Beekissed
Mountain Sage
******If this isn't the proper placement for this post, I apologize. I want to discuss them as one would with livestock but I know that eventually they will have to be processed and I hope to post pics of setups, methods, pluckers, etc. and you can't do that without showing a little gore and for that I won't apologize, so I'm not sure if this should be in the kitchen category or the hunting & fishing one.******
Please feel free to post about previous meaty projects and current ones and please show pics when you can so that others can use your good ideas. That includes turkeys, geese, ducks, and chickens. I'd love to hear about all the birds we raise for food and how best to do it so that others can learn from your good methods!
I plan to get 40-50 CX chicks in March. I've only raised CX one other time and it was only 20 chicks and I had the help of a good broody hen, so this time I will be in slightly different woods and I hope I don't get lost.
I do plan to feed them like I did my others~once a day and not with broiler feeds. They will be free ranged in the open and not in a tractor. They will have unpasteurized ACV in the water at all times to replace their electrolyte loss due to excessive and liquid feces and they will be documented via pics either weekly or biweekly.
I'll be doing pics and maybe even a video if I have anyone coming to the processing workshop I hope to host.
I hope to build my own plucker using the variable speed drill method but I will modify it slightly beyond the videos and pics I am seeing of such a plucker. I am also going to experiment with dry plucking to see if the scalding step can be skipped with these meaties. What a great thing if it can be skipped....no mess, no heating large quantities of water, no wet feathers, etc.
So...anyone else doing meaties this year? I know TTChicks is and I hope she will post her plans on this thread also.
Please feel free to post about previous meaty projects and current ones and please show pics when you can so that others can use your good ideas. That includes turkeys, geese, ducks, and chickens. I'd love to hear about all the birds we raise for food and how best to do it so that others can learn from your good methods!
I plan to get 40-50 CX chicks in March. I've only raised CX one other time and it was only 20 chicks and I had the help of a good broody hen, so this time I will be in slightly different woods and I hope I don't get lost.
I do plan to feed them like I did my others~once a day and not with broiler feeds. They will be free ranged in the open and not in a tractor. They will have unpasteurized ACV in the water at all times to replace their electrolyte loss due to excessive and liquid feces and they will be documented via pics either weekly or biweekly.
I'll be doing pics and maybe even a video if I have anyone coming to the processing workshop I hope to host.
I hope to build my own plucker using the variable speed drill method but I will modify it slightly beyond the videos and pics I am seeing of such a plucker. I am also going to experiment with dry plucking to see if the scalding step can be skipped with these meaties. What a great thing if it can be skipped....no mess, no heating large quantities of water, no wet feathers, etc.
So...anyone else doing meaties this year? I know TTChicks is and I hope she will post her plans on this thread also.