Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

I love my BBWhites, they are funny and the noises they make are funny and I am just tickled to raise them. But they are like the CRX, hungry ALL the time! I opened the outdoor run for them yesterday after I cleaned it all out and put sand in it. It is much easier feeding and cleaning them from outside. They jumped right out the door to come see me and about take my arm off trying to get at the feed. Like the CRX, I only feed what they need for the day and don't just keep dumping it down for them. I expect these will be a little bigger than the last couple of years because I couldn't get them in the week I wanted to. So, I expect them to be right around 20# dressed this year. They are mostly males. I am going to start putting together a small coop for them outside. I have had a makeshift lean-to for them the last couple of years, but it wasn't the best set up. This way, I can move them from the brooder house to their coop and not mess with penning them in-between and they will have some pasture access earlier on. In less than a month I will let them go out and just range their whole pasture, but they are still at a size that an eagle or owl might be able to grab one of the smaller ones.
If this set-up works, then maybe I will start looking for some purebred turkeys, like the Naragansetts! That would be fun!

 

[KlopKlop]

Thanks for the words of advice. I wouldn't house them in the same building or pen just on the same farm. I think black head is the main concern I've read about but that may not be as common in this area.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

KlopKlop if you have High Sandy or well drained soil. Turkeys and chooks should do okay together if not highly concentrated on a bitty piece of pasture. I have low wet areas that the birds are foraging in (lots of worms) and I've actually had a chicken get Blackhead. So Turkeys are a no-go for me. Lay of the land is everything with mixing those two.

 

[gofeedthegirls]

WOW! I have been gone for a few days without a phone and holy moly it took some reading to get all caught up!

Rhetts, probably wasnt a good time to ask about ducks knowing I would be gone but the interest is still there.

Holm, sorry to hear about your troubles. Coming from a farming family I know exactly what your are speaking of as far as family members bumping heads. My word of advice to you is sometimes you just gotta let it all go and do whats right for you. Take it as it is and move forward. My family has had a few fallouts do to land arguements.

Klopklop, I am glad the processing of you birds went well. I am looking at getting some cx but I have never had any experience with the actual butchering process. Your photo of your setup was a help. What do you use as a plucker?

Have a good day all!

 

[KlopKlop]

Klopklop, I am glad the processing of you birds went well. I am looking at getting some cx but I have never had any experience with the actual butchering process. Your photo of your setup was a help. What do you use as a plucker?

Have a good day all!

I have a plucker on loan from my aunt. It's a pickwick model and works well. Once I got the hang of it j could have a bird naked in under 2 minutes. I found 155 degrees in the scalded to be just right and got a good feel as to how long to dip them by pulling on the wing feathers. I ended up using cement drain tiles for the bleeding. My dad held the bird and I cut the head off with a very sharp knife.

 

[holm25]

BC Thanks!! Yep that's the roo from Triplell. I love that big guy. He is so good with the hens and surprisingly kicked the HEdouble hockey sticks out of my Welsummer yesterday. Its the first they have ever fought but they were moved from 2 pens and put together yesterday. It was a little sad because they were best friends when I first got him.

 

[gofeedthegirls]

I have a plucker on loan from my aunt. It's a pickwick model and works well. Once I got the hang of it j could have a bird naked in under 2 minutes. I found 155 degrees in the scalded to be just right and got a good feel as to how long to dip them by pulling on the wing feathers. I ended up using cement drain tiles for the bleeding. My dad held the bird and I cut the head off with a very sharp knife.

Looks like a good one. I will look into one like that. I have also seen a bunch of DIY pluckers that spark my interest. I dont know what the scale of my operation will be so idk if buying a real expensive one makes sense quite yet.

 

[KlopKlop]

Looks like a good one. I will look into one like that. I have also seen a bunch of DIY pluckers that spark my interest. I dont know what the scale of my operation will be so idk if buying a real expensive one makes sense quite yet.

if I didn't have access to borrow this one I would definitely build my own. Find an AC motor off something and the fingers are available cheap online. If you are even a little bit handy, it should be no problem. The drum style works well enough I probably wouldn't go through the expense of a tub style (also called a whizbang) unless you were going to do hundreds a year or something.

 

[scandiafowl]

Regarding pluckers:

Has anyone ever used one that attaches to a drill?

 

[scandiafowl]

It's been a nerve racking day. Hawks continually circling the farm. The last thing I want to do is shoot one..