Butchered 4 roosters; unexpected adventures

So, had some pretty interesting although catastrophic adventures yesterday.

It was a nice day, I thought "OK this one reader person has asked for photos of the butcher process, I'm feeling OK, & I need to stop putting this off... let's get this done."  Got all the stuff around for it, started boiling the water, and headed for the barn to catch the intended "victims".  I think they must have sensed that their time had come because although I was able to catch 2 of the 4, the other 2 evaded me to the very end, even after using my pistol to try to take them out.  Finally, I thought "Fine, I'll just do these two, maybe I can catch the other two later after I've gotten these done...", however in the meantime I handed my dad my pistol (because I got frustrated and fed up chasing birds..) and even my dad got fed up. 

While Dad was chasing down the other two, I got my gloves and went for the kill cage (an old dog crate used to isolate them until they are ready for death) to catch a roo.  There were two in there, both were larger than I normally like to butcher, both with long long spurs, but I thought this would be to my advantage for an easier time cleaning them.  It was not.  These two big roosters ganged up on me and rushed me at the door as I went for them, both flapping their wings, attacking my head and face.  I got spurred in the arms, chest and back as I ducked from their barrage attack.

After that, I was 100% done with messing around on a humane kill business.  And of course by not doing a humane kill it wouldn't be clean either, so I knew I wouldn't be able to get photos.  But regardless, I needed these birds gone, so I turned my husband, dad & brother loose on them.  Told them to take them out however they wanted as long as they were dead.  The three men thought this was an awesome idea, since they all hate my chickens, but specifically my roosters with a passion.

After locating them all, they were successful, but there was one rooster in particular that was very good at evading us, even though we shot at him he would keep running.  Once we finally did take him out and I took all his feathers off I realized that we had all hit him when we were shooting him, he just had like... 9 lives. lol  The other three roosters went down a lot easier.

However, interesting facts (to me anyway) was that when I tried to shoot the escape artist rooster several months ago, I thought I missed him, I did not.  I did indeed hit him, and not only that but I hit him exactly where I was supposed to to take him out.  I had just missed his internal organs by mere millimeters. When I finally opened him up, he had 5 bullet holes, (4, 9mm & 1, .22) plus the healed hole from my original 9mm several months back.  Tough old bird was way too good at staying alive!! 

After all of that, I ended up only getting one bird that was usable out of the 4, mainly because I was just so tired I couldn't finish.  My hands were shaking and I was close to collapsing, ended up nicking the gall bladder on the last one I attempted which means I had to throw it away.  Asked my brother to take care of all of the guts, feathers, carcasses etc. which he did, while I showered, then colapsed.  Mom even texted me that she needed me to help her, with my kids, and I didn't even hear my phone.  THAT showed me this morning just how utterly exhausted I was.  

As The Egg Turns

Good morning blogger world!

My husband says I need to share a story with you about the personalities my hens have developed. There are a few details necessary to describe the comical behaviors that have transpired.

Sometime during the winter months, I got sick of feeding the birds.  I had just had a baby in April of 2015, & felt like I was running around with my hair on fire trying to get everything done for my children, let alone the birds.  I asked for some help from my sister, who did help for a time but got bored of it, stopped feeding them & didn't tell me.  The chickens went for about a week without food, and as most animals will do when they are being starved, they will try to escape their confinement.  Mine succeeded.

They succeeded so well in fact, that they ripped the chicken wire up from the floor boards in specific areas & created new nesting areas for themselves between the wire & the exterior walls. So even though they escaped, they would return to these areas and lay their eggs behind the wire where humans and most animals couldn't get to them.  I was actually quite impressed, after I got over the irritation of realizing they had ruined the coop and that I couldn't reach their eggs.

Over the last several months I have slowly re-trained them where I want them to lay.  The birds & I have come to a compromise after several go rounds of them vandalizing the chicken coops.  I won't lock them up, as long as they lay their eggs where I want them to.  This compromise works well for us, the birds are able to go forage for themselves & I don't have to feed them on such a concrete schedule.  In exchange for their freedoms, I have trained them to lay their eggs in 1 of 2 places, and of course there is always that 1 bird that must be contrary and still tries to lay her eggs where she wants and not where I would like. 1 out of 14 is not too bad though so I let her slide.

