[Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)

[ncgoatgirl]

I have learned that roosters can get mean, no matter if you have babied them, petted them or hand feed them. (puberty maybe?)

Roosters who are babied, petted, or hand fed are much more likely to be mean and dangerous than those who aren't. This seems to be true for a lot of male animals; a bottle-fed ram is supposed to be one of the meanest, most dangerous animals you can have on a farm. (OTOH, we've had several bottle-fed buck goats, and they were always babies---very sweet natured.)

[bobaloo]

You're absolutely right about bottle-fed rams. You usually end up with them as "bummers", lambs that a mom rejects for whatever reason, and the choice is let them die or bottle feed them. Having been through a few of them I'm no longer sure about which choice I prefer...

The hard part for lots of folks to understand is with some livestock you WANT them scared of you, rams are the perfect example. If they lose their fear of you they can get dangerous, I've been nailed many times by rams when I forgot to stay on my toes.

We had a ram a few years ago that was a great ram, loaned him to a friend for stud service and it turns out she treated him like a baby while he was there. When we got him back we had to butcher him, he'd lost his fear of us and was just too scary to keep around.

Funny, had a friend's kids (30 years old) come visit the other day, she couldn't understand why the sheep didn't run up to get petted like dogs, couldn't figure out why the chicks weren't all bright yellow, etc. Finally dawned on me that for her visiting us was like visiting Mexico, it was all strange and confusing.

[Ebyss]

We had one dog that ate a couple of chickens and used the old Ozark remedy. Took the chicken and whacked him with it quite a few times, then used some string to tie it to his collar and left it there for a couple of weeks.

Obviously not a good solution for the city or a small lot, but from then on he never messed with a chicken, used to act dowright scared of them for some reason...

