Killing Cone

     When we decided to raise meat birds I did lots and lots of research on processing. We wanted our birds to be raised as close to organically as possible and then processed in the most humane and efficient way possible. The conclusion of my research was that we would use a killing cone for processing our chickens. The reason for this is that when you use a killing cone, the method entails cutting the chicken's jugular. The bird looses consciousness very quickly due to a loss of blood pressure to the brain. However, it's heart continues to beat, allowing virtually all of the blood to be removed from the body. The chicken is restrained in the cone, so there is no flopping around. Birds processed in this way are much cleaner to work up. There if very little odor when you are doing the rest of the processing compared to other methods such as complete decapitation.

     I was asked a very, very long time ago to share a tutorial on how we built our killing cone for processing chickens. It's been in the back of my mind on my to-do list ever since. I kept putting it off because I didn't want to waste our sheet metal making a second one, and I couldn't think of any inexpensive materials to use to make a prototype. Today I stumbled across this article on how to do just that! I see no reason to reinvent the wheel. The author used essentially the same method as we did. I hope you enjoy learning how to make this simple, but quite valuable homesteading tool!

Update

Well folks, it's been a LONG time since I did a post. Teaching a grades two through five class and rushing home to do chores, cook from scratch as much as possible, and stay up on things like making soap leaves little time for the blog. I could keep up better if we had Internet access at home, but we don't. I only have it on my cell phone, which doesn't work as well as I'd hoped for blogging. Anyhow, I wanted to let you know what's been going on.

The biggest news on the homestead is about the goats. I currently have a herd of eight. There are four boys and four girls. :-) My boys are all wethers, and three of them need new homes desperately. Perle is due to kid in March, Sassy, her daughter is due in April, and then we have a long wait. Twilight and Miracle have had a hard time "settling" this time. I took them both to be bred only to have them come into heat again after we were back home. It doesn't take long for this routine to get old. Now they are at the home of their chosen bucks to stay for a month. Fingers are crossed that they will come home thoroughly impregnated with multiple kids! :-) I don't think it's a problem with the girls fertility, but with their owner's observation skills. When I do chores in the dark both morning and night, it's really hard to discern when they are in heat, even when I'm trying my best to pay attention to such things. If everything works out Miracle and Twilight will both kid in June. I am not thrilled about them kidding so late in the year, but it sure beats a year with no kids. :-)

Like all homesteaders, my thoughts have turned toward the garden. I am so anxious to get started with it! I have learned that having the garden in the location of last year's chicken pen is the BEST way to do it! The things I planted at that location grew wonderfully, had virtually no pests, and the location was almost weed free. The few weeds that did appear were very easy to pull from the loose, rich soil. With that in mind, my garden spot is going to be about one third the size I've had in years past. I am going for excellence over quantity. I think if I have a smaller plot that mostly consists of the area the chickens have occupied I will have an excellent garden spot that will produce more per square foot than the huge garden that is an all out war with Bermuda grass and other weeds. My thoughts are about what I really want to grow, because with the smaller plot comes cuts in the availability of space to grow veggies. I will definitely not have as many of any one variety of plant, but I will also have to limit the number of varieties of plants I grow.

My chickens are doing better than ever. Dare I say I've got this chicken thing down? My flock size has held steady for several months, despite the hawks I frequently see and the owl who roosts in our barn. They are healthy and attractive. Laying is almost at a standstill. The only eggs I've gotten have been from the banties for the past six weeks or so. I am not unhappy with that, though, because I want my chickens to lay according to their biological signals as much as possible, and our winter has been mild enough that I haven't needed to use a heat lamp on them, so their bodies are getting a much needed break from production. I hope to see them start laying in a month or so. I also want to add more birds to the flock this spring. I really want Golden Laced Wyandottes, but I don't know if that will be an option. I love the consistency of the banties for laying, but I would like to have eggs to sell, and for that I think most people are going to want eggs from standard sized chickens. I also want to increase my flock size so that they can prepare more ground for planting next year. :-P

Spring is just around the corner, and I'm ready for it!!!

What We've Been Waiting For!

At last! My Welsummer hens have started laying. We got our first egg from them on Tuesday, December 14th. They aren't the dark "chocolate" color I was expecting, but they are very, very pretty with their freckles and dusky color. I took WAY too many pictures of them, and of course, had to share them with you. Who else would appreciate egg pictures?!

