Weighing Live Birds

[Menmyrc]

I'm counting down to processing day(s) for my extra roos. The big day will most likely be the last weekend of June/First weekend of July. Killing cones are ordered (thanks Jaku!), plans for scalding are being made with a "test" run to make sure I can maintain proper water temp, etc. Now to choose who goes first!

I have a fish scale with a hook on the end to weigh fish. I'm thinking of getting a short piece of clothesline, making a slipknot on each end, and slipping each loop over the feet so there is a short length of rope between the feet. I can then hang this rope on the hook of the fish scale to determine live weight. Think this will work? Does anyone have an easier way?

 

[Winsor Woods]

I have a postage scale that will weigh items up to 70 pounds. I like using that because it's pretty accurate and I can get it to the fraction of an ounce. A bathroom scale would work well also, but it won't give you the resolution (accuracy) that the postage scale will.

Here's what I do. I set an empty 5 gallon bucket on the scale and then tare (zero) the scale out. Then I select a bird and put it in the bucket. Easy Peasy.

The fish scale will work too, It just might take more time to get the legs through the slip knots and then remove the bird. If you're processing lots and want to keep track of weights, then I'd opt for the scale/bucket combo.

Dan

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

I put a box on the postage scale and then put a chicken in the box, deduct the weight of the box and you have the weight of the bird without them running away! it even works for my goats.

 

[Wolfwoman]

Box on a scale with the box CLOSED, no weight fluctuations as the bird is still cuz it's dark

 

[stanglover2001]

I acctually do the fish weight thing myself! I don't have a scale in my house, it'd depress me... So we took a rope and tied it to an s hook and hang them upside down and it's pretty easy to use in my opinion and should be accurate since you use it for fish. Hope you have great food, we just ate 2 of ours that we butchered sunday and they were delicious!

 

[Menmyrc]

Thanks for the ideas. Maybe we'll try both the box on a scale and the fish scale and see what is easiest for us. I have a lot of helpers - DH and 4 teenage/young adult sons. I never thought about a bucket or box. I guess I just forgot. I used to raise lovebirds and we would weigh them on a kitchen scale with a little bowl to contain them. I was just imagining trying to get a chicken to stand still on a bathroom scale! I have about 20 roos to process so I will do it over a couple weekends since we will be plucking by hand. I wanted to take the biggest ones first.

 

[patimekiller]

Why not use the fish scale with the bucket. Bucket can't weigh that much.

 

[sfessler]

Even easier, use your bathroom scale but weigh yourself alone first and then grab a chicken and get back on the scale. The difference is the bird's weight. I worry about trying to use a bathroom scale designed for weighing heavy objects and trying to weigh a 6 lb bird. Your working in the bottom 2% of the scales range.

 

[Menmyrc]

Quote:
Because then I'd have to be reminded of my own weight 20 times over!!!!!

 

[rancher hicks]

Seems to me you could just use a heavy twine. Tie each bird weigh it, put it in the cone. Whack off it's head. Hang it to drain and go from there. Weigh it after processing a know how much was feathers and innards.

Hope you don't throw up.

Rancher