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

[Double Kindness]

Please tell us more about muscovy ducks?! I'm really thinking of adding them in the spring along with quail.

I'm adding rabbits in a few weeks, I found someone to sell me a pregnant new zealand white meat rabbit, now I'm looking for a pregnant California white meat rabbit, and thinking to take a buck of each litter and breeding it with the doe not his mother.

I debated on milk goats, but decided against it. Honeybee are also slated for the spring.

Caponizing equipment should be otw soon I hope. My dp roos are developing neat personalities. Uh oh.

 

[Tomtommom]

Please tell us more about muscovy ducks?! I'm really thinking of adding them in the spring along with quail.

I'm adding rabbits in a few weeks, I found someone to sell me a pregnant new zealand white meat rabbit, now I'm looking for a pregnant California white meat rabbit, and thinking to take a buck of each litter and breeding it with the doe not his mother.

I debated on milk goats, but decided against it. Honeybee are also slated for the spring.

Caponizing equipment should be otw soon I hope. My dp roos are developing neat personalities. Uh oh.

I need some land (and a money tree to pay for said land), so we can have all those things and more haha. I'm pushing it with muscovy, but since they're so quiet, I doubt anyone would even know I have them. Hubby is on board with them now, he was a bit shocked when I got them (a fellow BYCer cut me a deal I couldn't refuse and DH was at work). Eventually he may be on board with the rabbit thing, but like he said "This year you have muscovy, rabbits later."

We're in the middle of town on 1/3 acre.. so noise/smell needs to stay at a limit.

I've only had the muscovy a few weeks, but I always read every scrap of info I can find on things.. I researched getting chickens for two years before I got into them

The meat, slowcooked, tastes just like roast beef. Roasted it's said to taste like veal. In France muscovy is considered a delicacy and often used for foie gras (liver) as well as other duck dishes. They're ready in about 12 weeks, which is amazing.

I'm an aspiring homesteader and like the idea of being self-sufficient, so the fact that they eat gras, weeds and bugs (flies!) and raise their own babies well is just fantastic. Apparently three females and a male can produce 150 ducklings a year! That's a lot of food for a family. They don't need a large pond, even an old litterbox filled with water will do. They do enjoy a swim, so something bigger is nice... but they do get the water very dirty if it's near their food. They eat, walk to their water, dunk their head and drink (washing half of the food into the water

) and go back to eating. I had three ducks 'swimming' in one litterbox haha

Cons would be that they're a bit hesitant around people and they can fly well (apparently they like to sleep in trees). Mine show very little desire to fly and waddle around. They sleep in a little shelter my husband had put together before I even got them. They just want leaves of straw to sleep in. They live with my chickens, who all live in a large enclosure. They don't look twice at the ducks. Eat from the same bowl etc.

Gotta watch their food intake. The person that gave them to me said too much protein will cause deformed wings called angel wing. So far, they're doing well on the all-round feed I use (a 12% layer feed) along with soaked oats.

Like I said, I haven't eaten one yet, but I love them so far. Arielle knows way more about them

 

[fisherlady]

At what age do you all typically decide to process your "older" laying hens? I have processed many roosters and turkeys but haven't worked up the nerve to do any hens yet. Im not sure why I feel so torn.

I have been contemplating processing all my "older" hens that are roughly 2 1/2 years old. Some aren't laying fantastically while some still are. These are some of my first hens from a hatchery and were all named ( I don't name chickens anymore). I have been thinking about processing them this Fall so I will have extra space and room to work with just 2 breeds and maybe a small miscellaneous layer flock. Not to mention my freezer is nearly empty and I wasn't able to raise CX this year.

I just cant seem to fully talk myself into it and commit

How did others work through this?

Laying hens are a challenge, just the fact that you have them around for a couple of years means that you tend to get to know them better...in our flock the hens get a pass as long as they Are Laying ok. when they drastically slow or stop then they are 'up for review'.

First I eliminate a treatable illness as a cause (including molting) then evaluate the hens general age and condition...will she restart with more light?...is this a broody who earns her spot even without laying or barely laying?

So after giving each birds fair evaluation you need to consider costs of keeping unproductive birds, and the individual bird's plus points also (pet quality or bug patrol needs). Fairly evaluating all of these points will show you what you need to do.
A few points to consider...chickens dont display pains well, so older birds may be arthritic or ailing and unless you really watch you may not notice. laying hens can develop reproductive tract tumors or begin laying internally and the only thing you may see is a slow down in egg production. It is due to these issues that many egg farmers 'turn over' their flock every other year. The birds still have some food quality and the medical issues are avoided.
I butchered a small flock of hatchery leg horns for a friend this spring and he should have had Me do it last fall but he 'hated to give them up'...they were just over 3 years old and almost every hen had either tumors, internal laying or even a couple who looked like egg peritonitis.
I butchered a flock of mixed breed layers for another fellow and found a few with tumors or internal laying but at a much lower percentage than the Leg horns.

So my take on butchering your layers...yes it is harder, but you gave them a good life and you should give them a good ending. Evaluate them fairly and if you can't bring yourself to do the processing find someone else who will. Some people use the meat, others just can't...if you don't want it for yourself you can still cook the birds and use it for broth or feed it to your dogs/cats/chickens. if you do a 'search this thread' under my username you will find my method for making 'chicken balls' which are a great use of tough or scrawny birds.

 

[fisherlady]

 I think the Leghorns heard me talking to my DH about eating them. Well, using them as soup. I said that when I am sure they are done, I need to either give them to a local guy, or we need to do them. Then we began discussing other ideas on the matter Guess who suddenly began laying again?

I do have a question. Just how meatless are leghorns? Are they only good for soup, or can I get a meal for two out of them? DH likes dark meat, and I like white, so enough white meat isn't an issue. 

