OK, FIRST BEFORE READING MORE, you've been warned that this isn't a pretty thread.
So here's my thoughts. I've been trapping coons & possums regularly for a while. I'm out on a ranch, so it seems like they're in endless supply. I'm not a catch & release guy, I don't want them coming back smarter nor do I want to ship them 10 miles out to make them somebody else's problem. So I drown them.
That's where the problem starts. No, drowning goes just fine. I have a barrel full of water & drop the live trap in there for a few hours. Don't drown them for just a couple of minutes, a friend tried that & they magically came back to life & boy was it a ticked off animal! No, I make sure they assume room temperature before I pull them up.
The problem has been what to do with the carcass. I've taken them to the far corners of the ranch, & vultures circle & neighbors call to ask what's died. I've dumped them closer to the house & you'd think that I died, or maybe a cow. I'm sorry, but 25 vultures hanging around for 3 day over a 5 lb possum just doesn't make sense to me. I tried burying them. I dug a nice 2'+ deep hole & dropped a coon in that first of this week. Two days later the vultures had dug up part of the body & working away at it.
Vultures are a problem in my area. Texas doesn't let me kill them unless I prove they are a serious problem. When my pond turned over on July 4th (it's a process where temperature changes cause the water to lose all it's oxygen), I had about 700 lbs of dead catfish & I had at least 100 vultures hanging around for weeks until it was all gone. Note, I appreciate them cleaning up the dead meat, it's better than if I had to bury it (& I'd have had to borrow my buddies backhoe to make a hole big enough to bury all of them). Vultures have their purpose and I'm OK with that.
But I don't want to start attracting other predators, like coyotes. So it got me thinking. I know chickens & ducks (I have both) are omnivores. What says I can't take these predators, and somehow turn them into feed for the fowl? I don't see why not. My only real question is what's the best way to do this. My first question is if there are issues doing this? Next, is it better cooked or raw (I figure cooking would kill any bacteria or diseases). After that is preparation (I'm thinking dress like other animals: skin it, gut it, & cut into pieces). I can't do anything with the skins, but the guts should be simple enough to cut into pieces, cook in a pot & serve straight up. The rest I can cook in a big stewpot (probably with the guts), and freeze until needed.
Any thoughts? I'm probably catching 10-20 lbs a week, so it's a fair amount of potential feed. And no, I won't be trying this with any skunks (haven't caught any yet, but occasionally I smell them & its just a matter of time).
Oh, one last comment. In my searching, I found some people who take the varmints & put them in some sort of hanging device to protect from the major predators. They let the flies & maggots decimate the meat, & as the maggots fall out the chickens catch & eat them. Sorry, I'm not interested in that. It'd still attract the vultures & other predators, and the smell is probably more than I want within 500 ft of the house. I don't mind doing some work, but I don't want thoughts that disgusting.
Thanks
Tony
PS: my wife reads these threads, I affectionately call her widow-zilla (no, that's not her login but should be!), and she doesn't necessarily even approve of dispatching the predators. So she's going to a bit mad a me for even starting this thread. With that in mind, let's not let this thread get more gruesome than it needs to be. I don't want to be inhumane or cruel.
So here's my thoughts. I've been trapping coons & possums regularly for a while. I'm out on a ranch, so it seems like they're in endless supply. I'm not a catch & release guy, I don't want them coming back smarter nor do I want to ship them 10 miles out to make them somebody else's problem. So I drown them.
That's where the problem starts. No, drowning goes just fine. I have a barrel full of water & drop the live trap in there for a few hours. Don't drown them for just a couple of minutes, a friend tried that & they magically came back to life & boy was it a ticked off animal! No, I make sure they assume room temperature before I pull them up.
The problem has been what to do with the carcass. I've taken them to the far corners of the ranch, & vultures circle & neighbors call to ask what's died. I've dumped them closer to the house & you'd think that I died, or maybe a cow. I'm sorry, but 25 vultures hanging around for 3 day over a 5 lb possum just doesn't make sense to me. I tried burying them. I dug a nice 2'+ deep hole & dropped a coon in that first of this week. Two days later the vultures had dug up part of the body & working away at it.
Vultures are a problem in my area. Texas doesn't let me kill them unless I prove they are a serious problem. When my pond turned over on July 4th (it's a process where temperature changes cause the water to lose all it's oxygen), I had about 700 lbs of dead catfish & I had at least 100 vultures hanging around for weeks until it was all gone. Note, I appreciate them cleaning up the dead meat, it's better than if I had to bury it (& I'd have had to borrow my buddies backhoe to make a hole big enough to bury all of them). Vultures have their purpose and I'm OK with that.
But I don't want to start attracting other predators, like coyotes. So it got me thinking. I know chickens & ducks (I have both) are omnivores. What says I can't take these predators, and somehow turn them into feed for the fowl? I don't see why not. My only real question is what's the best way to do this. My first question is if there are issues doing this? Next, is it better cooked or raw (I figure cooking would kill any bacteria or diseases). After that is preparation (I'm thinking dress like other animals: skin it, gut it, & cut into pieces). I can't do anything with the skins, but the guts should be simple enough to cut into pieces, cook in a pot & serve straight up. The rest I can cook in a big stewpot (probably with the guts), and freeze until needed.
Any thoughts? I'm probably catching 10-20 lbs a week, so it's a fair amount of potential feed. And no, I won't be trying this with any skunks (haven't caught any yet, but occasionally I smell them & its just a matter of time).
Oh, one last comment. In my searching, I found some people who take the varmints & put them in some sort of hanging device to protect from the major predators. They let the flies & maggots decimate the meat, & as the maggots fall out the chickens catch & eat them. Sorry, I'm not interested in that. It'd still attract the vultures & other predators, and the smell is probably more than I want within 500 ft of the house. I don't mind doing some work, but I don't want thoughts that disgusting.
Thanks
Tony
PS: my wife reads these threads, I affectionately call her widow-zilla (no, that's not her login but should be!), and she doesn't necessarily even approve of dispatching the predators. So she's going to a bit mad a me for even starting this thread. With that in mind, let's not let this thread get more gruesome than it needs to be. I don't want to be inhumane or cruel.
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