Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[Beekissed]

Don't you love when you can convince someone who has been raising CX for years that they can be free ranged and CAN act like chickens?

Win!!! Love that Someone is going to try a new way of raising them. I would never have tried raising them if it wasn't for Beekissed who proved to me it was possible to free range them (which is of the utmost importance to me).

Yep! The key is free ranging early and restricting feeds so they actually WANT to forage....after that, you never have to worry about IF they will free range or not. It's a foregone conclusion they will range from daylight to dark.

 

[vsmenagerie]

Yep! The key is free ranging early and restricting feeds so they actually WANT to forage....after that, you never have to worry about IF they will free range or not. It's a foregone conclusion they will range from daylight to dark.

Yes! I do this with my meat birds and I will feed them and move their tractor and I have a lot of them move to the fresh grass before going to their feed. They get so excited when it is tractor moving time. It makes me happy to see the cornish x foraging and enjoying things like layers do We give ours food scraps as well. I found this year, my batch really enjoyed zucchini and cucumber. And went bonkers over fruits! We have too many predators around to totally free range them, so I try to give them the next best thing.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I went out and bought a pellet gun yesterday. The sales person I dealt with in person was worried a 400 to 550 fps velocity of a hand-gun style CO2 powered pellet gun would not have enough energy to do the job. I bought a rifle-style pellet gun (1100 fps) with pointed hollow point pellets. I guess it is powered by a spring. It shoots one pellet and then will have to be reloaded and recharged, so I want to make darn sure I do it right the first time. I can't believe these things don't fall under firearm legislation. It is surprisingly loud, but that might be because it shoots at about the speed of sound.

Okay, one more time for the learning impaired (me!), how do I go about killing my chickens with a rifle at point blank range? I have zero experience with firearms and to be honest, am not at all comfortable with it.

I do not have a killing cone so want to make due without one. I could buy a bottle of bleach or something like that if it was really needed.

I can't find much on the internet. Most chicken-slaughter videos demonstrating bleeding out, and anything related to killing with a gun deals with large animals not birds.

Thanks for all your patience and hand holding.

 

[Beekissed]

Can't help you with that one, Kassaundra will have to do a demo on it. But, I recently acquired a little silkie rooster along with some soup roos I bought to use for processing and will film the killing cone and cutting method on him for you and post it here when I process. He's rather tiny, so it should be enormously easy to end him...I could probably just snatch off his head with my bare hands.

He is lighter than air..like a little puffball of nothing but ugly.

 

[BirdbyGavin1103]

I went out and bought a pellet gun yesterday.  The sales person I dealt with in person was worried a 400 to 550 fps velocity of a hand-gun style CO2 powered pellet gun would not have enough energy to do the job.   I bought a rifle-style pellet gun (1100 fps) with pointed hollow point pellets.  I guess it is powered by a spring.  It shoots one pellet and then will have to be reloaded and recharged, so I want to make darn sure I do it right the first time.  I can't believe these things don't fall under firearm legislation.  It is surprisingly loud, but that might be because it shoots at about the speed of sound.

Okay, one more time for the learning impaired (me!), how do I go about killing my chickens with a rifle at point blank range?  I have zero experience with firearms and to be honest, am not at all comfortable with it.

I do not have a killing cone so want to make due without one.  I could buy a bottle of bleach or something like that if it was really needed.

I can't find much on the internet.  Most chicken-slaughter videos demonstrating bleeding out, and anything related to killing with a gun deals with large animals not birds.

Thanks for all your patience and hand holding.

First become fully familiar with your new gun, and practice with it. Soda cans and plastic bottles are usually better than targets for short range practice, and often cheaper.
Once you are more comfortable with it then proceed. Any tension you feel will be picked up by the bird, so you want to feel as comfortable with your method as possible.
I use slip knots on each leg and an old swing frame to hang them with their legs apart to prevent spinning. Once they have calmed down I aim the barrel behind the comb, usually an inch or two away from touching. This is done at an downward angle, head is about level with my knees.
I know I keep saying this, and I know the guy at the store claims the pellets won't ricochet, but make sure you have something to catch any misses or through and throughs. An old pillow, pail with water, hay bale, soft soil etc will work. Especially if you have nearby neighbors. And make sure you have eye protection. Hope this helps

 

[aoxa]

Can't help you with that one, Kassaundra will have to do a demo on it. But, I recently acquired a little silkie rooster along with some soup roos I bought to use for processing and will film the killing cone and cutting method on him for you and post it here when I process. He's rather tiny, so it should be enormously easy to end him...I could probably just snatch off his head with my bare hands.