Leghorns are definitely not a meaty bird but they are usable. Last batch we processed I fileted the breast meat off of the carcasses and then boiled the rest and ground it up for chicken balls. The legs are stringy and pretty tough but the ones I have done were free ranged, pen kept would probably be more chewable. They are not roasting candidates but might be OK in a crock pot (though I can't say with certainty because I have never tried yet) I wouldn't hesitate to use them in soup.

 

[Kassaundra]

I need some land (and a money tree to pay for said land), so we can have all those things and more haha. I'm pushing it with muscovy, but since they're so quiet, I doubt anyone would even know I have them. Hubby is on board with them now, he was a bit shocked when I got them (a fellow BYCer cut me a deal I couldn't refuse and DH was at work). Eventually he may be on board with the rabbit thing, but like he said "This year you have muscovy, rabbits later."

We're in the middle of town on 1/3 acre.. so noise/smell needs to stay at a limit.

I've only had the muscovy a few weeks, but I always read every scrap of info I can find on things.. I researched getting chickens for two years before I got into them

The meat, slowcooked, tastes just like roast beef. Roasted it's said to taste like veal. In France muscovy is considered a delicacy and often used for foie gras (liver) as well as other duck dishes. They're ready in about 12 weeks, which is amazing.

I'm an aspiring homesteader and like the idea of being self-sufficient, so the fact that they eat gras, weeds and bugs (flies!) and raise their own babies well is just fantastic. Apparently three females and a male can produce 150 ducklings a year! That's a lot of food for a family. They don't need a large pond, even an old litterbox filled with water will do. They do enjoy a swim, so something bigger is nice... but they do get the water very dirty if it's near their food. They eat, walk to their water, dunk their head and drink (washing half of the food into the water

) and go back to eating. I had three ducks 'swimming' in one litterbox haha

Cons would be that they're a bit hesitant around people and they can fly well (apparently they like to sleep in trees). Mine show very little desire to fly and waddle around. They sleep in a little shelter my husband had put together before I even got them. They just want leaves of straw to sleep in. They live with my chickens, who all live in a large enclosure. They don't look twice at the ducks. Eat from the same bowl etc.

Gotta watch their food intake. The person that gave them to me said too much protein will cause deformed wings called angel wing. So far, they're doing well on the all-round feed I use (a 12% layer feed) along with soaked oats.

Like I said, I haven't eaten one yet, but I love them so far. Arielle knows way more about them

I am thinking about getting a few too. I have access to getting a pair or trio. I also live in town and aspire to self sufficiency. I did eat one a few weeks ago, the lady willing to part w/ hers gave me a frozen one to try, and I have to say it was awesome, and the breast tasted and had the texture and look very much of roasted beef.

 

[BullChick]

Thank you, Fisherlady. You mentioned tumors. Is that something I am going to be smart enough to recognize (you know me. I am not the brightest crayon)? Can I cut it out, or is the whole bird bad?
I slow cooked twenty-week-old cockerels, and they were stringy. Is there a way to prevent that?

 

[fisherlady]

Thank you, Fisherlady. You mentioned tumors. Is that something I am going to be smart enough to recognize (you know me. I am not the brightest crayon)? Can I cut it out, or is the whole bird bad?
I slow cooked twenty-week-old cockerels, and they were stringy. Is there a way to prevent that?

You will see the tumors and they are in the reproductive tract or abdominal cavity, so they are thrown out with the innards and don't affect the meat.
The stringy meat is a byproduct of hormones and activity levels so the only real way to avoid it is to process before the effects become noticeable..
I use the culled cockrels in chicken and dumplings so it is not a problem. The meat is also good when chunked and used in soup.

 

[wingstone]

 I think the Leghorns heard me talking to my DH about eating them. Well, using them as soup. I said that when I am sure they are done, I need to either give them to a local guy, or we need to do them. Then we began discussing other ideas on the matter Guess who suddenly began laying again?

I do have a question. Just how meatless are leghorns? Are they only good for soup, or can I get a meal for two out of them? DH likes dark meat, and I like white, so enough white meat isn't an issue. 

Leghorns are definitely not a meaty bird but they are usable. Last batch we processed I fileted the breast meat off of the carcasses and then boiled the rest and ground it up for chicken balls. The legs are stringy and pretty tough but the ones I have done were free ranged, pen kept would probably be more chewable. They are not roasting candidates but might be OK in a crock pot (though I can't say with certainty because I have never tried yet) I wouldn't hesitate to use them in soup.

Just my thoughts on this,
Anytime I have a bird to process that is questionable on being a tender meal, they become canned meat. Between cutting the meat In small chunks and the canning process even old roosters become very usable.
Great for a quick casserole or even just to put on salads

 

[fisherlady]

Just my thoughts on this,
Anytime I have a bird to process that is questionable on being a tender meal, they become canned meat. Between cutting the meat In small chunks and the canning process even old roosters become very usable.
Great for a quick casserole or even just to put on salads

Thank you! I have never canned meat but did recently pick up a pressure canner / cooker with the hope of doing just that... hearing from someone who has experience with exactly what we were wanting to try makes me feel better. I do a lot of recipes with chunk meat so that will be perfect!

 

[ronott1]

We are having a great and timely discussion!

From a pure production point of view, you would process them sometime between 2 and 3 years old. It is a production mistake to process them at year 1.5 or the first molt because the stop laying during the molt.

Older hens will have meat that is tough but not as tough as a rooster. Hens do not have testosterone so will not be as gamey or tough. I have not had one since I was a Teenager in the 1970's but will have some this Fall. I have 5 that fit the bill for processing. They will become chicken and dumplings.