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

[fisherlady]

Quote:
X2.... whole birds are awkward and bulky in the freezer, so only keep what you really think you will use for roasting (or for us it is smoking them). Otherwise, cut them up completely or quarter them or at least half them. I like to cut them up and then save the backs and necks to make broth or chicken mush balls out of.

 

[Arielle]

This is just adorable, can I say that on this thread! ha ha ha

Mine are out at 2-3 wks and I find they aren't much of a target for aerial preds at that age, being too small for decent meal, and they are also very quick to duck into small hides. As they age, they live on the edge of shelter and don't range too far from it much until they are 3-4 mo. of age. Also..take note....all the white chicks in the bottom 4-5 pics did not range with the older flock or anywhere near the rooster's protection....not a one was lost to aerial preds. The chicks in the top pics only has this rooster for guidance until the week following these pics, when he was dispatched and then they too ranged on their own....52 white CX chicks...hawks all around...not one lost to hawks.

Bee-- I missed what you said these were for a meat breed-- not al cornishx? THe white with dark flecks do look very cornish though.

Close call with the little peanut meatie yesterday. I went out yesterday (it was cold and snowing) and it had ventured outside, got wet and cold and was in it's final death moments. Head was curled back, when I picked it up it made one gasp with it's mouth, then nothing. Thanks to a friends video, I brought it inside and put the blow dryer on it. It took about 30 minutes, but the little peanut is alive and doing well.

Here is her video:
http://www.theeggfarm.com/blog/2013/02/07/chick-resuscitation/

During this process of moving the chick and warming it, I found out what is wrong with it. It has wry neck that curls front to back, so it wasn't noticeable. I'm going to start vitamin E with it today - it may be too late, but it's worth a try. All of my chicks go on vitamins when they arrive, but it must have not been enough.

How much to you put in the water??? Just follow directions on the pkg??

 

[Beekissed]

Top three pics of that sequence was CX and the others were Kathy's WRs and Dels. The chicks in the big bird feeder are Dels.

 

[Arielle]

Top three pics of that sequence was CX and the others were Kathy's WRs and Dels. The chicks in the big bird feeder are Dels.

LOL don't tell Kathy I thought they were mini ostriches!!! Look at the chests on them!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote: Yes, I follow the directions on the package. There are several types of vitamins/electrolytes, and I'm not sure if they have different directions or not. The one I use looks like a yellow tea when it's done.

 

[katbriar]

Beekissed- you've got your meat chicks in your hay bale "brooder" in with your grown chickens, right? Do you have some sort of top on it to keep your bigger birds out?

 

[Beekissed]

Beekissed- you've got your meat chicks in your hay bale "brooder" in with your grown chickens, right? Do you have some sort of top on it to keep your bigger birds out?

Yep...got green plastic mesh on the top right now....

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Yes, I follow the directions on the package. There are several types of vitamins/electrolytes, and I'm not sure if they have different directions or not. The one I use looks like a yellow tea when it's done.
Yellow tea is a good description of the vit/min solution!! lol

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Mine are out at 2-3 wks and I find they aren't much of a target for aerial preds at that age, being too small for decent meal, and they are also very quick to duck into small hides. As they age, they live on the edge of shelter and don't range too far from it much until they are 3-4 mo. of age. Also..take note....all the white chicks in the bottom 4-5 pics did not range with the older flock or anywhere near the rooster's protection....not a one was lost to aerial preds. The chicks in the top pics only has this rooster for guidance until the week following these pics, when he was dispatched and then they too ranged on their own....52 white CX chicks...hawks all around...not one lost to hawks.

I am still in love with this image! Its been my computer wallpaper since you posted it! I just love it, and then it looks even better big! Thanks for sharing all of them!

 

[eve789]

*Finally* did the deed today (for the first time). It was awful. I processed two roosters. They had to go because we live in a suburb and their noise was threatening the existence of our whole flock. The first was actually not so bad but the second one was just a nightmare. They were naked-neck chickens so had super tough, sun-hardened necks. I used the knife that came along with the killing cone I ordered on Amazon, which was not nearly sharp enough. The first one bled out pretty quick. The second one (my favorite) took time.

I gave them an exceptionally good life and wanted to give them a good death, and in that I failed miserably.

I'm still feeling kind of in shock about the whole experience. The one silver lining is that I just finished gutting them (also looks much easier on YouTube but went OK!) and the fat on those chickens was the most orangey yellow I've ever seen – the same color as our hens' egg yolks – and the liver was the shiniest, vibrant, most beautiful thing, too. These were *healthy* birds and as someone who eats meat 2-3 times a day, thanks to our local farmers, but without ever thinking of how hard it is to get that meat on my plate, I am so grateful to have had the chance to do this.

It's also got me reflecting on how fragile and temporary I am. I have all the same parts (well, except for a gizzard!) in my body: small & large intestine, gall bladder, liver, lungs, kidney, heart. And the difference between life and death is an instant (or in the case of my poor chickens, somewhat longer than that).

Next time, I'll try to find someone experienced to guide me in person. I want to be able to cull my own birds as I think it's an important skill when you keep layers. At the same time, I know there's a part of me that has to get just a little bit harder in order to have the decisiveness to cut into a living thing's neck and watch it bleed, and I'm not sure I want to.