Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[OneMountainAcres]

Awesome on finding him a new home !

I know the feeling on being worn out after a long butcher day, though I am forever grateful that DH is as involved as I am in getting it done.
We got heat shrink bags from Cornerstone Farm Ventures for whole birds and cut pieces...love them and have been very happy with their freezer longevity. Probably not a big issue if only freezing for short times but have worked great for long term storage.

I'm very happy that I won't have to butcher him! What's more, it looks like the other one, whichever I decide I'm not keeping, has also found a home lol

My DH will help with the turkeys since they're so big or with the meaties if we have a large group of them but other than that, I mostly do it. Since I don't work, it's easier to just get them done when he's not home lol.

We use the ziplock bags since they're never in the freezer for long. Our dog Sparkles has severe allergies and eats most of them.

 

[fangedknight]

Alright so some astonishing news this time. @LeBlackbird is apparently none other than my good friend Susan who I went to Racc with!! She's actually slowly trying to teach me a thing or two about showing lol (she has sooo much patience my god). I'm trying to get her back into showing (someone help me enable her!)

Also check this guy out! I picked him up at the feed mill! Isn't he awesome?

 

[LeBlackbird]

So funny I met you on completely unrelated circumstance!
No matter where life puts me I always seem to find myself right back into the poultry world. Hope everyone has been well and safe

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Thank you We're very proud of him! He loves music in every way, shape, and form lol. He sings and plays clarinet, and wants to learn piano, flute, saxophone, and oboe lol

He sounds amazing! You must be very proud.

I'm exhausted. I got 5 birds processed, 2 huge CX girls, 2 lavender ameraucana roos, and 1 Silkie roo. It was Blue's (my sweet silkie roo) lucky day. Not only did I not have enough gallon ziplock bags (it took 4 for those 2 meaties!) But I managed to find a pretty home for him! He goes to his new home on Thursday morning I have 1 more silkie cockerel left to process and possibly 1 more of the CX ladies but they'll have to wait till another day.

Good job! That is a lot of work. Isn’t it wonderful when you can find a home for the nice boys? How do you decide when to process? Especially for a Silkie, since there is never much meat on them.

Awesome on finding him a new home !

I know the feeling on being worn out after a long butcher day, though I am forever grateful that DH is as involved as I am in getting it done.
We got heat shrink bags from Cornerstone Farm Ventures for whole birds and cut pieces...love them and have been very happy with their freezer longevity. Probably not a big issue if only freezing for short times but have worked great for long term storage.

What do you consider long term storage? I forgot I have extra vacuum sealer bags. I have not processed any Roos since this summer. Thankfully all of my boys have found homes so far.

I'm very happy that I won't have to butcher him! What's more, it looks like the other one, whichever I decide I'm not keeping, has also found a home lol

My DH will help with the turkeys since they're so big or with the meaties if we have a large group of them but other than that, I mostly do it. Since I don't work, it's easier to just get them done when he's not home lol.

We use the ziplock bags since they're never in the freezer for long. Our dog Sparkles has severe allergies and eats most of them.

Do you do th broomstick method for the turkeys too? I have to look that up on YouTube, it sounds promising, but I’m not sure I could do it!

Alright so some astonishing news this time. @LeBlackbird is apparently none other than my good friend Susan who I went to Racc with!! She's actually slowly trying to teach me a thing or two about showing lol (she has sooo much patience my god). I'm trying to get her back into showing (someone help me enable her!)

Also check this guy out! I picked him up at the feed mill! Isn't he awesome?View attachment 1187391

Awesome! What breed is he?

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Spoiler: Gross bumblefoot pictures

Hey guys, my new girls are settling in well, but I lost one the second night. When I got home, it was already dark and two of the girls were not in the coop. I searched for a while and found one roosting in a tree. I got her down, but she screamed bloody murder for over a minute, haha!

I couldn’t find the other one anywhere, so I don’t know if she ran off during the day, or what happened to her. She didn’t show up the next day, but I tried.

Tonight, I was checking them over again, and I noticed a big lump on the one BLRW’s foot. She had a huge bumble in between her toes. When I flipped her foot over, I could tell it had hardened. It popped right out and was the size or a corn kernel! Poor girl must have felt like a rock in her foot. Pictures below, but only for the brave!

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

@dheltzel One of my CCL girls from my hug spring broody hatch just laid her first egg today. Have you turned on your incubators yet? We know you want to... haha!

I’m seriously thinking about adding some more of those Cali Greys to my flock next year. They were fanatastic layers. Will you be selling them again? What other breeds will you have? Not that I need any more....

 

[OneMountainAcres]

How do you decide when to process? Especially for a Silkie, since there is never much meat on them.