The places I have coached them into laying in are:

• An old water tank that no longer does it's intended job correctly.  I have filled this tank approximately 1/2 full with hay and "seeded" the nests with fake eggs to guide the birds towards laying there.  
• The tank is large enough for all of my hens to fit in side without touching while laying at the same time if they chose 
• The walls of the tank are tall enough that our German shepherd cannot reach the eggs to hand them down to the yellow mutt.
• I've placed boards over the top of the tank except in key places to discourage scavengers such as raccoons, opossums, skunks & other chickens from raiding the nests.

• An old white plastic milk house sink, stuffed with hay about half-way up & fake eggs seeding the nest.  This location has been placed inside of the second hen house with the door closed and the walls re-secured on the first hen house that they all destroyed so they had to find new spots to lay. 

Both locations work really well. Both locations are too tall for the yellow mutt to get at the eggs (she is my egg sucker) and although the shepherd could reach the eggs in the 2nd hen house, he doesn't because he and I have had a few "talks" about such behavior, including some not so veiled threads of life on a rope if he doesn't behave.

What I have actually found interestingly enough, is that I have 7 who prefer the white sink, and will lay all of their eggs at the same time.  4 of them will sit down facing each other so their butts are in the corners, and chitter chat at each other.  It's almost like they are sitting there gossiping and talking about each other.  "Oh my GOSH!!! Did you see how ruffled Stella was after Foghorn got done with her?  Oh!  He's such an animal!  I wish Heidi would butcher him and get it over with!  The way he uses those spurs on us while breeding is just INHUMANE!"  bahaha.

Then you have the other half of the flock, who prefers to do their laying in private.  And I mean as private as it gets.  They all lay their eggs separately, under cover of darkness (under the boards) & no one talks to each other.  They will wait in line to use the water tank, but no one jumps up early to watch, and if I happen to walk in during one of them laying, it offends her so much she will not lay her egg that day, or if she does, it isn't until LONG after I've gone.  If someone starts pinching, they will fall back on the 55-gallon trash barrels I have throughout the barn.  Their preferred ones are those with paper feed sacks in the bottom, but really it just comes down to whether they need the extra over-flow nests or not.

When I chose to purchase chickens, I had no idea there would be so many personalities and temperaments involved!!  It's like a tiny soap opera down there in the barn!  A friend of the family laughed and suggested I call the chicken drama "As the egg turns", and it probably isn't a bad idea, but I'm not sure anyone would actually get as much of a kick out of the chicken drama as I do.

Duckies

On the Saturday between Easter & Good Friday, I bought my son's 5 peking ducklings from TSC.  I thought "My sons are 2-years 6-months & 1-year; they're old enough to begin learning about animal husbandry & the responsibilities of owning and caring for animals" knowing full well that M, my youngest, wouldn't do anything of any consequence with them other than possibly petting them or something.  I wasn't certain that A would be able to handle it, so it was a small gamble, but I figured that if he couldn't deal with them, they got to be "old hat" or he stopped caring for them, I just butcher them and we have roast duck for supper or some such.  However, my gamble seems to be paying off. Because A is doing very well with his new adventure.  M, thinks the ducks are toys, so I can't let him touch them without supervision, but A has taken his job very seriously.  I told him he must feed them every day, change their water, clean their brooder etc. and every morning so far except yesterday (because he had outpatient surgery yesterday) he has asked when it's time to feed & water the animals (chickens, ducks & horses), & helps me get the eggs from the chickens (both boys have been doing this for quite awhile now).  Both boys are doing very well with all of this.  I couldn't be prouder of them!

I also was recently informed by A that it is "Time to eat the roosters Mommy".  LOL!!  I didn't realize he understood when I was butchering the chickens last year!  My husband & I had been sure to keep him back & away during the killing stage, but I had let him play in his sand box during all the other phases so apparently it sunk in more than I realized, and as he is completely chill about the whole thing I'd say it doesn't bother him all that much. 

