Michigan

[Hillbilly Hen]

Kovalciks, I have a little japanese phoenix [Re-Peep] that got frostbite. He is the low bird on the totem pole and no one will let him snuggle. His comb is fine but for some reason I was thinking I did not need to put vaseline on his wattles. Well now his wattles are swollen and one has a black spot on it. When I noticed that I immediately began putting vaseline on his and Elliott's wattles. I was able to get to Elliott before any damage was done, the verdict is still out for Re-Peep though. The swelling was down considerably today. I have been going out and putting vaseline on the roosters at least twice a day.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

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Thanks for the thought Oopsy. Ummm, a question though, are you saying to boil the legs and feet to make a soup out of? If so I don't know if I could do that knowing what they walk in everyday.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

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YakLady, I love duck eggs too, especially for baking! If I were to get ducks again I might have to think about getting cayugas. I think they are so pretty. I am tring to get my daughter in laws mom to go with us to chickenstock. I don't see her much cause she works and is quite busy. Anyway if you do have an extra female or two later let me know and I will see if we can set something up if she hasn't found any yet. Apparantly her male is having an identity crisis

 

[Ooopsy_daisy]

Hillbilly Hen: The processor that I took my meaties to, boiled...pulled off the skin and cleaned them as good as the rest of the chicken. I did cut off the brown spots on the bottom, callis spots I guess?. They are boiling now and making a super nice, thick jelly stock. I cannot wait to make some dumplings and/or soup with them.

So not to worry, if you find a processor that cleans them well.... its not gross lol

OPA do you save the feet for soup/stock when you butcher? ( as maybe he can give some hints to cleaning them when processing them yourself..so they are as clean as I got mine back???)

EDIT to add...No Hillbilly Hen, not the legs...the cut off feet only. Just boil them by themselves. They will usually toss them out of sell to customers for stock. Keep the legs/thighs for roasters or fryers.

 

[wyliefarms]

Good Morning! Still pretty warm here. I was expecting really cold temps. It was a nice surprise!

Off to get things going here. We are going to the youth community theatre today. they are doing school performances for the musical School House Rock Live, JR. My cousin's daughter is in it too.

Have a great day everyone!

Sarah

 

[YakLady]

Oopsy, you're right. From what I've seen, anyways, the feet are completely clean if done properly (which doesn't seem to be too difficult), and they make a wonderful stock. When we do meat birds come Spring, I fully intend to keep the feet. Here's a link that has a picture of the cleaned feet: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=109583

Warning, there are lots of other pictures on there, too, and it is not for the faint of heart.

 

[YakLady]

Oh, btw... I'm thinking about putting a liner down on the floor of my coop and adding sand. When we built the coop this past Summer, we didn't do anything to the floor (which is plywood). My husband built in drains all along one side of the coop, and had intended to tile it so that it could be hosed down. I convinced him that this would not be a good idea, though, because I was concerned about moisture retention. He built the roost on hinges so that I can just lift it up, hook it to the wall, and clean under it. We've just been using straw, though. I don't like straw. LOL! We go in and clean out the coop, and by the next day it's full of poop again. I'm thinking if I put in sand, I can go in every day and scoop it out with a kitty litter scoop. I've read that it can be cold, though. Any thoughts?

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Thanks Oopsy, I will keep that in mind if we decide to do meat chickens again next summer. DH did say if we were to raise more that he would rather have them processed than do them ourselves again.
Yaklady, thanks for the link.
Wylie, enjoy your musical!
I hope every one has a nice day! We are getting more snow.

 

[vicki2x2]

I am cutting back more for winter and due to upcoming layoffs. I wanted to offer them here first and then will post them in the for sale section. I have a trio of white call ducks, a trio of snowy calls, a pair of grey calls and a black east indie duck for sale. I also have one American blue gander, hatched this spring, very nice boy, zephyr creek has a pair of sibs and can attest to how beautiful they are. Then I have some bunnies too. I have one holland lop baby, 1 or 2 young adults, 1 mini lop doe. All super friendly, handled by kids, shown in 4-H, etc. All come with pedigree's. Email me for pictures, prices, etc.

 

[zephyrcreek]

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The pair of American Blue Geese I have from Vicki are gorgeous, and Leopold my gander is super sweet. He is standoffish at first, but once you pick him up and start petting him he loves it. He tucks his head into my shoulder, and will lean into my hand as I scratch around his neck. I still cannot believe how sweet he is, even after bringing him home full grown!

Love my geese!

Vicki, I wouldn't mind a few more Wyndottes either. They are the friendliest birds I have, and actually demand attention. The fight for a spot on my shoulder, and if I do not immediately start petting and talking to them they will jump on my head until I do. We put on quite a show for the neighbors.