Chicken thoughts update.

[frkelly74]

We got the first egg today. I estimate the cost of that one egg to be $120 but I expect the cost to go down as we , hopefully , get more. And it turns out that 5 of the chickens out of 13 are roosters , they are now big , hungry,sort of aggressive roosters. I have started to suggest that we might eat the roosters soon and most of us are on board with the idea.. One of the daughters asked if we were going to shoot them and I said probably not. Thanksgiving is coming right up.

[Trey45]

The neighbors keep chickens and turkeys, they shoot the one they want to eat with a 22 to the head. Pretty effective.

[arjacobson]

I have had nothing but fun raising our urban chickens. Cannot beat how good the eggs are compared to store bought..

[Wayne Smith]

As a child I grew up with chickens, layers. Cut the head off and the chicken runs around spurting blood until they are convinced that they are dead. Easy way to bleed them if you have an area where you don't mind blood. We had chicken frequently.

[waksupi]

We would hang a dozen or so at a time by their feet, from a clothes line. Walk down the row cutting off heads with a butcher knife. They bleed out well, and don't bruise their flesh like they can do if left to flop around on the ground.

P.S.

Remove all clothes from line first.

[Adk Mike]

I've had chickens for 14 years. This year it's redsex links and a few New Hampshire Reds. I have no idea why I do it but the eggs are good. And when kids come they like them.

[jpatm2]

P.S.

Remove all clothes from line first.

Speaking from a bad experience? :shock:

[nvbirdman]

The next egg will cut the cost down to $60 each, and then forty, and then thirty, pretty soon the chickens will be paying you for the privilege of laying eggs.

[94Doug]

I recall the time one of my classmates had a biology experiment in High School that involved chickens, and the fateful time when they needed to be dissected, the task of just how to be brought to their end was debated, with the farm kids giving ideas of the neck wringing, others thinking of more humane ways...first the teacher thought that the surgical scissors might work, and cut the head off, and of course off the chicken ran throughout the classroom spewing blood like a horror film. Next he thought holding him in an ice cream pail while using the scissors might be a good idea...that was more horrible than the first attempt. Finally the class was outside in the snow and a kid (with the experience) grabbed the chicken by the head, swung it around a few times...and...well, he ran around bleeding in the snow. All in all a good learning experience for everyone.

Doug

[TXGunNut]

Thinking about a few chickens for pest control, don't need many eggs. Neighbor keeps them and has very few insect issues.

[crabo]

An upside down cone that allows the chicken to go down head first, works really well. The chickens bleed out and aren't able to flop around.

[frankenfab]

I was given a freshly killed young rooster to BBQ one time. It turned out great! Get them before they get too old.

[DLCTEX]

Our Ag teacher was going to demonstrate caponizing roosters on two roosters a student had brought. After two futile attempts to find the testicles the roosters were dissected to find what was wrong. Turned out they were pullets.

[bearcove]

We'd wring there necks or just cut the heads off out back. They don't run far if you don't freak them out.

[MT Gianni]

The best fresh turkey I have ever had we hung up and slit the throat. Some wing flapping but it bled out completely and nothing but great tasting meat was left. I have heard that no adrenaline is present that way. I like the cone idea mentioned above.

[Mk42gunner]

We used to buy about 50 old layers from an old farmer when I was a kid. We would butcher most of them, and keep around a dozen for eggs. Somehow that man could tell which hen would still lay eggs and which wouldn't.

Between those roatsers in the crock pot and the chicks that Grandma raised to fryer size every summer, we ate a lot of chicken.

Robert

[Bret4207]

If you let them get old, so that the spurs are showing, pan on stewing them. Slow cooking for a long time will soften that tough meat. Just be advised it'll take 2 laying breed roosters to produce the meat one store bought roaster will, the breast will only be 1/2-1/4 the size, etc.

Oh yeah, and then there's chicken lice. I suggest you make sure you birds can dust themselves in some diatomaceous earth, co-rid or other anti-bug type dusting powder. Even when you dip them for plucking the lice can get on you. All chickens get the lice, some worse than others.

[pipehand]

Have Buff Orpingtons. Hatched out a few this spring, and traded off some older hens and kept their daughters. The brothers went off to freezer camp. The killing cone is nice to have, but loops of 550 cord on the dogwood tree work as well. Sometimes I will just skin an older roo instead of going through the trouble of scalding and plucking. If you know someone who ties a lot of dry flies, those hackles would be appreciated. There's a bunch of hackles on one rooster though!

[cattleskinner]

I have the same trouble with an excess of chickens, young roosters and old hens. Here was my answer, can it for soups, chicken salad, etc. I don't think the banty hens will fill the jars as fast as the standard roosters.

[SSGOldfart]

maybe a big pot of dump'nls to go with the older birds,we've only got 5 nowand most days we get 4 or 5 eggs eggsalad has become a main stay around here.

[frkelly74]

A chicken in every pot.......... well not the "smelting" pot. .... but a chicken in all the other pots,,, yeah that's it..

[DLCTEX]

Pipe hand: I used to have Buff Orpingtons and really liked them. A couple of those hens consistently laid double yolk eggs. A fellow in another town had Lakenvelders and sold eggs to my SIL. I tried to buy eggs for my incubator and he wouldn't sell to me as he wanted to be the only one with them. I got 2 dozen from SIL and hatched 23 chicks even though they had been refrigerated.

[frankenfab]

I got 2 dozen from SIL and hatched 23 chicks even though they had been refrigerated.

That is cool!

[woody1]

Our motly crew of 12 laid these today.

[olafhardt]

Not having any sawdust I have been using chicken scratch grain for smelting. It seems to worrk fine but it crackles a little and smokes a lot.

[DLCTEX]

Not having any sawdust I have been using chicken scratch grain for smelting. It seems to worrk fine but it crackles a little and smokes a lot.

That's some high priced flux. Don't you know any carpenters or cabinet makers?

[DLCTEX]

Our motly crew of 12 laid these today.

You must have some Aracanas in the bunch.