Turkey Talk for 2014

[yinepu]

I have realized that I have a problem. What the heck do you guys use to scald your turkeys? My biggest pot is 12 quarts. I have not seen any bigger. And as far as your set up, do you guys have your pot over a fire (what I do for chickens), or something else?

I use a turkey fryer for most.. some need to be "double dipped" because they just won't fit.. so we hold by the feet and dunk one end then pluck.. then grab by the neck and dunk the other end and pluck..

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
thanks.. batch #2 is pipping

 

[sonderah]

RP hens are tiny compared to other birds.  Mine was only 9 lbs when I last weighed her 2 months ago, and the two toms I have (both Blue Slate) were 18 lbs and 25 lbs.  All were 7 months old at that time.  But she's been bred by them many times and is fine.  However, they are on grass, and the ground underneath the grass is fairly softish this time of year, so that does give her some cushioning.  Is your tom also a RP, or a larger breed?

Yes he is also an RP. I have no idea what his weight is. Lol Guess its because my other hen is a year and a half old blue slate that this one seems so small.

 

[Penny Hen]

I use an approximately 15 gallon plastic tub. I put my four largest pots on the stove filled with hot water and bring them up to 160°F, pour them into the plastic tub and then dunk the turkey in the scalding water. After cleaning the turkey I fill the tub with cold water, add salt and the turkey and let soak for 8 hours or over night.

Let me tell you about the Handy, Dandy, Little Giant Giant Bucket Heater!..."

(for all you Daffy Duck fans)
This is a bucket heater that will take five gallons of water to 170˚ in 10 minutes. It is Model 724G Bucket Heater made by Allied Precision Ind., Elburn, IL 60119. Tractor Supply carries it in winter but I was looking for it out of season and had to order it online from a horse supply company in the Midwest. I'd tell you the name but it is escaping me at the moment.

If you don't have running hot water at the barn this is a must! Never have to haul pails of hot water out of the house again. Get really filthy and don't want to track it back into the house to get clean? Viola! Hot water and a bar of soap and you can stand to grab the doorknob again. Doctoring or washing that animal that is too large to take inside the house? All the hot washing water you need. Never have to give your horses cold showers again. And now since I know that scalding temperature is 160˚ I am going to try it out on the mean rooster that I am inviting to Sunday dinner.

You can get BIG plastic tubs with rope handles for about $10 at the Dollar General Store. They don't last more than about a year if you leave them out in the full sunshine though. They hold around 20 gallons so it will take this device a little longer than 10 minutes to bring it up to temperature.

 

[popsicle]

I usually only do one turkey at a time, so a food-grade five gallon bucket works fine for me. Of course I have to carry water from the stove--two large soup pots worth is enough for one turkey in the bucket. I'm going to have to look into that contraption of Penny Hen's.

 

[Momhunter]

How much variation in temp is ok during lockdown?? My used gqf hatcher heat adjustment is a pain in butt!! It's the older model non-digital with the temp adjusrny knob on the side. I finally get it to stay at 98.5 in the mornings but then it increases up to 99.5 in the afternoon when my room gets warmer. I have my incubator and hatcher in the study in my house. No heat or ac on in there. The room does have two windows that get the west sun all afternoon, so the temp goes from lower 70s to as high as 85 when warm outside and have several brooders and the incubator/hatchers are going in there.
My newer gqf digital incubator(sportsman) stays very stready at 99.5. So the hatcher is reading 98.5 in the mornings then yesterday afternoon with coturnix quail hatching it was running 99.5. I'm worried it will get to warm for the next turkey poults hatching this weekend.
Do my question is do I need to replace the thermastat, turn on the ac in that room to keep it at a steady temp or what?? Advice please before I put then next turkey eggs in lockdown.

 

[gevshiba]

Well, it may work, or it may rip out the roof of his mouth or severely damage his tongue or the back of his throat, or he may break the line and take it with him with the hook still in his mouth, so he escapes but starves to death or dies of infection, or doesn't die but lives in constant pain. Or it may capture some other animal before it captures the turkey. Either way it's not a humane option, and should not be considered. If you want to kill him, have the guts to go out and shoot him and accept the consequences. You might get charged with hunting out of season, or even poaching, but at least you won't get charged with animal cruelty.