There are four Welsummer eggs in the basket. The bigger, lighter brown egg is from my Brahma hen, and the white eggs are from the game hens that were supposed to be Americaunas.

I just love my colorful egg basket! I'm so glad I don't have all one breed of chicken. Now that I have this assortment, I never want to go back to all one color.

Eggs!

This spring I bought 8 Welsummers because I wanted their beautiful chocolate brown eggs. They are now 9 months old and have yet to lay a single egg. On top of that, my three mature hens started to molt in August, and were laying sporadically. Then they quit. We haven't had a single egg since September first. Last night when I went out, there were three beautiful eggs waiting for me! After a three month long wait, we finally have eggs!

The chickens spent the summer in our chicken tractors so they could "free range" without danger of predation, or at least to minimize that danger. When they hadn't laid in 8 weeks, I remodeled the bachelor pad and moved them there, to a more traditional chicken house with a yard. I increased their feed from a 16% protein feed to a 20% one. I am also using a heat lamp on the nights that the temperature dips below the freezing mark. Which of these factors broke the strike? I don't know, but I sure am glad about it!

My Thoughts on Raising Meat Birds

I would definitely recommend raising your own roosters for butchering (as opposed to ordering mass quantities from a hatchery). We ordered 100 Buff Orpington cockerels from the hatchery, and it was a mess from start to finish. Checking 100 chicks for pasty butt every day is a long, tedious chore. Coccidiosis is a nightmare (it claimed about half the flock), and when you are away from home 12+ hours a day, it's super hard to find time to process the birds once they reach full size. Then, if they reach sexual maturity before you get time to harvest them, you have a fighting mob on your hands. If we'd processed them last September as planned, we'd have had a freezer FULL of nice, plump chickens. We didn't make that deadline, and ended up overwintering them, which was hard on us all. We lost another half of the flock over the course of the winter, mostly from their vicious fighting. They refused to even leave the roost on the coldest days of winter, so they lost weight. With spring they started ranging out much better, but they were fighting one another a lot, and constantly running/chasing. There is just no way we could get them back up to the size they were in the fall, before this much testosterone had kicked in.

I do not use the "hybrid crosses" because I feel that the creation of such birds is inhumane. Their bodies grow so much faster than their internal organs can support. Their bones grow too quickly and are susceptible to breakage, and can you just imagine the growing pains they experience?! All this rapid growth is bound to produce birds with inferior health. Their little livers cannot keep up with the purification needs of a full sized bird, to give one example. For all these reasons, we stick with heritage breeds of chickens. Last year I bought Buff Orpingtons and Black Australorps. This year I am doing my best to get Welsummer pullets. I will probably get some sort of bantam hen(s) to be setters for me, and we will butcher the cockerels that are born, but we won't buy cockerels for meat making purposes again. (I know, never say never...)

Chicken Killin'

On Saturday we began the process of butchering the 20-something roosters that inhabit our yard. Of course, true to form, we realized on Saturday morning that we had nothing to put them in! I had a grand total of THREE one gallon Ziploc bags, and I didn't know if the birds would even fit in them whole, which is how I planned to store them. This necessitated a trip into town for a solution to this problem.

I've been considering the purchase of a vacuum food storage system since early last summer. It isn't exactly a NEED, but I feel it's a very good investment in the stability of our food supply. (No more freezer burnt food!) My darling husband has known about this, but I don't think he realized how seriously I wanted it. Since we were about to butcher a year's worth (if not more than that) of chicken, I didn't want all that effort to go to waste. I suggested that the moment may have come to make this purchase, and why. He said, "Get it!" And so I did.

I am not one for having a lot of appliances. In fact, I try to have as few as I possibly can. However, I think this one will be worth the cabinet space.

Before we actually got to the butchering, we had to build our killing cone. I purchased $13 worth of flashing and had enough material to make three cones. (We decided to only make one, and save the rest in case we find other needs for it later.) Here is the killing cone, work table with knives, and coolers filled with ice water ready to accept that wonderful, wholesome, free range meat:

We followed kosher butchering practices to the best of our knowledge, which made the process much less stressful than it could have been, for both the birds and us. One thing we did that was unorthodox to everyone we know is that we skinned the birds instead of plucking them. We didn't have access to an automatic plucker, and dipping the birds in boiling water and then taking all that time to pluck feathers in a wet, stinking mess did not even remotely appeal to us, so we opted to skin them. This turned out even better than I had hoped. It was a little tricky in a few areas, but overall, I think it was a good decision. Here is what our birds look like all done:

When Wayne saw me taking pictures, he had to show off his injury sustained during a skinning accident:

Deliciousness!!!

