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Posted on 07/12/2005 8:11:36 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
But not as much fun
As flying? I do still kind of like flying but it's not that much fun.
Flying on a Firebolt, that'd be fun.
They're six weeks old today...the clock is running out.
Remind me again, when is "P" day?
Saturday morning, very very early. Barring complications that might arise that will move things up. These birds have a tendency to have their legs break underneath them, in which case we would process as soon as possible to be humane.
But that usually happens when you push the limit of time...8 weeks. At six weeks we have two pretty healthy birds that won't have time (hopefully) to develop those complications.
LOL!!! I'm sending that to Steve...
Also, this week is a mild week...low 90s. It's going to start getting a lot hotter and that is a detriment to this breed. Their hearts can't take it and they go into heart failure and drop dead.
Yikes!
Yeah, what a bummer that would be after working so hard! If you catch them in the process of having the heart attack, you can go ahead and slaughter them quickly. But if they die and you find 'em dead and stiff, well...that's that. You can't process 'em and you loose that investment of time and money.
I've been watching them carefully all this week...moved the tractor up closer to the house and everything.
Are we gonna get pics of them after processing and cooking?
Probably! :-)
But not of the actual deed. I plan to document it privately for future reference. To study for mistakes and ways to do things better.
I saw a turkey get ~processed~ once.
And once was enough for me.
The good thing is, they mean nothing to the boys on an emotional level. They've had pet chickens and aren't interested in these as pets. The novelty of a pet chicken has worn off, I guess. So I don't think they'll have a problem consuming them. Matthew is going to be allowed to assist in the processing.
I attended a hog slaughter once...from the shooting to the butchering. Very interesting imo. It was at a "frontier farm" outside Austin. Buncha re-enactors, you know? Got to watch 'em make lard and everything.
What was awful about? I really want to know so perhaps I can avoid that aspect.
The classic thinking is that you wring a chicken's neck or chop it's head off to dispatch it...this is very sloppy and inefficient. We plan on cutting milk jugs so that they form a type of cone, then inverting the chicken so that it's head is sticking out the bottom. An upside down chicken becomes "hypnotized" and becomes very calm. The jugular is then cut and the chicken looses consciousness immediately. No flopping or mess due to the chicken being restrained in the milk jug.
I've done a LOT of reading up on the subject.
The processing I witnessed was via dull axe.
Not pleasant for anyone involved, especially the turkey!
Good morning, and thanks everybody for the birthday wishes!
:-)
But only for a second...
Happy Birthday!
I was waiting till you came in...thought it would be this evening sometime!
So how old are ya? 29?
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