Minnesota!

[holm25]

holm why do you hate them?

Ours was hard to clean. And we have found it easier to use our hands. We just get the water to the right temp and if u run your hand down the bird the feathers come right off.

 

[holm25]

The snow is just really starting to come now, the wind will increase so we are over 20mph by 1:00 this afternoon.  They cancelled school already yesterday evening, which, in hindsight, they could have gotten half a day in.  I am glad they just called it though, other years they wait until the last minute or until buses are in ditches.  We have a new Super this year though and he seems to have a good head on his shoulders.  


The birds are good to go for now.  I got some pens cleaned this weekend and hauled out the the compost pile  I kind of wish I hadn't blown out the path so well the other day, it was mushy and not so easy to push the wheelbarrow in.


 

I hate nasty weather. Glad school was cancelled before the weather hit. I have to clean coop this weekend. Its not gonna be fun. I have to crawl on my hands and knees under the poop board and shovel it out.


I going to pm quick. I have a few questions

 

[KlopKlop]

Thank you

I think I'll just get all male and butcher before they start fighting.
Thank you

I think you will be happy with the results. I can't remember if you are doing Cornish cross or something else?

Can you tell me more about it? I want to invest in one.

I know it is old, my grandma has had it longer than I've been around. It had a motor that turns a fingered drum. You scald the bird then hold it by the legs and drape it over the drum and move it around. The feathers mostly all come out the bottom where you can put a bucket to catch them or just put to on a tarp.

You can get similar models new or on Craigslist but be prepared to spend $400-700 to get one. My aunt also raised chickens and we share it and make sure we plan our butcher dates accordingly.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I hate nasty weather. Glad school was cancelled before the weather hit. I have to clean coop this weekend. Its not gonna be fun. I have to crawl on my hands and knees under the poop board and shovel it out.


I going to pm quick. I have a few questions

You need to find a way to raise your poop board so you don't have to do that. Gross. maybe put a hinge on the back of the roost and poop board to raise it high enough to get under and just use a shovel to get to it.

It has definitely turned pretty nasty here today. I am getting ready to head out and do chores and it is blowing pretty hard. There are some 3-foot drifts where there was nothing yesterday. The sad thing is, by this time tomorrow, the wind will be shifting from Northeast to Northwest and the drifts will be shifted. I am not going to blow out anything until it is all done unless I must to get out of the driveway. It helps that so much snow and ice melted off yesterday. I may have to put my cleats on my boots today though so I don't slip on the ice under the snow today. I have these rubber slip on things with metal cleats just for such times.

 

[holm25]

This is the poop board. I dont mind crawling under it. I have to get duck eggs from under it anyways. Those things love it under there.

 

[lalaland]

hmmm trying to figure that one out, holms. so the hens roost on the wood poles, and is there a board underneath? the hay looks so clean underneath it doesn't look like the droppings end up on the floor. or do they?

I kind of like that community type roost. wonder if it cuts down on the squabbling over the roost spots.




My commute this evening more than doubled. In stead of an hour and a half, it was 3 hours and a half. Yuck.

So happy to be home. hens all in the coop, cats fed, and best yet, I don't have to venture out much tomorrow. Have to go to town to get a replacement windshield wiper because the ice build up on the way home and the danged thing flew apart. Luckily I was only a few miles from home since it was the one on the drivers side of the windshield.

 

[holm25]

Lala they roost on the poles. Its basically a box. One side opens up and the top has pole for them to sleep on a poop to fall through. They like this more than the other roosts they had. This section of the coop is built for 50 hens. There is another section that I could use as a brooder or get 70 more hens and use both sections.

 

[The BlanchRanch]

So Coffee is getting married!! WoW!!

 

[KlopKlop]

So Coffee is getting married!! WoW!!

HEY HEY! surviving the storm?

 

[The BlanchRanch]

Quote: Shoveled us out twice so far. Had to shovel out the coop too.