Chicken Broccoli Lo Mein

This is one of my favorite meals. I just learned to make it last September. It's from the Fix It and Enjoy It Cookbook.

Put a pot of water to boil for the noodles.

Cube one pound of chicken into about 1" pieces. Fry them in oil. I used olive oil with a drizzle of sesame oil for flavor.

While the chicken is frying, combine 1/4 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1/3 c. hot water, and 2 cloves of garlic, minced in a glass jar with a good lid. Put the lid on and shake until contents are thoroughly mixed.

Once the chicken has cooked for about 5 minutes, add one medium bunch of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces.

Put the noodles into the boiling water. I used rice noodles, which I adore. They cook almost instantly. If you leave them in too long, they will turn into a glob. It's taken me several tries to learn how to cook them, and they are still not perfect, but much better. My technique is to salt and oil the water, stir them frequently while they are cooking, and drain them by ladling them up and letting it drip off the noodles, then piling them on a plate.

The Bachelor Pad

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? One of my favorite things on our property is this outhouse. I think it's the coolest thing ever! It's the nicest outhouse I've ever seen. The base of the seat is formed concrete, there is a coat hook and a dowel to hang the toilet paper roll on! There is a vent pipe as well as vents on the east and west sides of the outhouse that have latches so you can open them in warm weather and close them during the cold times. I was remiss to deface this wonderful, but almost useless, structure. However, need won over sentiment. This spring we purchased Buff Orpington cockerels from a local hatchery. We raised these chickens for meat. They needed a place to live! We didn't want to invest in building a chicken house large enough to host so many chickens because we don't intend to deal with mass quantities of chickens again. The logical conclusion was to (temporarily) renovate the outhouse into a chicken house. It's only a roost and shelter, but it meets the need. The boys are thrilled with it, as you can see:

Bessie

This is my favorite hen. Her name is Bessie, named in honor of a special friend, both of them are sweet, crazy, little redheads!

Catastrophe

Each morning when I get up I go into the bathroom and raise the blinds and look out on the new day. This morning, my view was horribly marred, for what I beheld was Wayne's coondog, Lucy, chasing a chicken across the garden! I ran to the back door and acted overjoyed to see her and she (thankfully) came running to me. I brought her inside our enclosed back porch. Sadie, our other dog, was also loose, but her chain had caught on one of the stakes that anchors the flower bed that surrounds the back patio. I went inside and told Wayne the dogs were loose, and they had been killing chickens. (I saw two bodies when I checked to see where Sadie was.) Lucy had broken the snap on her collar, and Sadie's "s" hook that held her chain to the post had separated. (We just replaced Sadie's snap about two weeks ago when she got loose and killed one of my hens.) I dressed and began walking the yard. It was a gruesome task. They killed four of my laying hens, including my two best Silver Laced Wyandottes, and two roosters. There are also two roosters that are wounded, but I think will live. This leaves me with just three hens: two Americaunas and a Brahma. From now on we will be replacing the hardware on the outside dogs every ten months!
Their method of attack: rip the bottom out of the chicken coop. We have now replaced the wire bottom with plywood. We are planning to enclose the sides with plywood as well and just leave small holes for ventilation around the top.

Chicken Update

I know y'all are *so* excited to hear more about my chickens, but, believe it or not, a friend asked! These are the adorable little black and yellow fluff balls that were in the blue cage with the dogs gawking at them. They're all grown up and looking pretty fine. My Brahma hen is in the center. She is named Buttercup. I don't think she is laying yet. The white rooster is named Bud. He's one ornery old cuss. He keeps ALL the birds (and Wayne) in line!

This is my Black Australorp hen. I don't believe she is laying yet based on appearance. I have not yet checked her bones to see, though. We are getting around five eggs a day. I have another B.A. hen, named Sissy, who keeps to herself. She roosts in some secret hideaway, and we only see her early in the morning, before the other chickens are released.

These are some of the "gang." They are old enough for the freezer, but we haven't gotten around to that yet. They keep things in a tizzy around the yard, always fighting and chasing the girls.

I have two Silver Laced Wyandotte hens. (I call them both Sylvia - can't tell them apart!) I do think they may be my best layers. I think they started laying first, and I also think they are more consistent layers.

