***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[ashtree]

@HeyBigRhondaq well done. I'm working on getting there. My cockerels are all young but talking about butchering as a reality helps my son accept it, he just doesn't want to be home when it happens. I do promise him we will try to sell them first. That reminds me, can you tell what your SFHs are yet? I think we have 3 boys and 3 girls. I should say I know we have 3 boys and as long as the others don't go pink we have 3 girls

Well I candled tonight and I think I have 1 bloodring (when should I for sure pull it?) 7 developing without a doubt and 3 I don't know yet. It's day 4 so I figured I should wait until day 7 to pull. Sound right? I can't wait to tell Arlo in the morning!

 

[ktdeluxe]

A lot of community food banks in OK take the eggs and you can give 6 eggs ( know they have cartons for 6 but you can cut the dozen cartons in half). It is pretty terrific for the people working these banks to watch the people who come in get the eggs. It is something to think about. I haven't looked at the rest of this string so someone else may have suggested this. If so, I apologize.

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

@HeyBigRhondaq well done. I'm working on getting there. My cockerels are all young but talking about butchering as a reality helps my son accept it, he just doesn't want to be home when it happens. I do promise him we will try to sell them first. That reminds me, can you tell what your SFHs are yet? I think we have 3 boys and 3 girls. I should say I know we have 3 boys and as long as the others don't go pink we have 3 girls

Well I candled tonight and I think I have 1 bloodring (when should I for sure pull it?) 7 developing without a doubt and 3 I don't know yet. It's day 4 so I figured I should wait until day 7 to pull. Sound right? I can't wait to tell Arlo in the morning!

SFHs-I think I have one of both! Nice odds!

I wait until I KNOW they're bad before I pull them-whether they smell or are clearly not developing. Day 7 may be good. IMHO, by day 10 it's pretty obvious.

 

[Ksane]

@HeyBigRhondaq well done. I'm working on getting there. My cockerels are all young but talking about butchering as a reality helps my son accept it, he just doesn't want to be home when it happens. I do promise him we will try to sell them first. That reminds me, can you tell what your SFHs are yet? I think we have 3 boys and 3 girls. I should say I know we have 3 boys and as long as the others don't go pink we have 3 girls
Well I candled tonight and I think I have 1 bloodring (when should I for sure pull it?) 7 developing without a doubt and 3 I don't know yet. It's day 4 so I figured I should wait until day 7 to pull. Sound right? I can't wait to tell Arlo in the morning!

Tell Arlo it's *OK* not to be comfortable or accepting of killing/eating the boys. It's really ok. I can't kill them and I can't eat them either. People say you 'have to do it because then you know where your food comes from'. I get a little tired of hearing that. No, you don't "have" to do it if you don't want. If you can and you feel comfortable with it-sure, go for it for all the reasons you (anyone, not you, personally) feel are right. But my opinion is that if a kid or adult or even Sasquatch feels uncomfortable with it and it hurts their heart-it's a no go. I wouldn't make them eat it or watch it. I'd respect their feelings and make them something else to eat that night.
I know all the reasons for raising our own food. But there's a little part of me that feels sad that so many kids are being made to eat animals they've cared about. Do we really want to teach our kids it's ok to kill things if we feel *our reasons are good enough? Just too much to think about and I certainly don't mean to offend anyone. Sure, I eat meat sometimes. But it's not meat I've raised and cared about and played with.
Now onto that 2nd cup of coffee

 

[ashtree]

Tell Arlo it's *OK* not to be comfortable or accepting of killing/eating the boys. It's really ok. I can't kill them and I can't eat them either. People say you 'have to do it because then you know where your food comes from'. I get a little tired of hearing that. No, you don't "have" to do it if you don't want. If you can and you feel comfortable with it-sure, go for it for all the reasons you (anyone, not you, personally) feel are right. But my opinion is that if a kid or adult or even Sasquatch feels uncomfortable with it and it hurts their heart-it's a no go. I wouldn't make them eat it or watch it. I'd respect their feelings and make them something else to eat that night.
I know all the reasons for raising our own food. But there's a little part of me that feels sad that so many kids are being made to eat animals they've cared about. Do we really want to teach our kids it's ok to kill things if we feel *our reasons are good enough? Just too much to think about and I certainly don't mean to offend anyone. Sure, I eat meat sometimes. But it's not meat I've raised and cared about and played with.
Now onto that 2nd cup of coffee

He's already decided he won't eat them. And I'm totally ok with that, I guess I thought I had to make him comfortable with the idea beforehand but you have a good point. Plus I dont think he will ever be on board. Honestly our goal is to rehome them or get the time for me to do a capon class, but that probably won't be possible until late winter at best. I promise to protect him as much as possible if it has to be done. I love his soft sensitive heart. He loves every single chicken we've ever had. Even the mean ones. But I also know we can't keep
all the crowers because I want to stay on good terms with our neighbors and the lot is pretty narrow. But rehoming extra boys is not easy, especially when I'm uncomfortable with what may become of them somewhere else. So I don't really know what else to do. It's really really hard.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Well my mean rooster problem got solved for me yesterday- He dropped dead in his pen. No idea why. He was a gorgeous young black copper marans rooster, about a year old. I was waiting for a replacement to grow up before doing away with him, oh well! He's the only rooster I've EVER owned that I had to remember to never turn my back on. My kids were not allowed in his pen at all.