Did you just tie the chicken straight to his collar? Or did you put it in a sack?

~~~

For the urban chicken keepers :

The Elgu!

Ok, it's a little unconventional (nothing wrong with that), but apparantly it works very well. I've heard lots of positive stuff about it, and they say it's completely fox proof. I'll be needing something bigger though, but it looks good for the suburban family.

[CarlinsDarlin]

bobaloo,
Yep, it always amuses me when someone asks if I have to have a rooster in with the hens to get eggs ... The fact that people are so far removed from their food these days is reason enough for me to believe folks will be in serious trouble if grocery stores go lacking.
Kathy

[ncgoatgirl]

Funny, had a friend's kids (30 years old) come visit the other day, she couldn't understand why the sheep didn't run up to get petted like dogs, couldn't figure out why the chicks weren't all bright yellow, etc. Finally dawned on me that for her visiting us was like visiting Mexico, it was all strange and confusing.

Mexico....or Disney World! That's the feeling I get from visitors. Sometimes it's amusing, but more and more it's depressing.

My sister in law, who lives in north Atlanta, and is a teacher in a private school, had to teach a unit about sheep. At Easter, she was complaining that she didn't know what to say, since there's nothing sheep are used for. My sister's mouth dropped open and she said,"Think about what a sheep looks like---all fluffy?..." No clue on SIL's part. My sister says,"WOOL??!!" SIL thought (really!) that wool grew on trees. She also had no clue about lambchops, thinking that they came from lambs---an entirely different animal from sheep. And when sis went on to tell her that some sheep are milked to make cheese, SIL was absolutely flabbergasted.

[Ebyss]

My sister in law, who lives in north Atlanta, and is a teacher in a private school, had to teach a unit about sheep. At Easter, she was complaining that she didn't know what to say, since there's nothing sheep are used for. My sister's mouth dropped open and she said,"Think about what a sheep looks like---all fluffy?..." No clue on SIL's part. My sister says,"WOOL??!!" SIL thought (really!) that wool grew on trees. She also had no clue about lambchops, thinking that they came from lambs---an entirely different animal from sheep. And when sis went on to tell her that some sheep are milked to make cheese, SIL was absolutely flabbergasted.

*Speechless*


This woman is a teacher

[Riverside]

I have learned that roosters can get mean, no matter if you have babied them, petted them or hand feed them. (puberty maybe?)

Roosters who are babied, petted, or hand fed are much more likely to be mean and dangerous than those who aren't. This seems to be true for a lot of male animals; a bottle-fed ram is supposed to be one of the meanest, most dangerous animals you can have on a farm. (OTOH, we've had several bottle-fed buck goats, and they were always babies---very sweet natured.)

Maybe being nice was the wrong thing to do? I got that backwards, lol. I haven't had the courage to get any more roosters since because they attacked my youngest daughter when she was about 2 yo. And they were barred rocks, so kind of large. The roo also spurred my husband when he went in to "take care of the problem" I talked to a neighbor and she said she normally had to go through about a dozen roosters before she got a nice one.

Carla

[ncgoatgirl]

Maybe being nice was the wrong thing to do? I got that backwards, lol. I haven't had the courage to get any more roosters since because they attacked my youngest daughter when she was about 2 yo. And they were barred rocks, so kind of large. The roo also spurred my husband when he went in to "take care of the problem" I talked to a neighbor and she said she normally had to go through about a dozen roosters before she got a nice one.

Yes---we just ignore the roosters when they're young---give them lots of space. Even so, we still occasionally get a mean one. When it looks like a rooster is going to be a problem, we usually start out by clipping his spurs (a bloody job)---sometimes that'll take the wind out of his sails, and he'll leave everybody alone after that. But sometimes there's nothing you can do but kill him, and get another.

[Ludi]

I'm going to look into gluing wooden balls on the end of my aggressive rooster's spurs. He spiked me pretty badly once. My other two roosters are gentle so far, one enough to hold, the other is skittish and won't let me catch him, but he isn't aggressive. The aggressive rooster is a light breed (Polish) and light breeds are supposed to have more nervous temperaments. Luckily he's very small, mostly feathers. But damn is he fast!

[CarlinsDarlin]

So far all the mean roosters we've acquired have been banished or put in the stew pot. None of them, however, were mean to us - just to the other roosters. So, we had to thin them out some. Now we have 3 adult roosters - one Arucauna, one silky, and one barnyard variety. They seem to get along well. The Arucauna won't let you pick him up, but he is pretty calm, and will let you touch him. Good thing - he's about knee high on me, with very large spurs.

Speaking of spurs, if you cut them too short, they can be very bloody, but if you just take off the tips, it does hinder their "hurting" ability, and doesn't bleed nearly as much.

What are you doing with your ducks? Food? Pets?

Well, that's the $64K question right now. Since I've only had them a couple weeks, and they were originally pets to the lady who gave them to us - I don't think these particular ducks will end up as food anytime soon, but, I'm pretty sure their offspring will. Actually I've never eaten duck - but others in my family have, and say they didn't like it. So I'm kind of torn. I hate to butcher the ducks, and then nobody like to eat them. But, they're sort of an additional insurance policy against rising grocery prices. Since we're trying to be more food self-reliant, I figure another type of poultry on the place is a good thing, and will add some food security for us when the time comes that we'll need it.

If someone could give me good recipes, I might just try them out before we need to .
Kathy

[Ebyss]

Ducks are one of the finest birds to eat, my personal favourite. I don't cook much duck, it's expensive to buy, but I plan to in the future when the farm is up and running. If you can, go to a good chinese restaurant and have crispy roast duck. Delicious!

Recipes.. well, I'll have a good look through my books. Tbh, I think duck is a tricky bird to cook well, but my God is it worth it. (I'm not a fan of game type meats, too sweet and "gamey" (lol ) for me, but duck's not at all like that).

[Ludi]

They average one egg per day during peak laying period in spring and early summer, tapering off during fall and winter, and gradually laying fewer as they age. Well kept home chickens will lay for five years, commercial chickens are usually "retired" after a year and a half, I believe.

[Ludi]

We actually split the flock when we got 100 one year because the higher order were actually causing bloodloss and even a few deaths on the low end of the pecking order.

Natural flock size is much smaller, around 25 or fewer to each flock.

If you get picking bad enough to cause fatality, the birds are too crowded.

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

A coop with lop sided chickens would be another source of entertainment too! if you cut all the flight feathers it has the same effect but not the entertainment value!

[katkinkate]

You cruel bastards!

[Tanada]

A coop with lop sided chickens would be another source of entertainment too! if you cut all the flight feathers it has the same effect but not the entertainment value!

I dunno if I can agree to that, I have seen a duck with all its flight feathers trimmed evenly manage to escape a 6 foot fence. He wasn't able to fly far mind you, but he did clear the fence before he came back down.

When they are lopsided they never get more than a couple feet up before they come back down.

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

I stand corrected. Gonna have to try it too. I can see how that would work better. too funny!

[CarlinsDarlin]

I found another potential source of customers for my eggs - the local hospital. I have two relatives who work there currently, and one has offered to not only ask if other employees would like to buy eggs, but post a sign on the employee bulletin board for those who might work other shifts. I'm hoping I'll end up with some regular customers this way. My relative (aunt) lives about a half mile from here, and said she'll even take orders for eggs and deliver them to the hospital for me . I've got feelers out with others too. Trying to improve my marketing before the babies all start laying at once, burying me under eggs .
Kathy

[Pops]

Which of course brings us to storing eggs.

Waterglass can be used if you have a stable cool place. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/9684/egg.html

Personally I like boiled then pickled eggs.


BTW, there is quite a bit of pigweed (?) coming up with the ryegrass on the garden plot and I’ve been moving the pen daily across it. The birds love the pigweed and clip the ryegrass down from about 18” to 3 or 4 in a day. After I move the pen the weeds are gone and the rye comes back stronger than ever – and I’m feeding lots less grain.

[Tanada]

Don't forget if need be eggs will keep 18 days at room temperature, so long as they have not been refridgerated. That is how a hen can lay a nest full of eggs before sitting on them to hatch a whole brood at once.