Washingtonians

[Rare Feathers Farm]

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No we had those and we still are.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

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[SadieSue]

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Ah, Cornish X, that explains it.

I don't do "freakish" birds, so I'm sure even a really, really good sharp knife won't do a normally aged bird well enough. My meat birds are culled at 4-7 months old, and their necks I'm pretty sure are stronger and bigger than a Cornish X at butchering age.


I know about lineman's pliers - I usually use tree loppers, they're just a slight downgrade from such and do the job wonderfully.



But speaking of which, tonight we're going to dine on roasted Olive Eggers for dinner, then homegrown Orangeglo watermelons and homegrown Popcorn for dessert!

Roasted Olive Eggers... not something I've seen at my local Albertson's store...

So you're not raising Olive Eggers anymore I take it? They're not in your signature line anyway. Since you are raising birds primarily for the food they offer I find it interesting how livestock and poultry around your place change. I see myself spending the rest of my life as a city girl, so it's just a view of a different way of life and I enjoy hearing how folks are running their small farms. The forum has offered an insight that I might not otherwise have had. Thank you.

 

[RonB]

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what kind ya getting ???????????????

 

[SadieSue]

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So pretty! These photos, (blurry or not) do offer a better idea how nicely colored the Icelandics are. Their bodies appear more "streamlined" than my big fat layers. Looking forward to seeing more photos - they are so different from what I have here in my backyard.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

The source of my freakage about how dangerous it's going to be to get this branch on the ground. There's about 6" of unbroken wood twisted more than 45 less than 60 degrees, at least twenty feet off the ground with no clear access from any direction. Bonus points for steep slope in sand and decomposing oak leaves of the centuries. (Seriously_ walking under these trees is like walking on a mattress).

Also, the downed limb blocks the only barely-passable vehicle route, so no cherry picker can get in.

 

[Mia_]

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I have a couple of farm boys I call when I need help like that.

One of them regularly picks me up and carries me around (dancing). The other one is bigger. Maybe that comes from baling 12-14,000 small square bales of hay this summer.

Anyway, I am waiting for a response, to see if they will chop it up for you.

Nah, it's just a matter of someone in the (logger, construction worker) family getting time to do it. I wouldn't want anyone who I don't know to take this on; if it's not a family member it's going to be someone with their own insurance, because this is a dangerous thing to take on.

Thanks for the offer, but I have plenty of expertise to draw on in my gene pool.

You are happy to give the Darwin Award to someone in your own family rather than someone else's. How nice of you.

Anyway, anyone I would offer, has their own insurance.

 

[SadieSue]

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You're not as high up or windy as we are....but you're pretty brave with those around here!

I tried D'Uccles once (before my coop was fully insulated).....but they did have a 250 watt heat lamp. They didn't fair very well.

You're still incubating?? I have a broody mille fleur cochin hen....she's determined to sit on something so I put a few eggs under her.....

Lav Orps huh?

Yes, I got some eggs from 4-H Mom. She sent me the Lav orps and 1 serama egg to go along with the 5 that my serama all of a sudden decided to lay. I think she (my hen and 4-Hmom) were pretty much at the end of their season. I can hardly wait. Should be exciting. Regarding the seramas - don't ask me why....I will probably have to keep all the babies in the house until next spring - like in a big bird cage (wouldn't the DD love that - right in her room. The serama babies inside all winter.

I am hoping that I can insulate a coop and small pen warm enough for the seramas. I have them backed up against the big coop - this will block the North wind from them. I will put some heat source in their coop as soon as it starts getting really cold. Talking with DH last night and trying to make him understand that they like 80-90 degree weather (or more). The heat at the fair this fall did not even phase them. I may have to knit them socks and ear muffs for winter. I just pray they are okay...I know that DH and DD WILL bring them in the house if it gets too cold.

Ohhh, looking forward to seeing your Lav Orp and Serama babies. I'll bet there's going to be a big difference in their sizes! I'm trying to figure what I want to hatch next year. Not that I have any room to keep anything, I just want to hatch more babies! Orps, huh?...

 

[Mia_]

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If I had a cork boots, a belt, and a chainsaw, I would do it for you.

 

[Illia]

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No no! I'm raising LOTS of Olive Eggers, got two full incubators, half of which are OE's and still gonna fill em once they empty. . .

I'm eating some tonight because they're my current source of chicken-food. I raise chickens primarily for the joy of them as well as preserving rare or good quality birds, the Olive Eggers I breed for a dual purpose kinda thing though. My Araucana x Marans make the best meat hybrid yet so far (besides my Sussex x Shamo which are very limited) so what I do is hatch out a whole bunch, raise them, sell the pullets since they're a good interest in buyers, and keep all the boys to butcher for food for us and our dogs.

I don't mention OE's in the signature because I rarely sell their hatching eggs, and the pullets I sell to locals, plus they're not really something you "breed" like one would, say, a Marans.

And past that, it is pointless to advertise here since no one lives nearby me who's on BYC.


My Olive Eggers I always choose to be Araucana based instead of Ameraucana based, and they always turn out excellent, grow fast, and get very nice and meaty, especially in the breast, which the credit mainly goes to the Araucana for. Sometimes I do sell the boys for breeding though because some of my boys end up absolutely beautiful. My last boy was a Black Breasted Red, and was rumpless. Was a huge fella! He's now enjoying some time on another person's mini-farm.