Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Poultry Restraining Cones (and cute baby chicks!)

Last Saturday and Sunday 17 little chicks hatched out and are now in the brooder peeping away.  Two died trying to hatch out, and two of the eggs never hatched (I gave them until late Monday).




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:


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. 





 

Monday, February 11, 2013

Let's Make Chickens!

Spring is on its way. Spring makes me think of Easter, and Easter makes me think of eggs.  And, well, eggs make me think it's time to hatch chickens.  Honestly, I admit, I'm really only thinking of hatching chicks because number one, I get a really big kick out of it! And number two, our flock is getting low.  Many chickens were invited to dinner over the winter months, and it's time to start succession planning.   In fact, I took inventory over the weekend and the count stands at five roosters and twenty-two hens (and two Pekin ducks).  Too many roosters for sure, but I haven't yet decided who's on the guest list for dinner.

So I pulled out my incubator, sanitized it, and loaded with twenty-one fresh eggs.

All of these eggs should be fertile. Four of my roosters are mating age.  They consist of a Turken (or "Naked Neck" if you prefer), a Black Copper Marans, and two others, which are a Black Copper Marans and Buff Brahma Bantam cross. The fifth little guy is also a Turken, but too young to mate.

The hatchlings from this new batch will be from any of the above fathers; and either a Turken, Buff Brahma Bantam, or Black Australorp mother. What a neat mix! I love suprises. And if we count twenty-one days from the date of incubation (February 10th), this should put us at a hatch date of about March 3rd.

A few tips I have read to ensure a successful hatch...

  • Ideal pre-incubation storage temperature of 55 degrees and 75% relative humidity (I failed here, I like to keep my house a bit warmer than that.)
  • Eggs should be turned daily and placed in the incubator within 4-7 days (did that)
  • Store eggs with the pointed end down (yep - got it)
  • A two week storage reduces the hatchability rate to 50% (these were only stored for 3 days)
  • At three weeks, the chance of hatchability is nearly at zero (no chance any egg would last that long in my house)
  • Run your incubator for 24 hours prior to placing the eggs in it to assure correct temperature is maintained. (did that)
  • Warm your eggs at room temperature before placing them in the incubator to avoid condensation on the egg shell, which could lead to bacteria and disease (no problem there)
  • Use only clean eggs. Do not wash and use eggs that were dirty. If you remove the bloom (the invisible barrier on the outside of the shell) you increase the chance of the egg not hatching, or hatching out a sick or deformed chick. (no dirty eggs here!)

I wonder how many will hatch?






Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Pressure Is On!

It's cold, soup is warm.  Let's make soup! Or is it stew? Whatever...
I have been desperately wanting a pressure cooker/canner for some time now.  And guess what? My good Mama gave me one for Christmas! So out of the box it came, and out of the barn came a hen for the pot.  Don't fret the hen's demise. She lived a peaceful, cage-free life here on the farm for the past ten months.

So, here is the first recipe I concocted for my new Presto 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker...

Chicken and Vegetable Stew / Soup

1 whole, small chicken (2-3 lbs.) cut in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. of chicken bouillon powder (or 3 bouillon cubes)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 cups water

1 bay leaf

1 medium onion, quartered

3 carrots, 1-inch diameter, cut into 2-inch pieces

3 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 medium potatoes, cut into halves

3 tablespoons butter

Add the olive oil to the pressure cooker and heat to medium-high heat without the lid on. Brown your chicken on all sides. Pour water in cooker (make sure cooker has cooled down and is not excessively hot). Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pressure cooker.

Secure the pressure cooker lid in place. Place regulator on vent pipe and cook 20 minutes at 15 lbs pressure. Allow the cooker to cool to zero pressure on its own. Remove meat and separate from the bone and add back to the broth and vegetables. Throw in a little fresh chopped parsley. Test for seasoning, and thicken the broth with a little cornstarch if you’d like.


Delicious. Fast, hot and easy – just like I like my… Wow, where was I going with that one?

But what a great stew though. It can be thrown together in a flash and ready to eat on any of those nasty winter nights. The broth is heavenly. And don’t forget to shamelessly pour yourself some home brew and add a slice of crusty bread.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Well, the broody hen finally hatched a little bobble-head. It’s a “Turken,” also known as Transylvania Naked Neck chicken. I was hoping it would have been one of the fancy French rooster’s offspring, but alas, the hen had other plans. Now she's left sitting on one egg and a golfball; so I have a 50% chance of hatching a chicken or a golfer, right?


Another hen went broody as well over the weekend. Any ideas on what to do when this happens? Why these hens think it’s a wise idea to have a bunch of little chicks running around in the dead of winter is beyond me.

I keep pondering how, or if I should, do anything special to prepare for hurricane “Sandy,” other than make sure all the animals are comfortable. It has been raining constantly up here since Saturday (no surprise), much to the delight of the ducks, but not the rest of the animals. It delayed me in putting more hay up over the weekend. I still need to get 150 bales in my loft for the winter. I’m sure many of us are preparing for the storm as I write this. All summer everyone prayed for rain. Well folks, here it comes. Be safe.


10/26/12     Black Australorp / Turken Chick


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