The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lazy gardener]

Gun? We had a lot of coyotes howling yesterday morning. Also had owls hooting in the morning.

 

[armorfirelady]

I would let the bird rest first, then brine it. The resting time allows enzymes in the meat to start to break down muscle fibers, which makes the meat more tender. When I butcher deer, I let the quarters hang a full week before I break them down any further.
Everywhere I've read about aging and brining meat talks about them as two separate processes. I don't know for sure that the brine would interfere with the enzyme aging process - but conventional wisdom is that you should age first, then brine.

Thank you

Yikes! Coyotes all around the coop and run last night. They made it inside the first gate but not inside the interior run. Of course, the chickens were locked up in the coop and I doubt a coyote would enter the coop, but....I am going to have to be extra vigilant about gates. Thinking if they come back in the daytime, I'm not sure I can keep them out with the snow making it easier to clear the fencing around the run....

Oh my thats not good. Do you have something to put across the opening on top to keep the predators out? I always see those red blinking lights advertised to keep predators away. No idea if they actually work. I wonder if putting another animals urine around them would keep them away? I noticed at Gander Mountain they had a different variety of urine for marking areas. (I want to know who actually collects the urine from these animals

)

 

[Wasson6Pack]

Thank you 
Oh my thats not good.  Do you have something to put across the opening on top to keep the predators out?  I always see those red blinking lights advertised to keep predators away.  No idea if they actually work.  I wonder if putting another animals urine around them would keep them away?  I noticed at Gander Mountain they had a different variety of urine for marking areas.   (I want to know who actually collects the urine from these animals   )

Usually it is synthetic urine. Have adult males pee around the perimeter, that should help it, it helped keep the Bob cat away here and we had the little boys do it, they had too much fun.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have roasted without a problem/toughness up to 10 months.

Thank you. And what temperature do you use?

The only time I've ever had a brined bird come out too salty is when I messed up the salt ratio in the brine. As long as you have no more than 1 cup of salt per gallon of water, and make sure the salt is totally dissolved, it will reach it's own equilibrium.


I would let the bird rest first, then brine it. The resting time allows enzymes in the meat to start to break down muscle fibers, which makes the meat more tender. When I butcher deer, I let the quarters hang a full week before I break them down any further.
Everywhere I've read about aging and brining meat talks about them as two separate processes. I don't know for sure that the brine would interfere with the enzyme aging process - but conventional wisdom is that you should age first, then brine.

That recipe that I used with the beer looked like 2 C/Gallon to me. I'll bet I have too much in there.

And I think I messed up on 2 counts. I put it in the brine the same day it was processed. Probably should have waited. I have another in the fridge that I haven't done anything with yet.

And...what about the giblets? Do you have to "rest" them too? Or can you start making broth with them right away.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Yikes! Coyotes all around the coop and run last night. They made it inside the first gate but not inside the interior run. Of course, the chickens were locked up in the coop and I doubt a coyote would enter the coop, but....I am going to have to be extra vigilant about gates. Thinking if they come back in the daytime, I'm not sure I can keep them out with the snow making it easier to clear the fencing around the run....

Quote:
Wow. That's scary.

I actually talked to the guy at predatorpee.com because I had some questions. Like, for example, if you use wolf pee to scare away coyotes, does the pee scent draw wolves in?

He actually admitted that could be the case. So it's kind of like the cat in the hat. You get rid of one thing and them there's another and it may be far worse!

If human scent works at least you won't be drawing in wolves, black bears, bobcats with each acceleration of different scents. I've been told that the human doesn't really do the job but I've also heard people swear by it.

@delisha soaks tennis balls in ammonia and puts them around the perimeters of her property on fences and in the attics of the larger chicken houses. She thought those were working.

If you're not in an overpopulated area, I'd say the gun is the best solution. Over the last several years I've heard that since the yotes don't have people as natural predators quite as much as they used to be, that they have become very bold - even walking into folks barns and taking lambs while the people were present! That particular person ended up staking out in the barn loft overnight and killing the alpha female which encouraged the whole bunch to move on.

 

[RedRidge]

Temperature for roasting? About 300
And if I asked why grandma how long she'd say, "till its done." :-/

 

[ronott1]

Temperature for roasting? About 300
And if I asked why grandma how long she'd say, "till its done." :-/

Less than for a store bough chicken. It should be in the 45 minute range but could go an hour at 300.

 

[triplepurpose]

We do roasters at about 325 for 1/2 hour per pound. Covered for the first part of the cooking, with a little liquid in the pan, they uncovered to crisp the skin toward the end. Cooked cockerels eight or nine months old this way, without brining, and were plenty tender for us.

 

[RedRidge]

You have to wonder of you've lost your mind when you spend your afternoon washing chicken fannys and feet and drilling holes in make shift poultry show carriers. At least they only cost $1 each at the dollar store.

 

[ronott1]

We do roasters at about 325 for 1/2 hour per pound. Covered for the first part of the cooking, with a little liquid in the pan, they uncovered to crisp the skin toward the end. Cooked cockerels eight or nine months old this way, without brining, and were plenty tender for us.

You can do this depending on the breed.

Also, many Americans have lost their taste for real chicken. They think chicken should be soft and bland like the big baby(six week old) chickens in the store.

I really like the way an older rooster tastes.