The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

Quote: I have two pots of boiling water on the stove when I go out to butcher. One large tote for feathers and one with cold water for finished birds, one for plucked birds, one empty 5 gallon bucket, 3 large cutting boards, a container for organs and a bunch of sharp knives. One knife is just for the gizzards. A hose.
I kill first, than dump the boiling water in a 5 gallon bucket. I refill the pots and put back on the stove and haul that 5 gallon bucket of boiling water out to my plucking area. By the time I get it out there I test the water and it has already cooled to about 180. The water on the stove is kept going until I have all of my birds done. I just keep adding boiling water as it cools. I try to keep it between 180 and 165. I have also used a fire pit to keep a pot hot. I did not like it ruining my pots so I haul the boiling water.

 

[armorfirelady]

AFL... Where's the photo?

Hahahaha no pics of me covered in soot. Sorry !!! Lol You know LALA it could of been an owl but it was 830 in the morning so I wouldn't think am owl would be out when its light out? I may just block their pop door tonight so they can't get out and see if the bird comes back, maybe I will get up earlier to and catch a better look of it. I actually put a wind spinner on the gate and thought maybe the hawks wouldn't like it. Guess I need a few more. I was in and out all day but I never did hear any hawks while I was outside working. And the girls were out all day on their own. It took some convincing after the bird flew away but tomatoes are way to tempting lol Plus they spen most of the day close to the compost pile. I give them credit they blend in very well with it. Night 2 of mite check and none seen...........so is it just me but when u check vents do the hens turn around on you? It's like one of those games were u hit the prize and it spins.....I obviously didn't hit them but just trying to lift tail feathers causes them to spin.......

 

[Leahs Mom]

I think if someone was trying to lift my tail feathers I'd be likely to spin around to see what was going on too

 

[Leahs Mom]

Okay. I found your picture.

PS: Don't ever google "female fire fighter".

 

[Sally8]

Okay. I found your picture.

PS: Don't ever google "female fire fighter".

Don't ever misspell weather while googling either!

 

[armorfirelady]

Okay. I found your picture.

PS: Don't ever google "female fire fighter".

LM I love the pic. I can't imagine what you would get when you google female firefighter unless it's under pictures and all that shows is bad replicas of Halloween outfits lol And sally8 that's to funny. I almost want to google them but I am off to bed in hopes I get up early to see if the the bird comes back. I blocked the pop door so I will have 8 complaining hens lol. Maybe they will all lay eggs since they can't get out? Wishful thinking lol

 

[camilleathome]

Happy thanksgiving everyone! All of my friends just left and I wanted to pop in with an update on my roasting a 25 week old rooster in the oven experience. It came out DELICIOUS! I put it on a bed of veggies(Carrots,onions,celeri) with a cup of stock and a cup of water in a roasting pan stuffed it with stuffing with the breast down and cooked it for five hours on low. I didnt even salt or pepper the bird and it came out SO tender and juicy it was amazing. No brine needed! Now im so full I feel sick lol. Shouldnt have eaten that last piece of pumpkin pie!

 

[MargaretYakoda]

Question on processing birds: has anyone experienced both the hatchet/chopping block and the cone methods? My friend who is going to help me process the roosters (yeah, the list of who is going keeps changing daily) is sold on the hatchet on the wood stump method cuz that is what she grew up with on the farm, but I've read that there is less stress on the birds if you use the killing cones. Any thoughts?

I'm too new at this chicken thing, but we do plan on using our older birds, and any extra roosters we hatch, to feed our family. I've been researching the how to's on Youtube and this one in particular was pretty good. The woman in the video is gentle and respectful to the bird, and explains everything very nicely.

There's a part two, which goes into how to butcher the bird.

We're seriously considering following this style when we butcher our birds.

 

[CoopChick719]

dang things I liked being an observer on here than dealing with them

That wood I found that is suppose to be insect repellent is tigerwood & IPE wood. My friend thinks he has a piece the size of a 2x4 so I can use that in the coop as a roost.
Its also suppose to be rot & mildew resistant so maybe I am on to something using this in the coop. And its free

(I apologize if any one is sick of hearing about my mites but I am very frustrated. so thanks for your patience )

I've been dealing with them too! I feel your pain!

I treated with Frontline, shoveled out, vacuumed, swept the coop then spread Sevin dust & DE over all wood surfaces 7 days ago. Did it again yesterday but this time I whitewashed everything then put DE & wood ash in nesting boxes & on the floor and spread fresh shavings everywhere. Gonna have to do some touch up on the whitewash since I didn't get everything covered. Got 2 5 gallon buckets of ashes from my Dad dumped some in the dustbin and in the run. Saving some to continue sprinkling everywhere. Also had to cull 2 of my ailing birds in this same timeframe.

I tell you I'm pooped!

 

[hotrodflash]

I'm too new at this chicken thing, but we do plan on using our older birds, and any extra roosters we hatch, to feed our family. I've been researching the how to's on Youtube and this one in particular was pretty good. The woman in the video is gentle and respectful to the bird, and explains everything very nicely.

There's a part two, which goes into how to butcher the bird.

We're seriously considering following this style when we butcher our birds.

There are much better videos on Youtube for killing and processing chickens. I guess growing up on a farm, I am more get it done and on to the next one kind of person,. In my opinion, she takes too long stoking and petting and not enough just do it. I don't want to hold a flopping chicken in my lap, letting the blood run onto my boots, that is one more thing that has to be cleaned up after I am done butchering multiple birds.