This is a side view of a Silver Laced Wyandotte hen with Bud at her side.

Home Grown Chicks

My little cochin hen has hatched a fine bunch of chicks! Believe it or not, there are six babies under her! Here she is with the babies, already teaching them to eat bugs and seeds, and they are only one day old!

These chicks are not biologically hers. She was so determined to set, and I had not been saving eggs for her to set, that I got some from the local farmer's market.(She quit laying because she wasn't eating enough or getting exercise.) Their father is a brown leghorn rooster. I can't remember for sure what the mothers were. I think they were buff orpington, production red, and maybe barred Plymouth rock. It will be interesting to watch them grow and see what they end up looking like.

One of our goals is to get to the place where we can raise chicks with real mommas and never have to utilize a hatchery unless we want to try a new breed.

The Chicken Coop

This is our chicken coop. It's a remodeled rabbit hutch. It's approximately 4' wide, which allows plenty of roost space for my flock of 14 semi-mature chickens, since I have two rungs for them. One of my many summer projects will be to give it a good scrubbing and a fresh coat of paint. I'd also like to put a tin roof on it.

Here is a front view with the lid up. This allows for easy access for cleaning and taking care of the chickens.

Here is a side view with the lid up. We added another wall instead of wire to help block the westerly winds.

This is looking down into the coop. We used broom handles because they were cheaper than wooden dowels. One was free! It was in the barn when we moved here, and the straw was all rotted off it. I would have preferred to harvest some green tree limbs, strip the bark, and allow the chickens to roost on them. I think it would be healthier for their feet, but the small size of this coop requires the uniformity of the broom handles.

This is another side view to show that the entire thing (except the back) is fully enclosed with hardware cloth type wire. I've heard of raccoons actually grabbing a chicken's leg and pulling it out through the wire and chewing it off. I hope we've used good enough wire that this will never be a concern for our birds!

Buff Orpington Chicks are the cutest ever!

I ordered Buff Orpingtons because they are a heritage breed, and supposed to be one of the most docile as well. They will get up to 7-10 pounds. They arrived yesterday. Wayne said they looked like a moving plush carpet. Dipping 104 tiny beaks in the water was quite a chore! :)

My Little Cochin Hen

When I was a girl, I had a hen just like this. She was such a sweet pet. She would come running to me when I walked out the door, and I'd scoop her up, carry her with me to the hammock, lay her on my belly, and she'd stay there as long as I let her. I'd read Anne of Green Gables and pet her. I enjoyed her so much!
This hen has a husband. He's quite gentle as roosters go. Here's a pic of him

Egg Drop Soup

Tonight I made egg drop soup for the first time. I was inspired to do this by this post: http://kellythekitchenkop.com/?s=egg+drop+soup I saved the bones from a whole chicken that Wayne had fried a couple weeks ago. (I kept them in the freezer until I was ready to use them.)I put the bones of the chicken in a stock pot about half full of water. I had to top up the water twice, but I cooked the bones for three hours. This created my broth. I added four green onions, chopped coarsely, and plenty of salt and pepper. I scrambled four eggs and Wayne poured the eggs through a fork while I whisked like a crazy woman! That was a LOT of eggs! I would just do a couple next time. When I tasted it, it tasted like it had fried wan tons! I guess the flavor from the chicken being fried was imparted. I served it alongside stir fried veggies on a bed of rice. DE-lish! This will definitely be a repeat in our house!

The chicklets are here!

Today I bought the first chicks for our new homestead. I bought 10 black australorps. As you can see, my furbabies are just as excited about their arrival as I am! They are such cute, tiny little fluffballs of black with yellow on the undersides and sides of the head. They should start laying in July. I can't wait to have my very own fresh eggs!

Chicken Day!

We are buying our first baby chicks for our new home today. I am planning to get black australorps (like the picture)this time. They are a dual purpose bird who are excellent layers and have a mature weight of around seven pounds. I will buy straight run (mixture of both sexes) and we will butcher the males when they achieve full size, except for one or two that I will keep so that the eggs will be fertile and the hens can raise babies next year. I hope to get to the point that I won't need the assistance of a hatchery for my chickens, unless I want to try a new breed. That will take a few years, though. I decided to choose several different breeds, and allow them to cross in the hope of producing babies that are better than their parents. Time will tell.