When he told me it was time to butcher the roosters, I told him "OK we'll butcher them once Mommy catches them", not realizing just how serious he was about doing it right then and there in that moment... so he proceeded to chase my roosters all over the barn for the next 10 minutes.  I told him he shouldn't chase them, because they could hurt him, but he listens about as well as any normal, active 2.5-year old, so it took a little bit to corral him and get him to stop chasing the roosters.  I did end up catching 2/4 & stuck them in the kill cage (I pen them up overnight so I don't have to worry about having a full crop to work with), but then the weather changed overnight.  It got cooler than I really wanted to deal with for butchering so I let them go again.  Their days are most definitely numbered though because I have chicks from last year which are potentially being bred with their father...

Also, I've been asked by a reader to post photos of my unorthodox way of butchering, so although my husband is squeamish about the thought, I may have to enlist his help in taking photos, because once I begin butchering, I tend to get rather covered in blood and feathers.  Not the sort of thing that you want to be picking up a camera all the time, and perhaps if my husband or someone else helps me take photos, I can get some better ones than if I were to do it myself.

Heritage breed laying problems

When I purchased my flock, I bought pure blood heritage breeds because I had heard that they would live longer, have longer laying cycles etc. but what I didn't know was that they don't lay every single day if something happens!   Sure when it's warm out, have LOTS of water, LOTS of food, and very clean nesting boxes they lay regularly, but if it gets a bit snappy in the air, they run out of water, food or some poo gets into their nests... those girls, they stop laying till they darn well feel like it! 

I thought perhaps if I let them free range 100% that they might improve their laying, and they do, but then we run into the problems of them hiding their eggs!  Ugh!  So I started "baiting" nests around the barn and that helps improve our eggs laid to eggs found ratio.

What I have discovered is that they prefer LOTS of privacy, LOTS of hay, and lots of easter eggs filled with sand to tell them where to lay.  Some of their favorite places to lay are:

• An old stock tank that has a bunch of old hay in it that is too moldy for the horses to eat.  
• An old 55-gallon barrel full of old feed sacks, feathers, and other odds and ends.  I've found more than a few clutches laid in that barrel.  
• An old fruit crate that I stuffed full of old hay and baited, then moved into their chicken coop after removing all other nests. 
• Random dust bathing holes.  One hen will even go around the barn picking up the feathers that have been shed by the other birds and gather them up in these holes instead of plucking the feathers off her own body.  After she has "feathered the nest" the other hens will follow suit and lay eggs in her nests too.  These random nests are the most difficult to find because she will create them all over the barn. Once I find one, I try to mark it so I know where it is and so no one else in the family will bother it or disturb it. 

One of the most challenging things about them hiding their eggs though, isn't the birds themselves but the other members of my family!  Grrrr!! lol!  I prefer to leave things alone and let the birds rule the barn, another person in the family likes to clean and organize, even though cleaning and organizing the barn really doesn't do much other than moving something from one spot to another and messing up the chickens laying cycles.  

One last challenge to their laying, is if the roosters become a bit too "interested" in propagating their species.  The hens will stop laying regularly if the roosters harass them too much.

So, all in all, would I have bought heritage breeds again?  Yeah probably, but I would have bought more ISA Browns or some other sort of hybrid to balance out their weird laying habits. 

EAA Witness Pavona & Alien Gear Holster Review

I have been looking for a more suitable firearm to carry with me on a daily basis for approximately 6-months, and believe I found what I've been looking for. I had specific ideas about what I wanted in my personal carry weapon, and my husband had his ideas, so we had to find a compromise.

We have two children, so we wanted a firearm that would be safe for me to carry on my body, while chasing a toddler & nursing an infant. My husband wanted a lot of the same attributes as I did in my new gun, but said if I was going to spend money on another gun, I needed to spend it on something that he knew would allow me to protect our children.

