Sunflower Chickens

[KansasBoy]

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I hear some places rent them out by the day, wonder if any around here do...?

 

[HEChicken]

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Speaking of young roos, it looks like a few months from now we will be having a VERY expensive roast dinner. Aaaarrrrgggghhh. I so wanted some Marans. I got some hatching eggs shipped (8+ and got 11 eggs). I set them and actually had no problem candling. DH has a very nice LED flashlight and I was able to see into them almost as well as a regular egg. I discarded 6 non-developing eggs, so 5 went into lockdown. On about hour 30 of lockdown I checked to find the temp was only 80. Turns out my heat element had burned out so I had to open the incubator and replace it. I don't know how long it was at 80 but could have been 6 hours. Plus I messed with the eggs removing them to replace the element, and then it took a long time for the new element to get the incubator back up to temp. So with all that, I had just one lonely chick hatch. I opened the other eggs and they were fully developed. Since I had otherwise kept temp/humidity pretty close to perfect, I can only think it was the heat loss that one day that did it. Very frustrating. Anyway, I had to go buy a couple of chicks to keep this one company and it is now 12 days old. I've had a sinking feeling for a few days that it is a roo. Looking at it this morning I'm even more scared. The comb is showing a little too much pink (already!) and there is no tail yet. In my experience the girls grow tails earlier than boys. So, since I can't have roos, it looks like all that time, money and effort was to produce one dinner. GAH!!!

 

[Myabcs3]

HEChicken - How frustrating!!! Don't have an incubator yet, keep relying on good friends to hatch the few I have wanted hatched or have lucked into a broody at the right time. While, I have heard some great things about incubators, I have also read and heard a fair share of horror stories too... Sorry.

Hope you enjoy the dinner though! I think I would set a table with china and candles!

 

[HEChicken]

Its true - I would rather hatch the old-fashioned way but despite having two BO's and a SS, I've never had a broody. My BSL was acting the other day like she was thinking about it, and I thought that was kind of ironic but by the next day she'd decided against it. One of these days I'll probably break down and get a Silkie but until then, incubating is kind of fun - even with the perils.

 

[1idwillie]

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I hear some places rent them out by the day, wonder if any around here do...?

THE CLOSEST RENTAL I FOUND WAS IN OAK GROVE http://www.featherman.net/rentals.html#Missouri ..BUT ME PERSONALLY ILL BUILD ONE

 

[ChooksChick]

I don't remember the name of the place, but it's a big meat processing plant in KC downtown. Ambassador, maybe?

You can take your birds down to the place that Clark Family Farms uses to process theirs and have them done for a couple of bucks a bird, too- they process them and hand them back to you in whatever form you like frozen, fresh, cut-up, whole, etc. The price varies a tad based on the work. You go back the next day to get them.

I know the guy who owns Sweet Love Farms uses that same processor, but he does the work himself. I've considered doing meaties or dual-purpose again and having him do them for me- last time I used a local couple who owned a plucker that was made by someone's grampa...apparently it was fabulous, but I had to be at least 10 miles away, so I didn't know first-hand...I can't be a part of it unless someone's life depends on it- I'm too emotionally wrapped up in the birds.

I'm trying to become pragmatic, but it's the old vegetarian in me that makes me feel guilty whenever I eat fish or poultry (rarely) that won't let me get over this feeling. *le sigh*

 

[mikeksfarmer]

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I hear some places rent them out by the day, wonder if any around here do...?

THE CLOSEST RENTAL I FOUND WAS IN OAK GROVE http://www.featherman.net/rentals.html#Missouri ..BUT ME PERSONALLY ILL BUILD ONE

I have seen drill bit devices that are for sale on line. I have myself thought the real hurtal here is the water that flushes the feathers away.

 

[schellie69]

I never thought I would think about raising meat bird, When I was a kid we had a butcher day I was a soft hearted kid we had went from city living except when we visited grandma's farm to farm living and started butchering chickens well my birth dad was abusive and he kept throwing the flopping chickens at me I had blood all over me. So that made me not want to ever be around it again. My mom knows how to pluck and has offered to help if we decided to do. Which I have thought about I want to use the killing cones it seems easier that way. I am working on getting over my fears and stepping up I want to raise our own food and to do that I need to be able to face this fear and over come it. Maybe later this summer I will try a small tractor of meat birds we shall see.

 

[ck_dunham]

I've not been there my self but a few friends of mine that do meat birds like to go to Garnett and use an Amish family. I was talking to them just this past weekend and they tell me its 2.25 (or was it 2.50) none the less its around that amount! I think I'll be giveing them a try this year my self. I can get more info if there is others that want it.

 

[ChooksChick]

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Hi, Neil!

Would you get more info? I think there are enough others around me that want to co-op some meat birds that this may be something we move forward with. Thanks!