Chicken harvest

[Timmy59]

Purchase price $122.36 received 5-7-20 likely hatched 5-5-20, $1.61 per bird..
Paid for 76 birds and received 79
$213 worth of Dumor 20% chick starter, 50 days of feeding and growth..
Butchered 6-27 and 6-28, rough average is 4.5 lbs each, ended up putting 64 birds in the freezer over 2 days, roughly 288 lbs of chicken.. Wanted them weeks earlier as the type of bird
doesn't do well in the heat.. We were losing them to heat stroke or heart attack.. So it was without a doubt a chore for the wife and I.. We're sitting outside that Sunday evening moaning about the tough weekend when I went to laughing, the wife says what's so funny ? I said if it wasn't for the heat strokes you'd still have a dozen birds to part out.. We left 4 birds whole and the 60 others all got parted out.. We have plenty of chicken.. Final cost per bird was $5.23 or $1.16 per lb.. You can bet your sweet bippy it's better chicken then the store bought stuff.. @swampratt , I should have hollered at you, we could have fixed you up with a rapping gig..

 

[Timmy59]

So because of the virus that was introduced to us, America EVERYTHING, has been tough to get.. We wanted a new 14.7 cu in chest freezer prior to butcher but OOS.. Because of what's happening we have some concern for what's going to take place next.. TP didn't phase us but, them dumping TONS of chicken, pork and just heard tell of seed taters that were going to be planted dumped.. So besides this harvest we're replacing our laying hens with white, ya white Plymouth rocks and adding an additional pen/ run of heritage Cornish so that the cross between them may give us the same meat birds that we buy.. We'll then be able to control when and how many birds we put up at one time.. LOL, it'll sure be less than 64.. Ordered 2 new freezers and look for them by the end of the month.. 35 cu in worth, the 2 we're on now are +/- 20 years old so 2 new ones should take us up to our dirt nap..

 

[L.C.]

I hope you have lots of different recipes for chicken.
When I was a kid dad and I raised or maybe I should say dad had me help with raising chickens.
I ate so much chicken growing up that I cant hardly eat yard bird now.
.
We also raised tame rabbit's.

 

[swampratt]

What a chore!!!
I hit Craigslist and OfferUP often and I got 125 FREE Laying hens all less than 2 years old.
Some were just 6 months old.
Plan was to eat them all. I ended up selling 1/2 of them for 5 bucks each gave the other 1/2 to a buddy which I called and asked if he wanted free hens and we used his truck.

Made a chicken wire top wood framed cover for the bed of his truck and tossed them in.
I skin my chickens and ducks.
I hate plucking.
I have friends that eat the chicken feet.
Your chickens looked very clean Feet and all.
Great job there!!!

Those birds take up a lot of freezer space for sure.

My chickens have a pen with a white corrugated plastic/pvc top which does not let heat through.

I also have insulated panels on the west side to keep summer heat from cooking the pen.
7 foot tall pen.
I have old steel coffee cans screwed to a board and open on the top that I put the feed into.
They can't scratch the feed out every piece gets eaten.
If they can scratch or dig and toss with their heads they will do it.

Sucks you lost some to the heat.
I think you did very well and you know where the birds have been.

PM sent!

 

[Snattlerake]

I hope you have lots of different recipes for chicken.
When I was a kid dad and I raised or maybe I should say dad had me help with raising chickens.
I ate so much chicken growing up that I cant hardly eat yard bird now.
.
We also raised tame rabbit's.

I was the same way with beef. We had beef steak, hamburger, chuck, roast, meatloaf, ribs, loin eye. T bones, etc every meal. We only had chicken when the pastor and his family were invited and turkey Thanksgiving and Christmas. Otherwise, BEEF, it's what's for dinner.

 

[Timmy59]

What a chore!!!
I hit Craigslist and OfferUP often and I got 125 FREE Laying hens all less than 2 years old.
Some were just 6 months old.
Plan was to eat them all. I ended up selling 1/2 of them for 5 bucks each gave the other 1/2 to a buddy which I called and asked if he wanted free hens and we used his truck.

Made a chicken wire top wood framed cover for the bed of his truck and tossed them in.
I skin my chickens and ducks.
I hate plucking.
I have friends that eat the chicken feet.
Your chickens looked very clean Feet and all.
Great job there!!!

Those birds take up a lot of freezer space for sure.

My chickens have a pen with a white corrugated plastic/pvc top which does not let heat through.

I also have insulated panels on the west side to keep summer heat from cooking the pen.
7 foot tall pen.
I have old steel coffee cans screwed to a board and open on the top that I put the feed into.
They can't scratch the feed out every piece gets eaten.
If they can scratch or dig and toss with their heads they will do it.

Sucks you lost some to the heat.
I think you did very well and you know where the birds have been.

PM sent!

Thank you sir.. Without the yardbird chicken plucker there is NO way we would undertake that number of birds.. You may notice the bird has it's yellow socks on, because I held it by it's toes in the scalding pot anything not scalded wasn't removed.. From the scalder to the plucker where 15-30 seconds of rotation and it was plucked.. You might also notice the color change on the bird, that weekend was WINDY so doing 2 birds a round the 2nd bird got wind dried in a hurry.. The wife parted them out in the outdoor sink and they returned to normal color with water then ice..

 

[Timmy59]

I hope you have lots of different recipes for chicken.
When I was a kid dad and I raised or maybe I should say dad had me help with raising chickens.
I ate so much chicken growing up that I cant hardly eat yard bird now.
.
We also raised tame rabbit's.

American, Italian, Mexican, and oriental.. The wife can put up a dandy meal..

 

[Timmy59]

I was the same way with beef. We had beef steak, hamburger, chuck, roast, meatloaf, ribs, loin eye. T bones, etc every meal. We only had chicken when the pastor and his family were invited and turkey Thanksgiving and Christmas. Otherwise, BEEF, it's what's for dinner.

There's days when I don't want to sit down to a pork meal, excluding bacon or ham..

 

[swampratt]

I was never picky I just eat what is in front of me.
But some of you guys/gals know that already.

I was eating at the camshaft shop the other day having sandwiches and the owner said he wished he had some lettuce.
I said I will be back in a few seconds.
I went to the field beside the shop and came back with what some Dock weed.

I have that on a sandwich when I go hunting or fishing and it is easily found.
My buddy ate it and said to me again ...That is something else I have never ate.

 

[druryj]

I was never picky I just eat what is in front of me.
But some of you guys/gals know that already.

I was eating at the camshaft shop the other day having sandwiches and the owner said he wished he had some lettuce.
I said I will be back in a few seconds.
I went to the field beside the shop and came back with what some Dock weed.

I have that on a sandwich when I go hunting or fishing and it is easily found.
My buddy ate it and said to me again ...That is something else I have never ate.

I'm surprised you didn't put some June bugs on it.