Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Guess who chose this early, super cold snap as the perfect time to go broody for the first time! Ganymede!!

 

[ronott1]

Guess who chose this early, super cold snap as the perfect time to go broody for the first time! Ganymede!!

View attachment 1958506

 

[drumstick diva]

She's a beautiful broody

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hello! Sorry for vanishing over the weekend--I was preoccupied.

So, our temps are much higher these days than they were projected to be when I was checking last week, and it barely touched freezing last night, so the molters and OEGBs went back outside at free-range time yesterday. They're SO happy to be out again! I kept Scooter inside one last night to finish her Denagard treatment, but I may keep her inside further to try another treatment, as she's still sounding pretty congested. Poor baby. Not sure what's going on, but either the Denagard or being in out of the cold has helped her to improve quite a bit at least.

I also forgot to mention this, but the boys went to process last week. Titan, Puck, Charon, and, yes, Oberon. I was super torn about him and nearly changed my mind on the drive up, but... I had to remind myself of the scars he'd given me with his recent aggression, and how badly he was treating the smaller hens and pullets (I know, he could have grown out of it, but it was pretty excessive compared to other cockerels that age...), and I came to peace with the idea of him providing my family with a meal rather than keeping him around. I've done a bit more reading and think I've got the trick down to resting them properly so they aren't so rubbery when cooked... Here's hoping, anyway!



Oh, yes, and Ganymede is STILL broody! Stubborn girl!! She's in a crate to keep her off the nest, so hopefully she comes to her senses soon.

 

[ronott1]

Hello! Sorry for vanishing over the weekend--I was preoccupied.

So, our temps are much higher these days than they were projected to be when I was checking last week, and it barely touched freezing last night, so the molters and OEGBs went back outside at free-range time yesterday. They're SO happy to be out again! I kept Scooter inside one last night to finish her Denagard treatment, but I may keep her inside further to try another treatment, as she's still sounding pretty congested. Poor baby. Not sure what's going on, but either the Denagard or being in out of the cold has helped her to improve quite a bit at least.

I also forgot to mention this, but the boys went to process last week. Titan, Puck, Charon, and, yes, Oberon. I was super torn about him and nearly changed my mind on the drive up, but... I had to remind myself of the scars he'd given me with his recent aggression, and how badly he was treating the smaller hens and pullets (I know, he could have grown out of it, but it was pretty excessive compared to other cockerels that age...), and I came to peace with the idea of him providing my family with a meal rather than keeping him around. I've done a bit more reading and think I've got the trick down to resting them properly so they aren't so rubbery when cooked... Here's hoping, anyway!



Oh, yes, and Ganymede is STILL broody! Stubborn girl!! She's in a crate to keep her off the nest, so hopefully she comes to her senses soon.

Welcome back!

Good job on getting them processed.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yeah... It's tough for me to do, but getting a little easier every time it seems. I definitely don't think I'll ever get to the point where I can do the processing myself, but the place we take the boys to is very reasonably priced and not too far of a drive.

It's funny, if anyone would have asked me when I started this thread if I'd ever be raising out and having cockerels processed, I would probably have scoffed and said I'd never be able to do that. Then, in 2016, my Brahma pullet turned out to be a giant, aggressive, unmanageable Brahma cockerel. Long before that, before I even started this thread, I'd already resolved to no longer consume commercially raised chicken or egg products due to concerns of how the birds are treated in those facilities, instead getting by with what I could make with the eggs my girls provide and the chicken meat I could buy from local farms. Suddenly, with that Brahma cockerel, I had a very compelling reason to eat chicken that was home grown, too. We're still figuring out how to handle, store, and cook home grown roosters versus the much more tender chicken meat we're accustomed to, but it's a work in progress and I'm excited to see how these birds will turn out.





Anyway, on the birds yet living... Today, Rigel decided he was the big cock of the walk, and managed to dominate not only Winter, but Reuben, both of the much larger Silkie roosters in my main flock. And they let him! Reuby and Winty take good care of the flock, so as it is now, Rigel has been removed and taken Titan's place in the cage within the part of the coop where the boys live because they don't all get along together. I'm hoping after an integration period that I can house the three OEGB boys together peacefully, and that my main boys can go back to their guard duty over the hens uninterrupted by a half-pound crusader.

Meanwhile, most of the flock has been hiding in the coop most of the morning and freaking out, so I've got them on temporary lock-down until I can figure out what's scaring them so much today. And just when it was getting warm again, too.

 

[ronott1]

Yeah... It's tough for me to do, but getting a little easier every time it seems. I definitely don't think I'll ever get to the point where I can do the processing myself, but the place we take the boys to is very reasonably priced and not too far of a drive.

