and lose back feathers, so you may want to invest in some saddles. I usually have 2 roos in with about 40 girls (give or take) and it's fairly harmonious.

Better 2 roos than 3. I've found that with 3, the dominant ones gang up on the underling and both torment him at the same time. For those of you who process birds... I read an other post referring to using a mild bleach solution when doing a final rinse to be sure to keep the bacteria count down when processing. Any comments or recommendations re: how much???

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Better 2 roos than 3. I've found that with 3, the dominant ones gang up on the underling and both torment him at the same time. For those of you who process birds... I read an other post referring to using a mild bleach solution when doing a final rinse to be sure to keep the bacteria count down when processing. Any comments or recommendations re: how much???

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%.

 

[bwockbwock]

To the bleach question: I use vinegar for a cleaner. Once you get to the clean part of the process after plucking, keep everything super clean, clean between birds, not just your surfaces, but also your knife. Just as soon as you're done gutting, and ave gotten the lungs out get the chicken into an ice water bath to start cooling down. That is a critical step, getting the body cooled down. If you keep your neck, heart, liver and gizzard throw them into a seperate pot of ice water to cool. Don't be stingy with the ice in the water, you want it cold, cold, cold.

To the feed question: I like Poulin grain. I have to get an emergency bag of grain on occasion and when I do I get the Purina Layena, I had to get a bad of Dumor once and none of the poultry.
liked it.

Just my .02 worth!