He is lighter than air..like a little puffball of nothing but ugly.

This made me burst out laughing. I can't believe you have a silkie.

 

[Beekissed]

This made me burst out laughing. I can't believe you have a silkie.

I know!

The folks over on the FF thread are getting a real hoot out of it all.

I'll not be sorry to see this one go...he's a real brat. Can't imagine what in the world people see in these things...it's about the ugliest chicken I've even seen!

 

[jajeanpierre]

First become fully familiar with your new gun, and practice with it. Soda cans and plastic bottles are usually better than targets for short range practice, and often cheaper.
Once you are more comfortable with it then proceed. Any tension you feel will be picked up by the bird, so you want to feel as comfortable with your method as possible.
I use slip knots on each leg and an old swing frame to hang them with their legs apart to prevent spinning. Once they have calmed down I aim the barrel behind the comb, usually an inch or two away from touching. This is done at an downward angle, head is about level with my knees.
I know I keep saying this, and I know the guy at the store claims the pellets won't ricochet, but make sure you have something to catch any misses or through and throughs. An old pillow, pail with water, hay bale, soft soil etc will work. Especially if you have nearby neighbors. And make sure you have eye protection. Hope this helps

Yes, it does help a lot.

I did read the NRA's 10 Commandments and will follow safe practices, although I am aware (and hopefully will remember at the time) that stress is going to knock all my book learning out of my mind at the time.

I have shot the rifle once from a short distance, using a can for practice. Guns make me very uncomfortable and I have no experience or history with them. I'll set up a situation as if I were killing a chicken and practice until I am comfortable.

I did buy eye protection.

Why not touch the back of the head? Is it because the bird might move because of it? I'm out in the country on a 2-acre lot, the smallest in the neighborhood. My one neighbor's house is fairly close, so I will do it behind some buildings and keep the ricochet/misses/through and throughs in mind. A bucket of water sounds like a good idea. I don't like the idea of spreading lead pellets around the environment or where my chickens could pick them up.

Kassaundra doesn't bleed them out, claiming they bleed out very well from the head wound. Do you bleed them? Kassaundra mentioned in a recent post that after shooting, they immediately went into death throes. If you bleed them out, do you do it then, with them struggling? Insight into this will be most helpful.

I like to have everything planned ahead so that I know what it will look, feel and sound like. Hunters and farmers must just laugh their heads off at people like me, but I really do want to become comfortable enough with it that I can buy some chickens for the purpose of slaughtering them. The chickens I am now slaughtering are the unwanted byproduct of trying to get pullets for eggs.

I really, really appreciate all the hand holding I get here. Thanks so much everyone.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Can't help you with that one, Kassaundra will have to do a demo on it. But, I recently acquired a little silkie rooster along with some soup roos I bought to use for processing and will film the killing cone and cutting method on him for you and post it here when I process. He's rather tiny, so it should be enormously easy to end him...I could probably just snatch off his head with my bare hands.

He is lighter than air..like a little puffball of nothing but ugly.

How old is he?

A couple of the Silkies I did had beards and muffs and were growing lots of pin feathers. I didn't find it easy to cut their throats, but I bet that was all because of my poor technique. My Silkies certainly didn't have the nice bare necks of that white chicken you sent the picture in for me to see the knife placement. I will be really interested in your comments.

What is the name of the thread for fermented feed that you participate in? Thanks.

 

[aoxa]

I know!

The folks over on the FF thread are getting a real hoot out of it all.

I'll not be sorry to see this one go...he's a real brat. Can't imagine what in the world people see in these things...it's about the ugliest chicken I've even seen!

It's an ugly example of the breed. Yes many males are very ugly in silkies. The good ones look like fluffy bunnies and are not ugly. Some don't care for them for sure.

Also, many of these hatchery silkie boys are aggressive. Just like yours there.

Let me know how you like the taste/look of the meat.