Chicken husbandry ?? EGGS, FERTZ, MEAT - ANY TIPS?????

Here's a pic of the inside of my coop. Time to shovel the gold again.
A coop doesn't need to be fancy, just functional. ;-)
Hen-Coop.jpg


One of my Barred Plymouth Rock hens doing her thang.
Hen-Laying.jpg


One of my Rhode Island Red roosters.
RhodeIslandRed.jpg


I freed some of the roosters to snap some pics. Here's a Golden Laced Wyandotte that's always
fighting with the others and has some scabs on his comb due to his domineering attitude. A Barred
Plymouth Rock rooster is in the background.
GoldenLacedWyandotte.jpg
 
Silver_Surfer said:
57 days and they're enjoying their freedom and a bread snack but high protein starter/grower
pellets are kept in their feeder.
6-21-06.jpg
Click to expand...

Whats with the plastic deer? Why don't you raise some real ones?
 
yep sorry CM I should have said for meat birds I would use a heavy corn diet.
for layers comming on you get a good layer mash and or pellets.
plus greens we lucky we have the shop so give them lots of waste lettuce etc.
 
That is one nice looking flock SS ! They are some great photos too !
I hope my coupe looks half as good as yours ! How often do oyu let the roosters out for a romp ?

Thanx Stillmanz & SS.. with feed Q?.. I dont want extra Fat birds, but juicy is good !
Will head down to local feed guy, and see what he has when it comes closer to the time.

Do yo guys hand pluck feathers, or pliers ? Or is there a machine ?
I have done a few in my time but remeber it is not that easy !
We used a little blow torch to get the little feathers and fluffy bits ? Is this what you guys do ? Or do you get them killed and dressed/ slaughtered else where ?
Ian
 
Sickmont said:
Whats with the plastic deer? Why don't you raise some real ones?
Click to expand...

That's a female's doings, not my idea. LOL

There are so many wild deer here that during hunting season you are allowed 1 buck AND 1 doe each day of the season. Why would I want to raise them?


chilliman said:
That is one nice looking flock SS ! They are some great photos too !
I hope my coupe looks half as good as yours ! How often do oyu let the roosters out for a romp ?

Do yo guys hand pluck feathers, or pliers ? Or is there a machine ?
I have done a few in my time but remeber it is not that easy !
We used a little blow torch to get the little feathers and fluffy bits ? Is this what you guys do ? Or do you get them killed and dressed/ slaughtered else where ?
Ian
Click to expand...

Thanks, the roosters get to taste a little freedom once in a blue moon. They are bad to fight each other and very pissed at me when they are returned to the cage. :lol:

I hand pluck the ones I intend to grill or put on the rotisserie. It's not that difficult, just boil some water and pour it in a 5 gallon bucket to take outside. Grab the bird by the feet and dunk in the hot water for a few secs, then pluck. The feathers will come off very easily, but repeat the short dunk if necessary. Don't dunk for more than a few seconds though or you'll cook the skin and it will break and come off with the feathers.

To remove the pin feathers I just roll up a newspaper into a kind of torch, lite it and pass the flames under the plucked bird. They singe off very quickly.

For the birds I intend to fry I just skin em, feathers and hide come off together in one go. I don't like the skin on my fried chicken.
 
I have not seen the Hot water bucket trick... though I have never really known anyone with chickens that they dress themselves.
I will take your word for it ! You are the pro around these parts !

I am learning alot from you SS , thanks mate giving more confidence each day, & the kick in the bum to get things started ! As I have been putting it off.. :)
 
I use the same method on wild turkey, give it a go and you'll be surprised at how quickly the feathers fly. :D

BTW, add those feathers to the compost pile.

You're welcome and looking forward to seing your chooks.
 
Is that a heat lamp in your coupe ?

Im am sure I will need your help as we go ..;) If you dont mind of course !?

Is that a fiberglass coupe ??

And nice handy work with the boxs and ledges.
 
ok I didnt read all of this thread but dont rule out having some turkeys, they provide plenty of meat far more than a chicken.
 
The (soon to be "3weeks) wife dose like turkey as she is Yankie.. So SS you said you have had those ??
I assume they would shit ALOT and produce more "fertz" than chicken ! Much more up keep ??
They are not common here and probably cost a bit more than chooks.. not sure !
 
chilliman said:
Is that a heat lamp in your coupe ?

Im am sure I will need your help as we go ..;) If you dont mind of course !?

Is that a fiberglass coupe ??

And nice handy work with the boxs and ledges.
Click to expand...

Yes, it gets turned on and the coop closed at night during the winter if the temps drop below 20 degrees and stay there. Otherwise its not needed as the breeds I have are very cold hardy.

It used to be a fiberglass hothouse that I painted and converted to a coop.

Thanks. My laying nests are a design of my own. They are stacked and each piece is slotted together so the whole thing will come apart and go back together very easily. When cleaning it becomes necessary this comes in handy.

chilliman said:
The (soon to be "3weeks) wife dose like turkey as she is Yankie.. So SS you said you have had those ??
I assume they would shit ALOT and produce more "fertz" than chicken ! Much more up keep ??
They are not common here and probably cost a bit more than chooks.. not sure !
Click to expand...

No, I hunt wild turkey for meat and wouldn't recommend mixing turkeys and chooks together as they're susceptible to a different range of diseases.

Tame turkeys that have been bread for meat production are pretty stupid animals. They have been known to drowned during a heavy rain. :lol:

If you want a lot of poop get some geese. Nothing sh1ts like a goose. LOL
 
chilliman said:
a cackle of geese .. hmmmm they are noisy though, I thought ???

ow and dose the roosters crow every morning ?
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Yeah, geese are noisy and I prefer chooks.

Yep, they crow every morning, and throughout the day. A rooster crows when he feels like it. :lol:
 
Sweet.. my block is Just over acer... and back onto a 60 acre unused farm. So hopefully I can lease another couple of acers of him during growing seasons....
I moved out here for things like polly tunnels, chooks, fruit orchid, veggy patch, etc.. and I like the peace and quiet after living in the city !

I live in Farmig district ! ;)On outskirts of Sydney... And even found a bloke around the corner who can provided the Rhode Island Reds.
 
chilliman said:
Sweet.. my block is Just over acer... and back onto a 60 acre unused farm. So hopefully I can lease another couple of acers of him during growing seasons....
I moved out here for things like polly tunnels, chooks, fruit orchid, veggy patch, etc.. and I like the peace and quiet after living in the city !

I live in Farmig district ! ;)On outskirts of Sydney... And even found a bloke around the corner who can provided the Rhode Island Reds.
Click to expand...

Sweet, ya can't beat country living. :)

Rhode Island Reds are the most prolific brown egg layer.
 
I look forward to my roosters crowing, chooks clucking, pods ripening..:)
Had a lady prech about white cornish hens today ?? (original "not the cross she barked") ? Saying they are the best meat brids ? And would give a left pinky for one ???
cornish.jpg

These much the same as cross ?
 
chilliman, you do things fast. You asked about a UDS, you built one in days. You asked about chicken coops, you built one in days. You start making hot sauce and it's raved about. WHAT CAN'T CHILLIMAN DO?
 
heheh, I cant stand on my head in a fish pond, doing 360 turns, reciting the alphabet while drunk.... I know I tried! many moons ago ...:lol:
 
Cornish look good but I'd go for a all round bird that way you can breed eat the roosters keep tjhe girls.
New hampshires reds or Rhodes or maybe a Wynedotte variety?

Mick
 
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