It's funny, if anyone would have asked me when I started this thread if I'd ever be raising out and having cockerels processed, I would probably have scoffed and said I'd never be able to do that. Then, in 2016, my Brahma pullet turned out to be a giant, aggressive, unmanageable Brahma cockerel. Long before that, before I even started this thread, I'd already resolved to no longer consume commercially raised chicken or egg products due to concerns of how the birds are treated in those facilities, instead getting by with what I could make with the eggs my girls provide and the chicken meat I could buy from local farms. Suddenly, with that Brahma cockerel, I had a very compelling reason to eat chicken that was home grown, too. We're still figuring out how to handle, store, and cook home grown roosters versus the much more tender chicken meat we're accustomed to, but it's a work in progress and I'm excited to see how these birds will turn out.





Anyway, on the birds yet living... Today, Rigel decided he was the big cock of the walk, and managed to dominate not only Winter, but Reuben, both of the much larger Silkie roosters in my main flock. And they let him! Reuby and Winty take good care of the flock, so as it is now, Rigel has been removed and taken Titan's place in the cage within the part of the coop where the boys live because they don't all get along together. I'm hoping after an integration period that I can house the three OEGB boys together peacefully, and that my main boys can go back to their guard duty over the hens uninterrupted by a half-pound crusader.

Meanwhile, most of the flock has been hiding in the coop most of the morning and freaking out, so I've got them on temporary lock-down until I can figure out what's scaring them so much today. And just when it was getting warm again, too.

I grew up processing chickens and sending beef off for butchering so it was easier for me.

I do process my own and that is my plan for cockerels that hatch.

I hope the integrating goes well!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Much respect! I'm too much of a wuss for that. That's my plan as well for cockerels when I hatch. I keep only those who are exceptional in temperament or useful for breeding projects, and the rest go to the processors in the fall. Sometimes I have weak moments (like nearly keeping Oberon despite his temperament and lack of usefulness around here), but I'm working hard to steel myself against that in the future.

Integration is going surprisingly well so far! Rigel escaped his pen yesterday morning (I didn't latch it all the way or something ) and Acher and Toli were coexisting with him in their section of the coop without beating down on him or even threatening to. I have him penned again just to be safe, but it's looking like he should integrate back into their little rooster flock pretty easily.

 

[ronott1]

Much respect! I'm too much of a wuss for that. That's my plan as well for cockerels when I hatch. I keep only those who are exceptional in temperament or useful for breeding projects, and the rest go to the processors in the fall. Sometimes I have weak moments (like nearly keeping Oberon despite his temperament and lack of usefulness around here), but I'm working hard to steel myself against that in the future.

Integration is going surprisingly well so far! Rigel escaped his pen yesterday morning (I didn't latch it all the way or something ) and Acher and Toli were coexisting with him in their section of the coop without beating down on him or even threatening to. I have him penned again just to be safe, but it's looking like he should integrate back into their little rooster flock pretty easily.

It can take some time but most on here that try processing make it eventually. It can take some starts and stops though

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hello, all! Sorry for being so quiet here this past week! Mostly it was for a lack of things to post, but a couple days ago it became a result of a small amount of family drama, just in time for the holiday. Suffice it to say I hope that those of you who celebrate it are having a better Thanksgiving than I am!

Anyway, I thought I would stop by with pictures of the kids since they are 7 and 8 months old as of this week! I took the pictures a couple days ago (pre-drama), just didn't get around to cropping until today. First up, the OEGBs at 8 months old. The boys are shedding and regrowing their tail feathers at the moment, so they aren't quite as pretty as they were last time. This also made them a LOT less cooperative than last time (or maybe the pecking order shake-up did that?), so this was the best I could do for them. The girls were just being stinkers, so their pictures are also the best I got of them.

Achernar, big boss rooster boy:

Altair, the delicate flower

Rigel looking unfortunately stained...

Toliman, with his poor clipped wings from too many escape attempts

And Vega, my teeny-tiny sweetheart

The boys have integrated together well and are now sticking together as a rooster flock, though Rigel paces at the fence at free-range time because he's used to being out and about with the flock. Too bad. Anyway, here are the three boys mingling together in their yard:

Oh, and one last shot of Rigel. These OEGBs are very expressive with how they hold the feathers on the backs of their heads. I guess in this case it means he was a little alarmed by me coming into the yard for pictures? Vega is also notorious for doing this when I pick her up without permission, sort of like she's saying, "Excuse you!" Anyway, this was the first time I'd been able to really catch it in a picture and it made me giggle.

Moving on, here are the EE girls at 7 months old, starting with Ganymede, who's finally over brooding!

Mona, with her beard spiked.

And Fifi with that big beard

What a cutie

Just for fun, here are just a few of the older girls from the same day. Myrna the Dorking, looking quite round these days:

My sweet Elly

And a couple silkied Cochin munchkins Abra, who looks lovely after her molt

And Rowena, trying to decide if it's worth it to turn around and sass me.

Hope everyone has a safe, happy, and very filling Thanksgiving!