 

[Ksane]

He's already decided he won't eat them. And I'm totally ok with that, I guess I thought I had to make him comfortable with the idea beforehand but you have a good point. Plus I dont think he will ever be on board. Honestly our goal is to rehome them or get the time for me to do a capon class, but that probably won't be possible until late winter at best. I promise to protect him as much as possible if it has to be done. I love his soft sensitive heart. He loves every single chicken we've ever had. Even the mean ones. But I also know we can't keep
all the crowers because I want to stay on good terms with our neighbors and the lot is pretty narrow. But rehoming extra boys is not easy, especially when I'm uncomfortable with what may become of them somewhere else. So I don't really know what else to do. It's really really hard.

PM'd ya!

Well my mean rooster problem got solved for me yesterday- He dropped dead in his pen.  No idea why.  He was a gorgeous young black copper marans rooster, about a year old.  I was waiting for a replacement to grow up before doing away with him, oh well!  He's the only rooster I've EVER owned that I had to remember to never turn my back on.  My kids were not allowed in his pen at all.

You lucked out, I always seem to lose the sweethearts. The meanest one here is 3 1/2 yrs old and showing no signs of slowing down. He belongs to my daughter though and she loves him.

 

[Sagetown]

Anyone else finding an abundance of mice in your barns?
This is what I've came up with. A 5 gallon bucket, half full of water. A coffee can with holes drilled through the ends. A short rod used as an axle for the coffee can attached 2" below the top of the bucket.
Insert the rod through one side of the bucket, and through the coffee can, and into the other side of the bucket.
Smear Peanut Butter on the sides of the coffee can. Mice will jump on the coffee can, the can spins, the mice fall into the water. Mice problem is resolved in short order.

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

He's already decided he won't eat them. And I'm totally ok with that, I guess I thought I had to make him comfortable with the idea beforehand but you have a good point. Plus I dont think he will ever be on board. Honestly our goal is to rehome them or get the time for me to do a capon class, but that probably won't be possible until late winter at best. I promise to protect him as much as possible if it has to be done. I love his soft sensitive heart. He loves every single chicken we've ever had. Even the mean ones. But I also know we can't keep
all the crowers because I want to stay on good terms with our neighbors and the lot is pretty narrow. But rehoming extra boys is not easy, especially when I'm uncomfortable with what may become of them somewhere else. So I don't really know what else to do. It's really really hard.

I guess this is when I'm fortunate Ally hasn't caught my chicken addiction. Everyone in my house is okay with it, but we also do not get as attached as your kiddos. Ii'm guessing part of the reason you raise chickens is to connect your kids to LIFE not food. You're doing a great job of that!

To me, it is unrealistic to think a 50/50 chance of males out of hatched eggs can result in anything but too many roosters. I don't want a flock full of Capons, so SOMETHING has to be done. I did sell a couple (good breeds, beautiful boys), but in the long run, chickens (at least on my property) are livestock before pet. I totally understand the queeziness and wholeheartedly support rehoming and caponizing. But I think in the long run, those options will also reach a max point...demand, feed, healthcare, shelter, etc. Hence, my promise to myself to not set more eggs/buy more chicks unless I knew I could handle extra roos (regardless of whether they were butchered, rehomed or caponized). I am now down to 7 males and 31 females (not including the chicks, and no, I can't believe I have that many) which should be fine for a while the way they're set up.

Well my mean rooster problem got solved for me yesterday- He dropped dead in his pen.  No idea why.  He was a gorgeous young black copper marans rooster, about a year old.  I was waiting for a replacement to grow up before doing away with him, oh well!  He's the only rooster I've EVER owned that I had to remember to never turn my back on.  My kids were not allowed in his pen at all.

Maybe his anger got the best of him! Seriously though, it's never fun when one dies. I hope it was something specific to that bird.

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

Anyone else finding an abundance of mice in your barns?
This is what I've came up with. A 5 gallon bucket, half full of water. A coffee can with holes drilled through the ends. A short rod used as an axle for the coffee can attached 2" below the top of the bucket.

Insert the rod through one side of the bucket, and through the coffee can, and into the other side of the bucket.

Smear Peanut Butter on the sides of the coffee can. Mice will jump on the coffee can, the can spins, the mice fall into the water. Mice problem is resolved in short order.

So the can can rotate all the way around in side the bucket? Brilliant. This sounds like a job for my son. He's on rat/mice patrol.