NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

Rancher, do you ever have trouble with predators? We have problem bears here and I'd be scared of using a hoop like those. I have to put electric fencing on anything I want to protect. Last season, a neighbor had a bear pull her heavy shed doors off to get at her guinea fowl.

My last pred was a fox that snagged my lt. sussex. I followed the feathers into the woods and must have scared it cuz I found her on the ground. Alive but shaken. She's recovered now and one of my best layers.

I've not seen anything since then. Some deer have been through and I've seen some turkeys.

Thank the lord. I am still marking my territory though. I've stapled a pair of old jeans to a tree and give them a soak every now and then too.

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

Cass, My husband built our Small Barn...we try NOT to keep track of the cost. We have Silkie Chickens as a hobby. They give us a lot of pleasure and EGGS. Right now...not too many.

The Chickens are our pleasure. We don't go to the movies and are home bodies. We need to have some pleasure. ha ha. Regards, Aria

Our chickens are the same way. I didn't really get them to make money. I got them for the pure pleasure of getting them. We got them for something else that my kids and I can do together to start our farm. Our goal was always to start a small farm after our kids were a little bigger. We planned that even before we had kids. Well I always wanted my smalll farm and dh was happy to let me as long as we kept our priorities in order. So we started small with chickens. I'm working my way up till I can have my own horse. I have been taking care of other peoples horses for a long time, someday I will own my own finially!

The only reason why I know exactly what I spent is because I track all of our money very carefully. With only 1 income things are very tight so I track everything to see where we can save money. I know that this year we had to buy /get our infrastructure in place, and I have a little more to do, but this year we won't have to get so much of the other stuff. Like my book..Had I known about BYC I wouldn't had to get a book. I could have just asked you guys all my silly questions. Someday it would be nice to be able to make some money from the chickens, I'd be happy if I could make enough to buy a bag of feed once in a while, but untill then I'm happy where I am.

Speaking of silly questions...Our chickens after they are processed I hear everyone talking about cooking them in a roast or in the crockpot...Well can they be used for other ways? Like can you split them apart and make something like stirfry with them? Or get a breast to make chicken parm? See we eat alot of chicken. It is the one meat that we eat the most of. I thought about raising some dual birds with the sole purpose of eating them after they stoped laying. I know that the girls that I have now, it will be hard. There are a few of them that will be here for life. but if I raise others they wouldn't be pets like these are. I wouldn't be doing it to make money. I mean if I could make a little bit on the egs that would be great, but it isn't the reason. I enjoy suppling my family with eggs. It makes me feel good. I'm just thinking about getting some more to eventually eat, but if you can't use them other ways in cooking then I will have to think twice. Now I 'm sure that the meat won't be as much as you can get in the store and I'm not talking about getting meat birds right now. I know that they would have more meat on them. Just dual birds...So I guess to make it short..What else can/do you make with your chicken other then roasts or soup?

 

[JLaw]

Well I finished my indoor coop. My wife is talking about fixing it better come summer and use it as a sick bay for summer or winter. If I get a day where I won't get frost bite in 10 min i'll be fixing the coop up here soon.

 

[horsekeeper]

Luv, I'm sure several others will chime in here, but one of the factors in processing chickens is the age. When they get older, they tougher, just like people

 

[marquisella]

Speaking of processing, some people don't bother plucking the feathers, they just skin the bird right after its killed. I haven't eaten a "good" bird I've processed yet. I mostly send them out to be processed, but they are 5-6 month old cockerels usually. Not much meat as they are heritage birds, so don't have lots of breast meat. I'm thinking of raising meat birds this spring..maybe being expressly for eating, they will be better than my usual stringy cockerels.

 

[Cass]

Speaking of silly questions...Our chickens after they are processed I hear everyone talking about cooking them in a roast or in the crockpot...Well can they be used for other ways? Like can you split them apart and make something like stirfry with them? Or get a breast to make chicken parm? See we eat alot of chicken. It is the one meat that we eat the most of. I thought about raising some dual birds with the sole purpose of eating them after they stoped laying. I know that the girls that I have now, it will be hard. There are a few of them that will be here for life. but if I raise others they wouldn't be pets like these are. I wouldn't be doing it to make money. I mean if I could make a little bit on the egs that would be great, but it isn't the reason. I enjoy suppling my family with eggs. It makes me feel good. I'm just thinking about getting some more to eventually eat, but if you can't use them other ways in cooking then I will have to think twice. Now I 'm sure that the meat won't be as much as you can get in the store and I'm not talking about getting meat birds right now. I know that they would have more meat on them. Just dual birds...So I guess to make it short..What else can/do you make with your chicken other then roasts or soup?

I use my roosters (cuz I love my girls and can't eat them) any way I would use store bought chicken. None of my birds are considered a "dual use" breed, either. Stony eats his sumantras....and they are tiny birds, like Cornish Game hens from the store, but smaller breast meat. So, yes, you can do other things with them.....Just remember to let your butchered "meat" to rest in the fridge for 3 days before cooking or freezing it. I forgot that once and the meat was so tough I WISH I had made soup of it. LOL

 

[rancher hicks]

Well now at the ALBC conference we had Barred Rock and while it wasn't like the store chicken it was very good. I think folks just need to know how to process and cure chicken and cook it. It's not the same as what we get in the store, though I don't know how the cure chicken we buy in the store.

I reckon it'd make some good soup stock though.

 

[stonykill]

I use my roosters (cuz I love my girls and can't eat them) any way I would use store bought chicken. None of my birds are considered a "dual use" breed, either. Stony eats his sumantras....and they are tiny birds, like Cornish Game hens from the store, but smaller breast meat. So, yes, you can do other things with them.....Just remember to let your butchered "meat" to rest in the fridge for 3 days before cooking or freezing it. I forgot that once and the meat was so tough I WISH I had made soup of it. LOL

just took one out of the freezer to eat tomorrow as a matter of fact.

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

Brrrrr! Time for some Icelandic Chickens....
Hope everyone is staying warm!

 

[Lynzi777]

Well thank heaven for no school today! My elliptical came and I spent the afternoon putting it together - ALL by myself! LOL Now I finally have something to do other than tend to animals all day.

I didn't let anyone out today, wayy too cold. I figure everyone is better off staying inside their coops and huddling together to keep warm. The ducks are probably upset with me once again but I don't care. Keep warm everyone! Tomorrow is supposed to be back in the teens here at least.

Meant to add...I'm really worried about my eggs that are due to arrive tomorrow. Rancher you seem to know a lot about the post office, what are the chances they are ok if they spent a majority of the day on a truck or in a post office??