The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[mrsamplias]

Melabella Is proud to announce
The arrival of the very
First egg from her flock​

congratulations!! You had a long wait!!

 

[mrsamplias]

Quote:
I'm so behind, I'm reading some that are three days old...We've been busy with family drama/holidays. I am thinking I'll be able to catch up when the kids and DH are back at school!!

 

[mrsamplias]

I did get to cut up the roosters I processed on Saturday. Also tasted it. OH MY. SOOOO much better that I did the killing here, and with the killing cone. So tender and has a whole lot of flavour.

Cut up 5 of them into thighs, drumsticks, wings, breasts, loose meat pieces for stir fry and then the rest for boiling for stew. Left two whole and am giving one to the friend who helped me pluck. It was a very productive weekend.

Did you keep the roosters cooped prior to processing? What did you do for the feathers (e.g. machine/boiling water)? I'm curious to hear which of all the methods we've seen is the most efficient. Thanks for sharing the photos!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have 5 RIR piped eggs..they are the only ones left..(the shipped eggs)
sorry..i am so tired..i will probably read what i wrote and not understand it myself.
My eggs that i put in (from my bird) are all hatched

2 more are out..

I might get to sleep tonight after all.

2 are working hard at it..I have not helped any of them... I stay up..just in case i am needed. I am never needed. I should just get my hinny to bed.

One of the things i have noticed, with this extended time in the incubator the chicks belly/s are squished into the form of the egg. It is gross looking. I sure hope I can correct this incubator problem. I is sooooo much easier with a hen, you go out to the coop and see egg shells.

I'm watching and waiting! So glad to hear they're still in the running.... Let us know!!

I just wonder if a certain someone is pulling a joke for entertainment purposes.

Now you may just have something there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mrsamplias]

Busy day today so I have a LOT of catching up to do reading wise, but before reading through everything I wanted to share this!


It finally came! Hooray! So as soon as the kids are back in school and my brain gets some rest, we'll be doing our first Nu-Stock give-away on the Blog! I'm keeping one tube for myself, and the rest will be given away - probably at the rate of one a month - to readers.

 

[mrsamplias]

Quote: x2

 

[Leahs Mom]

WOW internet was down for three days. Glad to be back.

I wondered where you were

 

[Sally8]

From experience...Last year I incubated eggs in my small bathroom. Then I brooded 30 chicks there for a month (give or take). I'm still trying to get rid of that awful dust!!! Never again for me. Even if you do use ff, the poop will smell. I'm not sure if your home would ever recover if this went on. I'm sorry if those of us have made you feel like we were putting you down for your idea but we all know from raising chicks to chickens. Plus, there is a disease called Histoplasmosis that I would worry about for you and your family.
Sorry,

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Plus, there is a disease called Histoplasmosis that I would worry about for you and your family.
Sorry,

I worked for 30 yrs. in the insurance industry and was introduced to Histoplasmosis in the first month. It was the first workers comp claim I ever processed and I'd never heard of it before. The worker who got the disease worked for a gas company picking up and installing gas tanks. He made a drop every month at a farm and the tank he changed out was by the chicken coop so he was disturbing old droppings and must have breathed in the dust.

Here's a guy who was only around chickens one day a month and he got histoplasmosis. I can't imagine how that exposure would be increased if you had a number of chickens in your home 24/7.

 

[aoxa]

i had one chick once with pasty butt. Back when I used to believe chicks needed 95 degree's F of heat........ Are you talking chicks only with pasty butt or hens?

I have had a few with the pasty butt under a broody in the warmest weather, which I do believe the hot weather creates that issue. I never do 95. My chicks seem uncomfortable at that. They are Canadian chickens. They start out at 85

Did you keep the roosters cooped prior to processing? What did you do for the feathers (e.g. machine/boiling water)? I'm curious to hear which of all the methods we've seen is the most efficient. Thanks for sharing the photos!!

No I did not coop them. I felt like I should just let them go about their regular business. We're kind of snowed in, so there wasn't much chasing. We were going to do it right at the crack of dawn - but we slept in until 9am

I have some pictures of the actual before processing part. Care to see??

Okay so it's going to be in story format.. Please no one quote the pictures I'm about to post 'cause it will take up a whole lot of room.

First off.. Cant' start Slaughter Day (cause it's Saturday and it's Slaughtering time.. okay.. not funny) without blowing a fuse in the barn. Wait. It's -15C out and the chicks don't have heat lamps now.. Uh oh.. 30 minutes later and we figure out the fuses.


Heat lamps figured out quickly until the fuses were fixed (had to run a long extension cord from another area). We used this kettle to boil water.


and we used this element to keep the water warm after it was poured into the pot.


Here is me dunking the birds. The pot was too small, and you really had to get them in there, but it worked. We checked temp and it ranged between 140 and 160.



You can tell someone did not know how to adjust the focus on the camera.. Ah well.

Love my outfit? LOL


My helper Dylan (BFF) who was going to do the killing with me, but messed up on the test chicken and was not allowed using the knife again (but he cut their heads off and helped me pluck - so he's still a winner).


We plucked in a wheelbarrow and dumped feathers in the compost after. Fiance's idea.


The chickens did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Good. I like it that way. I ripped the skin on a couple while plucking and tossed little pieces to the chickens. My god. Craziness.


Plucking was actually fun.. Until your back started to hurt. We tied up a few to do it that way, but found they went stiff quicker. Is that normal? I don't know. Maybe it was just coincidence. We sucked it up and let our backs hurt a bit.

Probably took us together 10-15 minutes to pluck each bird. I think. It seemed that's how long it took. I didn't time it. We started at 10am after the fuses were fixed. Finished at 12:30 outside (all plucking and killing). Clean up took another 30 minutes. So it was a good day. My feed has lasted longer. Most of the roosters were quite large after processed. I'd say 5-6 pounds for the cochin crosses. We cut them up and the drumsticks are the biggest I've ever seen. Huge!


For those of you who didn't go to the album to see the pictures... here is one of the roosters being gutted.