Virginia

[AllAboutMyGirls]

Is anyone out there from southwest Virginia...specifically Christiansburg/Blacksburg/Radford or Montgomery/Floyd/Pulaski Counties?

I have 35 Buff Orpingtons I bought as day-old chicks from a hatchery that I am raising for meat.  But, they are still very scrawny.  I was thinking about cross-breeding them and was looking for someone local. 

I live 30 min south of Christiansburg and 30 min north of Floyd.

I am new to the area.  We moved here last year after 26 years in the Marine Corps.  I am looking for a little advice on my chickens and maybe connect with locals who share similar interests.  We are trying to build a small, self-reliant homestead from scratch.  So far we are cutting down our pine trees and milling them into useful lumber, raising chickens, raising pigs, and hoping to get into goats, vegetable garden, and fruit trees in the next year or so.  It's a lot of work, but also lots of fun, too.

Thank you.

Ted

Hello!!! At what age do u plan on processing your birds? We raise dual purpose chickens also. Our Roos are butchered between 5 and 6 months. A week before we process I take them off feed and give them nothing but scratch grains and lots of fresh water. Completely dressed they usually weigh around 6 to 7 pounds. I just processed 2 orps yesterday that were 6.2 and 6.5. Dual purpose chickens take longer to grow out but they are definitely worth it.

 

[LilChickens2]

Hello!!! At what age do u plan on processing your birds? We raise dual purpose chickens also. Our Roos are butchered between 5 and 6 months. A week before we process I take them off feed and give them nothing but scratch grains and lots of fresh water. Completely dressed they usually weigh around 6 to 7 pounds. I just processed 2 orps yesterday that were 6.2 and 6.5. Dual purpose chickens take longer to grow out but they are definitely worth it.

We would like to eventually process chickens but have no idea how to do it. Any good resources or classes in VA on techniques?

 

[AllAboutMyGirls]

We would like to eventually process chickens but have no idea how to do it. Any good resources or classes in VA on techniques?

Yes, Joel Salatin was my inspiration when I decided to start processing our Roos for food. I read and watched a lot of his videos.

This is a great site that I still use http://butcherachicken.blogspot.com/?m=1

I would also suggest that you either buy or make your own kill cone and use a plucker. I use a traffic cone with the top cut off. If you can't afford a plucker you can usually find places that rent them.

The killing part is still very difficult but praying helps us a lot. To me, once the bird comes out of the plucker it no longer looks like our chicken, it looks like food and that makes it easier.

We use shrink wrap bags which are quick and easy. We used to use a vacuum sealer but it didn't seem to get all the air out. We also let our chickens rest in the refrigerator for three days before we put them in the freezer.

I know I'm probably forgetting a lot but if you ever have any questions please feel free to ask me.

 

[finnfur]

We would like to eventually process chickens but have no idea how to do it. Any good resources or classes in VA on techniques?

tons of video on net

 

[LilChickens2]

Yes, Joel Salatin was my inspiration when I decided to start processing our Roos for food. I read and watched a lot of his videos.

This is a great site that I still use http://butcherachicken.blogspot.com/?m=1

I would also suggest that you either buy or make your own kill cone and use a plucker. I use a traffic cone with the top cut off. If you can't afford a plucker you can usually find places that rent them.

The killing part is still very difficult but praying helps us a lot. To me, once the bird comes out of the plucker it no longer looks like our chicken, it looks like food and that makes it easier.

We use shrink wrap bags which are quick and easy. We used to use a vacuum sealer but it didn't seem to get all the air out. We also let our chickens rest in the refrigerator for three days before we put them in the freezer.

I know I'm probably forgetting a lot but if you ever have any questions please feel free to ask me.

Thank you for the information! It'll give me a good place to start.

 

[ApiaryandAviary]

Is anyone out there from southwest Virginia...specifically Christiansburg/Blacksburg/Radford or Montgomery/Floyd/Pulaski Counties?

I have 35 Buff Orpingtons I bought as day-old chicks from a hatchery that I am raising for meat.  But, they are still very scrawny.  I was thinking about cross-breeding them and was looking for someone local. 

I live 30 min south of Christiansburg and 30 min north of Floyd.

I am new to the area.  We moved here last year after 26 years in the Marine Corps.  I am looking for a little advice on my chickens and maybe connect with locals who share similar interests.  We are trying to build a small, self-reliant homestead from scratch.  So far we are cutting down our pine trees and milling them into useful lumber, raising chickens, raising pigs, and hoping to get into goats, vegetable garden, and fruit trees in the next year or so.  It's a lot of work, but also lots of fun, too.

Thank you.

Ted

Please post a picture. I saw some being sold a year or two ago at I think were at the TSC in Ridgeway parkinglot That I believe were really golden comets but the young woman said they were Buff Orpingtons. I said, nothing like mine but mine were English not American.

 

[ApiaryandAviary]

BARKEL'S LEMON RACING HOMER.
Anyone know anything about them?
Who has them?
Costs?
Best Climate?

 

[finnfur]

BARKEL'S LEMON RACING HOMER.
Anyone know anything about them?
Who has them?
Costs?
Best Climate?

don't no a thing about pigeons but Barkel stock lemons are here.
http://www.whiteracers.20m.com/photo_19.html
Gee they are a whole lot more expensive than chickens- I hope they can carry a lot of messages in one trip

 

[hveggeberg]

I'm not sure when we will butcher them. It sounds like everyone is saying 5-6 months. They are 4 1/2 months old right now, so I guess I'll wait about 4 more weeks. When you wait 5-6 months, is the meat tough? I've hear that they can get kind of tough when they get old.

 

[AllAboutMyGirls]

I'm not sure when we will butcher them.  It sounds like everyone is saying 5-6 months.  They are 4 1/2 months old right now, so I guess I'll wait about 4 more weeks.  When you wait 5-6 months, is the meat tough?  I've hear that they can get kind of tough when they get old.

You you definitely have to cook dual purpose birds at low temperatures and slow. We cook our roasters in covered granite pans at 300 for about 3 to 4 hours. The meat completely falls off the bones. They don't have very much breast meat but a lot of juicy dark meat.