***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[artsyrobin]

Quote:
You're getting Serama girls??? I can't wait to see picutres! Does little Jethro/Joe get some girls?

yep! she rode in my lap all the way home, such a relaxed girl!

and these two girls are sittin on some eggs, so they aren't out for good picks- love the coloring on the one in the back, she also has a bit of a temper- nobody touch those eggs!LOL!

i so appreciate deanne for going to get them!

 

[artsyrobin]

love the bachelor pen- they are some special boys!

 

[Ksane]

Quote:
They're beautiful! I love the fuzzy white one sitting on eggs, very pretty. Your little roo looks overwhelmed lol! Jeez, I wish these guys didn't have to be kept inside or I'd get a pen full of them.
I'm so happy for you

 

[upcdayz]

Quote:
yep! she rode in my lap all the way home, such a relaxed girl!

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o155/rgortonart/seramas/file-63.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o155/rgortonart/seramas/file-62.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o155/rgortonart/seramas/file-61.jpg


and these two girls are sittin on some eggs, so they aren't out for good picks- love the coloring on the one in the back, she also has a bit of a temper- nobody touch those eggs!LOL!
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o155/rgortonart/seramas/file-65.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o155/rgortonart/seramas/file-64.jpg

i so appreciate deanne for going to get them!

You're welcome. The darker one in back - she was the queen of them all until she went broody. The little white broody one has a sweet personality and is the fluffiest of them all. The one that rode home on your lap isn't as timid at the others. She will probably get along well with your boys. Hope you enjoy them all.

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
No meat bird expert, just got tired of raising roos that didn't serve a purpose. So dinner is now a good purpose. The meat board here has lots of good info. I personally find CX kinda gross. I would prefer raise pekin ducks that will get to the same size as the cx in the same amount of time while providing much more entertainment for my family. At least the pekins won't lay around in their own poo all day. I don't mind using DP birds for meat, but for the time spent processing if I could get a bird with twice the meat then that appeals to me more. The last DP roos I did weighed about 3 lbs finished, we are only a family of 4 but I prefer to have enough chicken leftover to repurpose into another meal & can't do that with a 3 lb bird. If I stick to DP birds I would need to raise at least 100 a yr to feed my family chicken 2-3 times a wk. Using a larger bird I could raise half that amount, which mean half as many to feed care for & butcher. For me I would prefer to only butcher a couple times of yr, just set aside a whole day or weekend & fill the freezer. Not sure why it is such a hard decision picking a good table bird for my family! I have looked at tub style pluckers & these seem to be the best deal I have found http://cconly.com/processing/feather_plucker - I have heard some extension offices rent pluckers, so I need to ask the next time I am there. DARP will process your birds I believe, it is too far of a drive to make it worth my time. Plus it would be cheaper just to buy finished birds from them, than to feed out your own & pay them to process them (or at least with the numbers I was looking at).

they offer a slow broiler, 10 week processing bird. It has been bred to grow fast be a good forager and much more active. They reach the same weight but are breed for free range growth to 7 lbs in 10 weeks rather than 7 lbs in 6 weeks like the fast (nasty) white broiler.

I plan on learning to do the "Big C" and see if that make the size worth my while at about 6-8 months old. We are a family of 2 so even a 3 lb chicken would provide us w/ a couple of meals.

 

[Kassaundra]

I am very tired tonight, I have been working in the yard / garden / coops all day, and still didn't get done what I wanted to.

 

[sixshooter60]

Quote:
Would you mind sharing info on raising meat birds? We've always just ordered CXs. Do you do your own processing? I think if I ever raise birds to butcher again, I'm going to either make or invest in a automatic plucker. Or.... pay someone else to do it.

No meat bird expert, just got tired of raising roos that didn't serve a purpose. So dinner is now a good purpose. The meat board here has lots of good info. I personally find CX kinda gross. I would prefer raise pekin ducks that will get to the same size as the cx in the same amount of time while providing much more entertainment for my family. At least the pekins won't lay around in their own poo all day. I don't mind using DP birds for meat, but for the time spent processing if I could get a bird with twice the meat then that appeals to me more. The last DP roos I did weighed about 3 lbs finished, we are only a family of 4 but I prefer to have enough chicken leftover to repurpose into another meal & can't do that with a 3 lb bird. If I stick to DP birds I would need to raise at least 100 a yr to feed my family chicken 2-3 times a wk. Using a larger bird I could raise half that amount, which mean half as many to feed care for & butcher. For me I would prefer to only butcher a couple times of yr, just set aside a whole day or weekend & fill the freezer. Not sure why it is such a hard decision picking a good table bird for my family! I have looked at tub style pluckers & these seem to be the best deal I have found http://cconly.com/processing/feather_plucker - I have heard some extension offices rent pluckers, so I need to ask the next time I am there. DARP will process your birds I believe, it is too far of a drive to make it worth my time. Plus it would be cheaper just to buy finished birds from them, than to feed out your own & pay them to process them (or at least with the numbers I was looking at).

Google whizbang chicken plucker.. a buddy ordered the plans and built one.. its awsome.. throw 3 birds in and 15 seconds later they are naked

 

[NanaKat]

Do those mechanical pluckers bruise the flesh? Just wondered. I skin ours.

 

[Kassaundra]

Nanakat, I have a garden question for you, does turnip usually do this well this late into the season (the greens) or is this an odd year? Also in a normal for us year how long could I plan to harvest collards or a cold hearty kale?

 

[NanaKat]

Quote:
Even with the heat thru the summer, my collards planted last fall are still producing. I side dressed them with compost in the spring and again in the fall. They are about 3 feet tall, but are providing a weekly mess of collard greens for both us and my MIL. I'm still getting little side shoots of broccoli..if the chickens don't get them first.

Turnips always do well if you keep them watered. If you pull greens to thin your rows while the plants are growing to provide room for the roots to grow, you can pick tender sweet turnips until it gets hot. We planted some last fall around the barn and along the fence in the lot for the cows. The greens the cows couldn't reach were harvested several times in the spring and early summer. The greens will get a little "bolder" in flavor but that's the way my MIL likes them.

I don't plant kale, although I do have some cabbage plants that are putting out leaves still. I would assume that would apply to kale.