The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

good morning, everyone!

love waking up and reading this thread.
Delisha, even though it was dark, those chicks look wonderful!
Mlowen, like the oyster shell container. now I have to google rocket stove

armorfirelady, reading your description of everything you've done for your chickens is exhausting. If you take a break and follow delisha's advice, can you let us know if you are mite free after the 10 days of checking?

and I just noticed that there is a thread " vicious baby silkies...." lol, isn't that an oxymoron?

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 have tried all different methods. You need to do it the way that you will feel the most comfortable. These are your birds. It is important to experience it. Try them all. You will simply know what you will use after your first time. Your birds need you to do this. No one understands them better than you.

I hang them upside down. To me they go to sleep. For ME it is less traumatic. I have less flapping and I can see and feel the jugular, but that takes experience and trial and error.

Just remember your equipment is sharp.

Slowly but surely the breeding pens are nearing completion...
Removable partitions are finished and the roof is on.
Hopefully we will get the front doors and back access flip hatches done tomorrow'
(well... likely not... as you can see below, it is slow going when you have so much help)

awwww..nice helper!
Love the pens!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Nu stock is awesome =) I have been very happy with the results on my dogs and livestock, tho I haven't needed to use it on my birds yet.

I like having it around to use even on ME if I need it! (But I better not be going anywhere if I use it or I'll stink them out

)

 

[Leahs Mom]

RR - wonderful pens! Keep those photos coming!

LALA - let us know how it goes - and what method you end up "liking" the best. (Not sure "like" and processing really go in the same sentence but you know what I mean.)

 

[Kassaundra]

good morning, everyone!

love waking up and reading this thread.
Delisha, even though it was dark, those chicks look wonderful!
Mlowen, like the oyster shell container. now I have to google rocket stove

armorfirelady, reading your description of everything you've done for your chickens is exhausting. If you take a break and follow delisha's advice, can you let us know if you are mite free after the 10 days of checking?

and I just noticed that there is a thread " vicious baby silkies...." lol, isn't that an oxymoron?

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?

Can't speak to the "stress" of the bird, but killing cone was much less stress to me then hatchet. However I think hatchet done by someone who has good aim and knows what they are doing wouldn't be any worse for the chicken then the cone.

 

[maryhysong]

Can't speak to the "stress" of the bird, but killing cone was much less stress to me then hatchet. However I think hatchet done by someone who has good aim and knows what they are doing wouldn't be any worse for the chicken then the cone.

I have done the hatchet and don't really recommend it; way too much flapping around for my taste. This year I had been tying their feet together and hanging them; worked ok but the last batch I rigged a cone from a bleach bottle and I have to say that is the very best way to me. When I set them in the cone I pulled their heads on down as far as possible. This meant lots of neck sticking out and easy to grasp the head, find the right spot and an easy cut, no flapping around with them wiggling and getting in my way of a smooth quick cut. Made the whole process a lot easier on me. So I am sold on cones. The birds also seemed to be a lot less stressed than when I tied their feet and hung them. The only flapping was at the very end with the last death throes

 

[Leahs Mom]

Mary - thanks for the input on all the ways. Very helpful. Only way I've ever done it was by hanging and I've only done that once when we were learning.

 

[Leahs Mom]

A bit off the processing topic..... I posted this for some folks with new broody's on another thread and thought I'd go ahead and post it here in case it might be helpful to someone. This is what I did this year to "chick proof" the fences.


******************

I have a dog kennel run outside the hen shed. I can keep it closed when I don't want them to free range, or open the gate to let them out to range.

Since chicks are small enough to go through the mesh in the fence, I lined the bottom of it with plastic chicken mesh fence.

I cut the fence in half lengthwise so I had 2 pieces that were 25 ft. long and 1.5' tall. (My kennel is large so I had to get 2 rolls of the fencing and use part of the second roll too.)

Then I used zip ties to attach it to the kennel. I left about 4" laying on the ground so that they couldn't get under it.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT PREDATOR PROOFING. IT IS JUST USED TO KEEP CHICKS FROM GOING THROUGH THE FENCE WIRE.






At each gate, left an overlap to cover the opening around the gates so they couldn't get through there. Attached so that the curl of the fence is the right direction on each side. The gate is the only area that doesn't have a 4" piece laying on the ground. (So that it can open easily, of course.)









Outside the kennel over where they range around is a fence that the littles were also going through and under. My husband had a bunch of the wire shelving that he nabbed when someone was throwing it away. We zip tied it to the bottom of that fence to keep them from getting separated from mamma. (If you look at the 2nd photo above, you can see that fence beyond the dog kennel.)

This photo is looking through the dog kennel and over to the range area where you look through the permanent fence with the shelving unit zipped to it. I can use the weed wacker on that shelving without cutting it like it would if I used the plastic there.




Here's a photo this morning of mom and kids over on the ranging side. They are 6 wks. this weekend.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Can't speak to the "stress" of the bird, but killing cone was much less stress to me then hatchet. However I think hatchet done by someone who has good aim and knows what they are doing wouldn't be any worse for the chicken then the cone.

I gather that putting the bird upside down and slicing the throat offers better bleed-out than other methods, which produces nicer meat.

I've read that putting the bird upside down calms it down for less "stress" during the killing, which also produces better meat.

I've read that putting the bird in a killing cone prevents the bird from injuring itself with broken bones, torn skin, or bruised meat ... again a suggestion that a killing cone produces better meat.

I've also read that the killing cone is calming to the bird due to the gentle squeeze the bird gets from the sides of the cone. They use gentle squeezing devices elsewhere in handling livestock.

I know some people who use improvised killing "cones" that aren't cone shaped (a large tin can with a hole in the bottom), as a convenient way to get the bird to bleed out even if it was beheaded on a block first.

I know someone who has dramatic stories about "processing" poultry that he appears to believe make him sound brave or cool or macho or something ... he refuses to put in the effort to calm the birds by either turning them upside down or squeezing them. His stores seem gruesome and cruel to me. But it still gets the job done ...

 

[mlowen]

A bit off the processing topic..... I posted this for some folks with new broody's on another thread and thought I'd go ahead and post it here in case it might be helpful to someone. This is what I did this year to "chick proof" the fences.

This photo is looking through the dog kennel and over to the range area where you look through the permanent fence with the shelving unit zipped to it. I can use the weed wacker on that shelving without cutting it like it would if I used the plastic there.




Here's a photo this morning of mom and kids over on the ranging side. They are 6 wks. this weekend.

I LOVE the wire shelves!! What a great idea and what a great use for "leftovers" (if you don't need shelves.) The kids are awful cute. I'd want to keep them safely enclosed, too.

 

[armorfirelady]

Great job LM. I have some of that laying around to. You just reminded me lol. Hmmmmm bet I could set it up to set the nesting boxes on if I want them higher so they have floor space under them for winter........great just what I need another project