With silkies, it's always a tough call but generally, when they all start trying to mate the girls and when they're mature enough to tell if they're going to be decent breeding boys or not. Since we're unfortunately heading in to winter I don't want to be feeding any more extra boys than I need to so final cuts are happening now. With any other breed, I go by when they're starting to harass the girls too much. I don't typically wait until they fill out.

Do you do th broomstick method for the turkeys too? I have to look that up on YouTube, it sounds promising, but I’m not sure I could do it

Honestly, I haven't tried it on a turkey yet but I have on some 6 month old Cornish cross. Do yourself a favor and make sure you have a good sturdy broomstick to use. I had a decently thick stick that I was using for extra roos but then the first CX snapped it on the first attempt. I felt so terrible for that one . I only use a sturdy broomstick now. For a turkey, I would definitely recommend stringing him up by the feet BEFORE you attempt it. Maybe have the rope extra long so his head reaches the ground. They really can whip you with those wings when the nerves are firing! Hubby and I will be doing our Thanksgiving turkey on either Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. He will be strung up first but since hubby is helping, we'll be using the hatchet so we'll just move the log in to position under him.

Spoiler: Gross bumblefoot pictures

View attachment 1187777



View attachment 1187775



View attachment 1187776

Hey guys, my new girls are settling in well, but I lost one the second night. When I got home, it was already dark and two of the girls were not in the coop. I searched for a while and found one roosting in a tree. I got her down, but she screamed bloody murder for over a minute, haha!

I couldn’t find the other one anywhere, so I don’t know if she ran off during the day, or what happened to her. She didn’t show up the next day, but I tried.

Tonight, I was checking them over again, and I noticed a big lump on the one BLRW’s foot. She had a huge bumble in between her toes. When I flipped her foot over, I could tell it had hardened. It popped right out and was the size or a corn kernel! Poor girl must have felt like a rock in her foot. Pictures below, but only for the brave!

Did you lock them in the coop for a week first so they know it's home? I had the same problem with bumblefoot on the cochin girl that I got at a swap over the summer. That poor girl HAD to be suffering! I keep checking her every now and then since she occasionally looks like she's limping but I think those feathers on her feet just keep getting in the way lol

Have you turned on your incubators yet?

I know you weren't talking to me but mine have been on for a while now. I've been attempting to hatch seramas but not one has made it beyond lockdown yet They grow and do really well, then they just quit on me. I guess I'll be getting some silkie/showgirl eggs in the mail soon so those will be going in and I'm getting my breeds separated right after Thanksgiving so the incubators will be loaded!

 

[dheltzel]

@dheltzel One of my CCL girls from my hug spring broody hatch just laid her first egg today. Have you turned on your incubators yet? We know you want to... haha!

I’m seriously thinking about adding some more of those Cali Greys to my flock next year. They were fanatastic layers. Will you be selling them again? What other breeds will you have? Not that I need any more....

Incubators are staying off for a few more weeks. Might do a New Year's Day hatch, but egg production has been dismal the last week or 2, like 2 or 3 eggs a day from over 100 hens. I like them to have a rest, so the lights are not getting turned on until December. I was going to hatch December eggs, on the theory that the hens laying those have genetics that favor winter layers. Turns out *none* are winter layers. Even the CG's and Legbars have stopped laying. Trying to remember that I want them to have a break . . .

I have a CG roo and will be hatching some next year if I can make a pen for that. Or I might just buy a box of pullet chicks from Privett Hatchery. Money-wise, it makes more sense to buy those chicks and put my CG's with the Ameraucanas and Legbars to make blue egg hybrids to sell. But I fancy the idea of keeping my own line going on the farm. I guess if my only roo doesn't make it for some reason, then the decision is easier.

So, I might have CG's, or maybe not, but if you want some, I can either hatch my own or buy extra for you.

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Havent been on in forever! Hope everyone is well! Going thru backlog but I just killed, plucked, and gutted my very first meat bird all by myself!!(sick of waiting for hubby to have time and I want to eat one lol) I've never killed anything with my own hands so it was hard but pretty excited that I could do it! Trying to figure out how long it needs to rest and eat this sucker. Was a medium size from my 40 and is 61/2 lb after butcher! Going to do a few a day and start canning some too.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Havent been on in forever! Hope everyone is well! Going thru backlog but I just killed, plucked, and gutted my very first meat bird all by myself!!(sick of waiting for hubby to have time and I want to eat one lol) I've never killed anything with my own hands so it was hard but pretty excited that I could do it! Trying to figure out how long it needs to rest and eat this sucker. Was a medium size from my 40 and is 61/2 lb after butcher! Going to do a few a day and start canning some too.

I'd let it rest for 2 days before cooking. Great job doing it on your own! I started butchering on my own because hubby takes too long to find time (or interest) too lol.