***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[TRUE5]

I hate using my phone. The second half of the last post is not a quote and Rinda was suppose to be who the first part of the actual quote was from. Ugh. I need my computer back.

 

[shelbydog]

@Kyzmette. I started questioning our friendship as I painstakingly separated the livers from the gallbladders without busting the gallbladder. But you got some pretty livers in the freezer.

 

[NanaKat]

The thriving chick has flight feathers an inch or so long already. The not so good one - cant really see any wing feathers. I have added some vitamins to the water. Tried tempting with egg. Not sure what else to do.

I have 5 eggs under a broody that are supposed to hatch tomorrow. I might do a trade if any of them hatch, just so I don't end up with a single chick somewhere.

You may be able to slip the chick under the hen when hers have finished hatching. Slip the chick up under her wing. Make sure they are in a pen separate from the other hens and provide chick feed and a water system. The hen will cover the newly hatched and the older chick can slip out for food and water and return to mom. It will quickly adjust to a mother.

 

[NanaKat]

Quote:

When I open the bator window. Haha! Nah, if it were outside I wouldn't be worried about it. Hehe! I read that after I posted and wondered if you all would think I meant house window. But yes. Bator window and it isn't so bad when the humidity is down but I can smell it when I sniff in there. It's not a rising out but a put your nose in smell. I have no idea why my nose was that close in the first place! Weird. I found a thread that related but no one could relate or know what it was. I'm sure if it's a bad egg I will find out! Eww.

Before setting the eggs, did you sterilize the incubator? I usually wash the reservoir with bleach water and then wipe down the upper section with a cloth wrung out from bleach water. The eggs on the turner are sprayed with a mist of 5% Oxine water and allowed to dry before going into the incubator. Oxine will kill any bacteria on the surface of the eggs before they go into the incubator. Any bacteria that has already penetrated the shell before incubation can kill the embryo. A drop or two of Oxine in the water reservoirs of the incubator is very helpful too.

 

[NanaKat]

I got my processing lesson from PocoPollo yesterday. Greatly appreciated. I didn't feel any guilt or grossed out by the process. Got 8 of the 10 cockerels done. I feel confident to do the other 2 by myself on another weekend. And had a great time talking with her.

And the bantam Favorelles I got from artsyrobin are too stinking cute. And got 5 new pullets from PocoPollo.

Roger asked this morning how your processing went...he thought you might be turned off by the smell of wet feathers. Glad to hear the event was fruitful. Did you weigh any of the birds as you processed them? I bet Monster was the biggest.
Slow roasting in a low temperature oven is key to making a tender tasty bird.

 

[Kyzmette]

Quote:
Girl, I have NO more doubts about our friendship (as if I ever did), knowing you processed fresh chicken livers for me. None. Never will. Anybody who won't eat chicken livers, but will process them for a friend, has to be a GREAT friend! They're an acquired taste. When you cook them properly, they're absolutely heavenly. You have to eat them immediately, though, or store them properly to keep them from drying out. The secret to cooking them is to not cook them too long. People think that because it's liver, they have to cook the bejeebus out of them, but if you cook them too long the iron starts breaking down and causes that nasty strong flavor that most people don't like.

 

[Kyzmette]

Quote:
I'm going to second this. I've never made a less-than-perfect turkey for Thanksgiving, or a subpar chicken for Sunday dinner, and I do it the way my grandmother taught me. Long, slow roasting completely covered, basted regularly, then up the heat for the last 15-30 (depending on size) and remove the cover, baste with butter, and let the skin brown and crisp up. Mmmmmmm, almost makes me want to learn to process. Almost.

 

[TRUE5]

I

Before setting the eggs, did you sterilize the incubator?   I usually wash the reservoir with bleach water and then wipe down the upper section with a cloth wrung out from bleach water.  The eggs on the turner are sprayed with a mist of 5% Oxine water and allowed to dry before going into the incubator.   Oxine will kill any bacteria on the surface of the eggs before they go into the incubator.  Any bacteria that has already penetrated the shell before incubation can kill the embryo.  A drop or two of Oxine in the water reservoirs of the incubator is very helpful too.

I cleaned the bator to my best ability of thinking it was clean. I QUICKLY cleaned it with a little bleach to see if that would help and antibacterial dish soap with a super lather. I put it all together and it still has a musty sour smell to it. I sniffed all the eggs with no luck. It doesn't smell outside yet so I'm keeping a very close watch with my nose.

Where do you get Oxine at?

 

[chickenoob]

Coop is almost done and my 5 pullets are 5 weeks old now, so they'll be going outside very soon. Anyone have a great suggestion where to get some CHEAP or free bulk bedding materials? Straw, shavings, sawdust? The coop floor is 4' x 8'.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

I


I cleaned the bator to my best ability of thinking it was clean. I QUICKLY cleaned it with a little bleach to see if that would help and antibacterial dish soap with a super lather. I put it all together and it still has a musty sour smell to it. I sniffed all the eggs with no luck. It doesn't smell outside yet so I'm keeping a very close watch with my nose.

Where do you get Oxine at?

You have to order it, poultry supply places or Amazon have them I think. It comes in a 1 gallon container but it will last you F.O.R.E.V.E.R. You use a little at a time and dilute it, I think I use a 10% Oxine solution in a spray bottle for all my strong cleaning and disinfecting around the chickens, and even less for light cleaning.

Coop is almost done and my 5 pullets are 5 weeks old now, so they'll be going outside very soon. Anyone have a great suggestion where to get some CHEAP or free bulk bedding materials? Straw, shavings, sawdust? The coop floor is 4' x 8'.

I know some people go to the Tulsa greenwaste sites, you can get a pickup load of chipped wood for free there, and use it for bedding. Or if you know someone who does cabinetry or has a woodworking shop they may give you or sell you cheap their shavings.