South Carolina

[WestKnollAmy]

Jackie, you know you are first on the list! I know you want to watch how we do ours.
And I totally understand the ones that do not want to do it. Don't feel bad, we don't really enjoy it but once you breed so many it has to happen somehow. And we were both raised with fathers that hunted and helped them with gathering the meat and preparing it so it has been in our life forever. We still do not like it but for some reason God puts as many roos on earth as hens.

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Home! Finally cooled down some! Nicole is worn out. She tackled one goat

It is so funny to watch, but this time she skinned her knee a little bit.

We are both a little sunburned....and we both need a nap. DH has already showered & went to bed, since he has to work.

I didn't do much but grab and hold a few, mostly gave the wormer to them. And I scrubbed goat & horse water tubs.

Finally have two things marked off our never-ending list of stuff to do!

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Quote:
I am a piggy. I keep almost the whole bird

DH & DD do the actual slaughtering. He skins the bird, she removes the .... yeah she is the one that sticks her hand up inside the cavity........I did try that.....and gagged when I touched the warm liver

Besides with her small hands, she is perfect for that job

I chop it up however I want it.
I usually cut up the back bone on both sides, and save the backbone & neck for stock.
Then I split through the breast bone and halve the bird ... easier to pack in the freezer if it is halved.
Sometimes I quarter the bird by halving then separating the leg quarter from the breast.

DD & I prefer the breast.
DH usually prefers thigh & leg
DH saves the liver & heart for fishing
I save the gizzard because my FIL loves to eat those - and I have to cook them.......

(And I am the one to cut that part open and clean it...good thing we don't feed them for a day before slaughter or it would be worse than a few rocks & some grass - trust me, feed in the gizzard is

)

I did remove just the breast on some, but not many.
And some broilers (2-3) I left whole so I could roast the whole bird.

ETA:We usually order cornish cross to raise for our own consumption. We have only butchered two roosters so far that were not cornish cross, and those were out of our BSL breeding.

 

[CarolinaChickenKeeper]

That's what hubbies r 4. I usually can't eat anything I have personally known. Trying to change my thinking on that- gonna try my hand at raising turkeys....

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Quote:
We did that too.........BBWs.

I don't eat my babies!

He isn't attached to his layers, so those may be a meal one of these days.

I am attached to quite a few of mine, and alot of my other lovelies will never get eaten...

 

[Lroach711]

So..my silly broody somehow managed to move about half of her eggs to the other nesting box sometime this afternoon

...which seems like it'd be really hard since the nesting boxes are about a foot and a half off the ground. Anyways, I tried to move the other eggs under her and she pecked me while I was holding one of the eggs. Long story short it smushed in my hand

I was so upset...it had only been under her for a day so it was just yolk but still. I felt so bad. I know she was on all the eggs at lunch but am not sure when she moved them. I hope the eggs she left in the other nesting box still hatch. I decided to cover up the entrance to the other nesting box so she wouldn't move them again. Hopefully I'll still get some little fuzzy butts in about 20 days.

 

[huckleberryfarm]

I'm not actually opposed to eating our roosters anymore. I used to be. I just have a weak stomach. I could NEVER do any of it. I can barely do the litter box and a few of my kid's diapers left me gagging over the toilet. My husband thinks I should work for the DEA due to my very strong sense of smell! No way could I do it. A neighbor farmer of mine did say he had someone who is a great processor but I'm not sure he was talking about chickens. I need to check.

 

[Jackie B.]

Quote:
How's that wasp sting Suzanne? I don't go anywhere without my Epipen anymore. How was it growing up a bee sting didn't bother me a bit and now at 26 I have a come apart when I get stung?

 

[Moonchild]

Quote:

CONGRATS!!!

AWESOME!!!!!

 

[huckleberryfarm]

Jackie B. :

Quote:
How's that wasp sting Suzanne? I don't go anywhere without my Epipen anymore. How was it growing up a bee sting didn't bother me a bit and now at 26 I have a come apart when I get stung?

It hurts! That stupid thing stung my on my shoulder around 4 pm and I can still hardly move my arm. It's all hot and painful. Not swollen though so that's good. On the other hand my foot is all bit up from ant bites over the last few days and they are all swollen. I couldn't believe how bad that wasp sting hurt. I almost cried and I'm pretty tough! I think it got my muscle. My son killed it with a tennis racquet though so I'm happy about that!​