Processing day **Pictures Added

[LilyD]

The date is now set. On August 4th will be the beginning of my processing season. I have 8 BBW turkeys to do that will be ready starting then and about 25 roosters to fill my freezer. I have a turkey fryer to use as a scalder (but I don't think the turkeys will fit) and a plucker that attaches to a drill for plucking. Hoping that they both make processing go a bit faster. I want to pick up a plastic table to do my gutting and eviscerating on so that will be my last purchase then I should be all set.

Right now the turkeys are right around 20lbs live weight and the roosters are about 10lbs. The guide that I use says to take 15% from the live weight and that is what you will have left once done processing. So by August 4th I am guessing the turkeys should dress out between 17 and 22 lbs and the Roosters should dress out between 7 and 9 lbs depending on the individual roo.

I will be saving necks, backs, hearts, livers, gizzards and feet this time around as well. Hopefully we should use just about everything from processing with the exception of the feathers and heads and those I will compost. It will be nice to just get back to the layers for a while. The boys have started crowing and mounting the hens and they are not at all pleased that I let boys move in again lol.

 

[evergreen1]

how long did it take for those roosters to grow to that size? what breeds are they?

 

[LilyD]

how long did it take for those roosters to grow to that size? what breeds are they?

Usually about 6 months but some are still smaller it really depends on the rooster. The longest I have taken them is up to 8 months and they still were very tender eating. They are Light Brahma and Light Brahma Crosses. The ones that aren't pure Light Brahma are the smaller ones (about 6 or 7 pounds) but I had a hard time keeping my laying hens out of the Brahma coop this spring so ended up with some mixes in there too. I keep debating whether to let them go longer but I think they will still be okay to do.

I have an amazing rooster for the daddy and I have to say between him and the hens that he has in his harem they tend to pass on their large size, but also their calm and relaxed personalities. He also was one of the fastest growers out of the babies that I hatched which is why I kept him. I am trying to work towards LB's that have faster growth but large bodies. Unfortunately they still don't have as much breast meat as CRX but maybe someday.

I will try and get some pictures before I turn them loose tomorrow morning to show you what they look like.

 

[evergreen1]

yes. please show some pictures.

 

[LilyD]

yes. please show some pictures.

Will do. I have two people coming to help processing when I do these but it's more so they can learn than so I can have helpers since neither really is comfortable processing yet.

 

[LilyD]

Okay just got the pictures taken. Boy is it hot outside. The hens and roos are all panting poor dears I feel bad. Going to spray down their areas before it cools off so they can get some relief from the heat. I was doing the math this afternoon and they are right around 5 months not 6 they will be 6 months at the end of August so they could conceivably go longer but I really don't need them to. Their hatch day was at the beginning of March on March 5th so that would put them at 5 months right around processing if I do my math correctly. Their are some that are 3 weeks younger in there as well and those will probably wait until closer to September for processing.

This is my main rooster Rocky he is absolutely amazing! He is a year old as of July.

These are my two main hens they are almost as big as Rocky. Most of my meaties are from these two. They are the same age as Rocky but from a different hatching. It's a terrible picture.



Top left is a picture of a group of roosters in my meatie pen the white things all over are feathers. They are moulting again seems like they get new bigger kid feathers every day lol.The middle picture is trying to show the back and how wide it is (not sure if I was successful) and the right picture is of one of the hens from this seasons hatch she is about twice bigger than my layers and almost as big as my other light brahma hens. The last picture is me trying to get them all together but they have decided I am not worth their time because I have no food lol.



These are my monster turkeys. The smallest is probably around 17 or 18 pounds the lightest around 20 to 22 they will be more than ready to go come the beginning of August. I don't pick them up much anymore because when they beat their wings they can just about knock you out it hurts a lot lol. They will go out on the lawn with supervision and love to get their chest scratched anytime we are out there but I take all my rings off because they are addicted to jewelry.

The hens and my roosters are out all day until dark. The meaties have just started to get annoying so they have to go out at a different time so they don't annoy the girls anymore. (Too many roosters for the poor girls and they all like the littler girls rather than the larger ones lol). I have been trying to let them out first thing in the morning and then I go in and feed them and put them back in around 10am and let the girls out. The boys are in an A frame coop made from two pieces of plywood and two by four supports and roosts. These are only used in the summer and put in in the winter so they don't rot. They are totally open on both ends but we use tarping if we need to close off an end for rainy days. Since they are inside the main coop area they don't have predators, my dog keeps them away. They are handled from hatching and are all really friendly so it makes it easier to handle them as needed. I am going to try and get a picture of the larger birds next to my layers if I can but they didn't want to be together today lol. The red hens are Gold Comets and about 5 lbs since they have been eating tons of berries and bugs. The Light Brahmas are right around 9 pounds and are amazing mothers.

 

[evergreen1]

they do look huge. so you will only keep the main rooster?

 

[LilyD]

they do look huge. so you will only keep the main rooster?

I keep Rocky and he breeds my Brahmas. I have a Gold Comet Roo that runs with my laying hens to keep them safe when the two coops run separate and my son has a rooster he kept (a huge Delaware) that was injured and now has a pretty hefty limp he doesn't breed but is my sons pet so I can't get rid of him. He carts him around and plays with him and the rooster is just very mellow. He can't mount a hen but is still amazingly huge. I have a 10 week old SG Dorking roo that will be in with my two SG dorking hens but it will be in a separate coop so not with the main flock to start out. I figure I will run Rocky for two years while adding hens that carry on the large body type and quick growth and then it will be time to add another roo to swap him out with which means ordering some more eggs for new blood. I would still look for the same characteristics though, fast growth, large type and good personality.

 

[Yukonchick]

ya i got two weeks til processing day. i``ve got 33 chickens to do . shouldn`t take long. ive got one of those same propane boilers too. i just hope i can regulate the temp of the water easy. i guess if it gets too hot, ill just pour some cold in. i might save a few birds just to let them get bigger for nice roasters to stuff and bake in the oven.

 

[LilyD]

I just pulled out my last few whole birds to cook up over the next week so that I can refill my freezer. Going to cook one in the crock pot and one I am going to brine and cook on the grill. mmmm bbq chicken