Texas

[Starfire669]

Thing is - people have gotten so accustomed to the "super size it" thing these days that they are expecting a ton of meat on birds.  Those commercial turkeys can't even have sex because their breasts are too large - they have to be artificially inseminated.  I think it's more of the expectation of people that is "off" than a problem with how much meat is on the bones of most poultry.

The antique cookbooks that I read will often specify a weight of bird to use - and the weights are usually something like "take a 3 pound dressed fowl".  And with the antique poultry books I read, yes there were large birds, like Javas and Plymouth Rocks, but they still were not as huge as people these days seem to think the birds they eat should be.  I can roast one of our roosters and it is plenty for the two of us plus leftovers and then I use the carcass to make homemade broth/soup stock with the real runts dressing out at around 3 lbs and the older males averaging 5 lbs dressed.  Hubby still gets a kick out of eating a chicken leg that gives a turkey leg a run for its money.  It's all about expectations.  And portion sizes.

Hopefully you will get another taste of goose.  I do want to try it but when I looked at the price of one at the grocery store last Christmas....I nearly died and decided we would just have leg of lamb from Sam's Club that was half the price of a goose.

Well, if y'all want goslings and ducklings to raise next year I hope to hatch some, lol. Don't know how far y'all are from San Antonio, it may not be convenient, but who knows. Or try some from a feed store and slaughter for the table, see how y'all like the taste. Next year I'm adding more blood lines to my geese and ducks, I'll be ordering hatching eggs from a couple people on this site to improve my stock. I may even get some white super Africans! Talk about large birds, lol.

 

[TherryChicken]

here is a easy cheap culling chamber that i made for a kitten a few years back (the kitten had been partly run over and i didn't have the money to have it euthanized) but it works on just about all small animals. It's basically a plastic shoe box, with a glass of vinegar and baking soda, with one of those bathroom organizers in it so the animal doesn't run around in the chamber it's quick the chick drops in a matter of seconds (make sure you keep it in the chamber until it stops breathing) then break it's neck and bury it. I got every thing i needed for this set up at the dollar store.

I couldn't brake its neck

 

[magpiesing]

We haven't culled any yet. The first to go will be unwanted roos. I can't do the killing either. We'll probably us the cone method also Hubby takes care of that. He is a hunter and is used to it (not that he likes killing, he's as soft hearted as can be concerning animals) and skilled so the animal won't suffer. Heck I can't even kill the fish i catch. But once the animal is dead..no problem. I can handle skinning or cleaning (haven't experienced plucking yet) but not squeemish. Was able to help process 3 deer this year, so I think I will be able to do chickens and still eat them.

 

[TherryChicken]

the only time i have had that problem is when i'm culling for meat. When i helped my grams cull her meat birds a few years back i couldn't touch any of the birds to be culled barehanded i had to have my elbow high rubber gloves if i did touch a cull meat bird barehanded i was done for the day i would have to go inside and sit down. it took about a week to cull all of the birds because we had to hand pick. If fact when i get my own meat birds this year im going to break out my gloves again.

good luck o.o I find culling so hard to do

 

[Starfire669]

OK...for all you cat people out there... DH just informed me that today is  "International Hug Your Cat Day"  so everyone hug your cats today and if you don't have cats maybe you can hug someone elses cat that needs a hug. 

Everyday is snuggle my cat day. Kairi rules this house and she knows it! I also give loving to Midnight, Kiki, Kagura, and Patches whenever they want.

 

[TherryChicken]

Most people I know sell them or give them to somebody that can do it.

It's hard.  Don't feel bad.

I didn't think we'd be able to do it - especially for eating.  I still can't kill them myself but I am now able to pluck them.  Heck, I actually can touch dead ones without gloves on.  I used to not even be able to touch a piece of raw steak without gloves on.  But I want to be self sufficient and unless we go vegetarian....I am making myself do this.  Even though it bugs me still.  And we dont' take killing them for food lightly.  We now use a killing cone and slit their throats since we weren't thrilled with the hatchet method and all the anxiety in the chicken and the flopping and squawking.  I will say that it's a lot easier to slaughter a rooster that is people aggressive than it is one that is fine, but just didn't make the cut to be a breeder. 

oh I imagine it would be

 

[Starfire669]

That drop in feed consumption - that is what makes fermented feed very appealing.  And then I remember how miserable it is to have to tote water to 12 different pens, around 70 chickens, out to the pasture during the summer....and I think I really don't want to have to do it with feed once or twice a day too.

You would need a very large container to ferment feed for that many. But I bet the drop in feed consumption would be huge.

 

[winteree]

My ducks came running to get at it first lol. Daisy and Ebony were especially quick to get some. Those ducks eat like pigs!

awww

i hope i have some ducklings hatch. today is day two of lockdown and still no pips but their is alot of movement in the egg's

but i am so bad i just filled my bator with turkey eggs

one is almost the size of a goose egg

 

[magpiesing]

Speaking of fermented feed....Can you put the crumbles or pellets in to ferment or just grain?

 

[Starfire669]

Speaking of fermented feed....Can you put the crumbles or pellets in to ferment or just grain?

You can ferment any feed you normally feed your chickens. I ferment the flock raiser with some wheat and oat grain and they eat every bit of it! Sometimes I throw in a tiny bit of scratch to sweeten it, lol. Haven't had to do that in a while now that they like it though.