Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[bigzio]

I know the feeling...it's 72 in the house and I have to go water the birds in 20 degree weather.....bring on Spring!

bigz

 

[bigzio]

Ok .. sorry kee, but a old post that was never sent...
I would go with the flow and sell as many as you can first off, and then work slowly to rid yourself of the extras...I know feed costs, but you should be able to recoup the cost if you are diligent enough to enjoy the ability to enjoy the no cost of raising them...if that makes sense?

Happy evening of hunting tonight! Nice 8 pointer...it was a long hard hunt for months...tipped the scale at 164...pleased with the harvest.... perseverance with the cold wind in face for days..payed off... don't give up!

bigz

 

[jvls1942]

I would not keep turkeys over winter.
maybe if you have a trio that you are pretty sure are the breed you want, but the rest would be going to freezer camp..
come get my plucker, you should be able to do all those birds in a weekend..
grind them up for sausage..
cut them up into pieces before freezing so they don't take up so much space in the freezer.. they are easier to cook in pieces rather than whole.. then you can cook up just the amount you want to eat for one meal.. no left overs for two weeks..
with the plucker and cutting them into pieces, you should be able to process about 4 per hour.. (2 people working at it)
well, you asked what we would do, didn't you?
nice going Brent, Now does DD still have to get one ?
.....jiminwisc.......

 

[bigzio]

Be nice to double down for sure Jim...yep she needs to carry her own wait? Does anyone do that anymore? I suppose I could accept a harvest....my gun, my blind, my land, my dressing of the deer...but hey..that is what Dad's are for..... I'm thinking …. it's all about family...but that's another story...aint it?

bigz

 

[babylady4]

Good grief, I would expect your DD to handle her own deer Z.

Kee, I would advertise those birds as Fresh Christmas Turkeys in every Madison buy sell trade group you can. If you say they are organic and vegan you should be cleaned out pretty quick !

 

[wyoDreamer]

My Dad taught me how to gut a deer - I taught 3 boyfriends, lol. If I was going to hunt, I had to be able to take care of my deer properly. Same with filleting fish - I catch, I clean, I cook, DH eats.

 

[jvls1942]

my 3 sisters did not hunt we three boys did.
if we shot it, we cleaned it. if dad caught fish, we cleaned them whether we were along fishing or not.. I doubt if any of my sisters knows how to clean a fish..
I made my two daughters go deer hunting .
If they didn't like it, they didn't have to go again.. neither one liked it.. but at least they were exposed to it.. my son could take it or leave it. I am sure the next generation will not participate at all..
I never minded butchering the deer. I did many of them all by myself..
Annie hunted with me. she is an excellent shot.. I never minded gutting the deer that she shot.. once she chased down a wounded one and finished it off. nobody around to help, so she gutted it..
.......jiminwisc.....

 

[ParkfieldFarm]

I have never shot a gun because it was never in my upbringing. I live with a huge gun safe though--Jeff and I have been together four years now so I suppose now that we're out in the sticks I should let him teach me. I'd like to learn all of that--it doesn't make me squeamish, I've processed chickens before. Dispatched a few wounded rabbits, etc...one of the boys (12) was completely grossed out when Jeff shot a mouse the other day, and gagged. Boy are they all in for a treat living on the farm. This is the same kid who wants to join the military, cuz guns. Good luck kid.

 

[ParkfieldFarm]

Jim, we've got six people over here! I feel like maybe saving a few whole would be the way to go, especially the small ones. We have a plucker I think...haven't seen it in action though. It's sitting out in the barn. We do not have a way to make sausage right now, though.

So far I listed them on craigslist. $20 each, $450 for 25. Then we can process the other five. If nobody bites then we're going to be processing some damn birds. I'm tired just thinking about it with all of the other stuff going on. We're still 3/4 in boxes over here.

 

[jvls1942]

my kids were helping with butchering chickens when they were 5-6 years old.
at 12 years they were doing some of the killing.
I would like to see a picture of your plucker.

with 4 adults and the 3 kids, we used to do 200 chickens in a weekend..

.......jiminwisc.....