That's about an 81% success rate - if my math is correct? The chicks all seem very alert and healthy. I may give some to a friend, I might try to sell some on Craigslist, or I might just keep them all for myself. We'll see.
The thought of keeping them all for myself led to the thought of butchering, which led to the thought of "Hey Farm girl, you really need to get one of those poultry restraining cone thingies so you can get the job done a little easier." Did I just say "thingies?" So then came a web search to find out how much those cones cost in the first place. Here's what I discovered:
www.coopsnmore.com $23.99
www.cornerstone-farm.com $25.00
www.mcmurrayhatchery.com $26.00
www.countryhorizons.com $33.99
www.meyerhatchery.com $42.84
These prices were all for a standard, medium size poultry restraining cone. I also came across a site that offered a Do-it-Yourself solution to make your own at www.survivalfarm.wordpress.com but it called for a used, road construction cone, and I don't recall seeing too many of those lying around for the taking. But if you can find one, by all means recycle! I also thought about what I had at home that might work just as well. The only thing I could think of was to cut the corner from a 50 lb feed back and use that to restrain the chicken. It would look similar to when you cut the tip off a pasty bag. I think it might actually work. If I get time I'm going to give it a try this weekend. So the lesson learned here is that it certainly pays to do a little research and shop around, doesn't it? But you knew already knew that.