If you don't want to kill him but just want to stop his harassment of your tom, call your state fish and game or wildlife management department for suggestions, and to find out the regulations in your state. If they can't help, you can start with a visual barrier, such as black plastic on the fence. If that doesn't work, you can add something that would be a physical barrier that would keep him several feet away from the fence line, such as a quickly placed stretch of deer netting or electronetting, or anything else that you have around that would push him physically away from the fence line. If that's not enough, then something that is scary, such as a motion detector that activates a loud and forceful sprinkler, or a strobe light, or a loud noise, or a scarecrow that moves, or a net to capture him and take him some place else. Or borrow a dog, if you don't have one, and tie it or kennel it right outside the fence. Or hire someone to capture him for you and have them relocate him. Or go to the local zoo and get some poop from one of the big cats and sprinkle it around. There's hundreds of options, limited only by your imagination. You don't have to resort to something that could cause pain or injury. And I don't think a baseball bat is considered an acceptable form of hunting in most states, so you're back to that animal cruelty charge again, which is a felony in many states.

Don't worry, that method isn't one I'd consider. I also don't want to poach him. I'm limited on what I can try, because it's the neighbor's property. I might try the flags first, since it's easy. I will call someone if I can't run him off myself, but we really hate having the Corp of Engineer people coming around.

 

[DaisyMeadow]

thanks.. batch #2 is pipping

 

[R2elk]

How much variation in temp is ok during lockdown?? My used gqf hatcher heat adjustment is a pain in butt!! It's the older model non-digital with the temp adjusrny knob on the side. I finally get it to stay at 98.5 in the mornings but then it increases up to 99.5 in the afternoon when my room gets warmer. I have my incubator and hatcher in the study in my house. No heat or ac on in there. The room does have two windows that get the west sun all afternoon, so the temp goes from lower 70s to as high as 85 when warm outside and have several brooders and the incubator/hatchers are going in there.
My newer gqf digital incubator(sportsman) stays very stready at 99.5. So the hatcher is reading 98.5 in the mornings then yesterday afternoon with coturnix quail hatching it was running 99.5. I'm worried it will get to warm for the next turkey poults hatching this weekend.
Do my question is do I need to replace the thermastat, turn on the ac in that room to keep it at a steady temp or what?? Advice please before I put then next turkey eggs in lockdown.

I have a 20+ year old 1202 and the conditions that you describe are the same conditions that I experienced. It would hold a very steady temperature as long as the room's temperature remained the same and would increase in temperature if the room got colder or decrease in temperature if the room got colder. Also because the electronic thermostat had a one turn pot it was difficult to fine tune the temperature setting.

GQF sells a replacement 10 turn electronic thermostat for $83.98 plus shipping.

The other options are to replace the electronic thermostat with a digital controller. I replaced mine with a Spyder controller which now keeps the temperature dead on target as long as the room temperature remains within the range the controller can compensate for. In my case room fluctuations from 60°F to 80°F have had no effect other than the amount of output sent to the heater coil. It just keeps on holding the temp at the 99.5°F that I have it set for.

Of course there are other PID digital controllers that are available for much less than the Spyders but they will also require to purchase a compatible and accurate temperature probe.

I am extremely happy with my Spyder controller, I calibrated the probe against a known accurate calibrated thermometer, set the temp offset, set the temp that I wanted to maintain and then leave it alone to do its job which it does wonderfully.

Good luck whichever way you go.

 

[chicken pickin]

Let me tell you about the Handy, Dandy, Little Giant Giant Bucket Heater!..."

(for all you Daffy Duck fans)
This is a bucket heater that will take five gallons of water to 170˚ in 10 minutes. It is Model 724G Bucket Heater made by Allied Precision Ind., Elburn, IL 60119. Tractor Supply carries it in winter but I was looking for it out of season and had to order it online from a horse supply company in the Midwest. I'd tell you the name but it is escaping me at the moment.

If you don't have running hot water at the barn this is a must! Never have to haul pails of hot water out of the house again. Get really filthy and don't want to track it back into the house to get clean? Viola! Hot water and a bar of soap and you can stand to grab the doorknob again. Doctoring or washing that animal that is too large to take inside the house? All the hot washing water you need. Never have to give your horses cold showers again. And now since I know that scalding temperature is 160˚ I am going to try it out on the mean rooster that I am inviting to Sunday dinner.

You can get BIG plastic tubs with rope handles for about $10 at the Dollar General Store. They don't last more than about a year if you leave them out in the full sunshine though. They hold around 20 gallons so it will take this device a little longer than 10 minutes to bring it up to temperature.

I love this! Im going to have to take a look around TSC now. Roughly how much does it cost?