Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[NovaAman]

Ok... just ran out the door because of some awful screaming coming from the yard. I looked in my coops, nothing, all birds fine, then I pin pointed the screech, and I find a black weasel/ferret under my swing set. And my cat meowing from near my coop. Oh man... my run is not secure against a weasel. The coops are if I close them all up. The run is secure against coons and possums, but not a weasel. Never have seen a weasel around here. AND the thing about it that worries me now, is that when it saw me, it didn't run away. It just stayed still, which makes me wonder if it isn't an escaped ferret. The phoenix run is secure... The marans are secure, but even if I close the big coop up, a weasel could get through by going in the run, then through the fence that separates the summer coop from the run... Ah man... Ok. going to go pith my birds off and move them all inside to the 4x8 for the night.

 

[SillyChicken]

Nova, you may be prolonging her life for nothing.. though you never know.

I can't for the life of me snap a neck by hand so I'll put a broomstick on the ground over their neck behind the head, gently step on to hold in place with my feet on either side. At the same time I yank and pull up until I am sure that dislocation and cords have given way, I apply pressure on the stick with my feet. For chicks or small birds I rest their head on a solid surface and use a 2x4 to hit it... Or there is always a axe, though messy.

 

[NovaAman]

Ok... this is going to sound disturbing...

Jerked and snapped...
Used just her head and shook her...
Used a log, thinking to crush her head...
Finally used the last method of stick, held the stick down with my foot, across her neck, pulled her feet, was sure she was dead...

I have a zombie chicken as fuzzy said....

I know there is that prolonging for nothing is a possibilty. If I have to do it again, because they hypericum and rickets diet does not continue to work for her, then I fully realise I may have to do it again. TC gave me a youtube link for a video on the way to quickly cull, though it's messy, I have a hard time with the whole bashem...

 

[gladahmae]

Nova I had that problem with a few birds too.....felt like I was going to pull their head right off their body in a couple of cases!

 

[EverMystique1]

I am a huge fan of the axe. When for eating purpises, i rooe both head and feet, my kid gives it a hefty chop while DH and I each hold a rope, then hang upside down to drain before skinning and gutting.

Zombie chicken... I could totally write that into a book. Lol.

 

[preciouskitty]

I think I am gonna just pay the $3/bird at the processor 2 miles down the road when the time comes...

 

[Opa]

 

[preciouskitty]

This is definitely one my favorites yet...couldn't have said it better myself

 

[Jake Levi]

Actually I think that my cats see me the same way as they leisurally eat their breakfast.

I am watching over a pullet that had a misdo on taping splayed legs together and has one leg below the joint out at an angle, if she is going to live as she is then she will be one legged. As she is a minor breed, and a pullet my vet is checking with other vets/animal hospitals to see if they are able to do anything. A drive to wherever, and a bunch of money, but, just borderline on doing it.

For dispatching a box cutter across the throat, and I used to hang them with baling twine around the feet until bled out, now thinking about getting a couple of those funnels and mounting somwhere. These two seem the least messy, or to locoalize the mess. But I am several months away from this for size. Actually unless the eggs going into the hatcher are all cockerals I may not have any extras to process this year.

I am saving all pullets and only have 2-3 cockerals of each breed to grow out. I just may be growing all out and looking them over close in the spring.

 

[ladyrsanti]

I have a traffic cone screwed to an old table in the milk house for "culling". Works great.

Off to the farmer's market. We decided on $1/lb of daffodil bulbs btw.