We decided that we wanted my daily carry to have these attributes:

• Quick to hand
• Easy to conceal
• Comfortable to handle with a good balance
• Not too much kick
• Look attractive
• Smaller than sub-compact
• A thumb safety
• Manageable slide strength
• Magazine: 8 - 13 rounds
• Double/Single action
• 9mm or .380, preferably 9mm
• Reliability
• An external hammer

Some of the guns I considered in my quest for the "perfect gun for me", were:

• EAA Witness Pavona (9mm)
• Sig Sauer P938-Ambi (9mm)
• Kimber Solo Carry (9mm)
• S&W M&P Shield (9mm)
• Ruger LC9 (9mm)
• Taurus 709 Slim (9mm)
• S&W M&P Bodyguard (.380)
• Sig Sauer P238 (.380)
• Walther PK380 (.380)

After comparing all of the various aspects of each weapon, I landed on the EAA Witness Pavona in 9mm Sapphire, and am extremely satisfied thus far. The balance is very good, trigger & slide extremely manageable, beautiful appearance, very reliable.

Between my husband & I, we've put nearly 300 rounds through it in the last 2 weeks, and it eats them up no problem, no matter what type of casing or load. I had one instance of almost failing to feed with 115 FMJ on the first round out of the mag, but it pulled through it very smoothly after the slide was pulled back just a tad to allow it to feed better.

The only aspect I am less thrilled with, which has nothing to do with the gun handling itself, is the lack of holsters available for it. There are two holster options available, one is made by the manufacturer intended for purse carry called the "Pavona D'wedge" and you have the option of a purse with the holster as well. The other option, is an IWB available through Alien Gear Holsters. There is also the option of using a Thunderwear holster or something similar to it on this gun, but it's new enough that it isn't listed in most holster companies gun listings.

I've seen both positive & negative opinions floating around the internet about the Alien Gear Holsters, however my husband, brother & I are all real satisfied with their newest holster. It's extremely comfortable, although one should probably wear a breathable undershirt with it if you're more prone to sweating.

What I really like about Alien Gear, is their lifetime warranty, lifetime (free) shell exchange, and the overall price of their holsters in general, not to mention the speed with which they kick out their orders. 

They put neoprene on the back of their new 3.0 that was advertised as being helpful in wicking away sweat and helping make it more comfortable... they weren't lying! It truly is an extremely comfortable holster!

I've sent in shells for 3 different guns to trade out so far, the most recent being the one for my newly purchased Pavona, and all of them have been very well made, fit the gun well and are most certainly worth the money to purchase the holster itself, and the shipping back & forth ($3). I haven't received the shell to the Pavona yet, I just sent it out over the weekend, but it should arrive soon. The last exchange I did, the exchange was made in less than one week.

** Entire holsters take between 4 & 6 weeks depending on the order volume at the time you order, however if you are simply making a shell exchange, it has a very quick turn around.

Overall, if you are considering purchasing this firearm, or one of these holsters, it has been well worth the money for us!

The Lost Has Been Found!!

My sister was finally able to locate the hidding guinea nest.  It had 60+ eggs in it, and out of those 60+ only 6 of them were bad.  I didn't know how old the eggs were, and since they were too heavy to float properly, I had no idea which ones weren't good any longer, so I gave them all to my chickens.  I had some very very happy hens lemme tell you what!!! LOL

The guineas are most displeased, and Ms. Bunny didn't steal all the eggs, leaving about 5 so they would potentially still lay their eggs there, but the nest was kind of really gross.  I went in to look at it and they had obviously been laying their eggs here for a good LONG time.  You could SMELL the nest long before you saw it... and it makes me really wonder how in the world I ever missed it!!  However, in my defense, they DID choose to lay their eggs underneath a large mulberry tree that drooped down to the ground and created a natural "cave" of sorts.  I think it even ended up "protecting" them from most of the rain, which is kind of neat.

Ever since the summer warmth kicked in I stopped bothering to pen them up, so they've been "on their own" without me feeding them at all for probably close to 4-months. 

We had 4 guineas to start with, thought we had at least 1 roo, but have not seen any keets out of them, so if we do have a roo, the hens are just too stupid to properly raise the chicks and keep walking away from them & they all die... OR we don't have a roo at all.  Either way... I'm not very impressed with guineas.  Thinking of butchering them out when I butcher out the roosters... but we'll see.

New chicken pen, & other goings on lately

Our homestead has been busy!!!  Goodness gracious!! 

• Ms. Bunny has been building and painting me a sign to put by the side of the road to advertise the chicks, eggs, etc. I have for sale.

• Mr. Massey Ferguson has been employed by an elderly woman to help maintain her property, as well as his normal everyday work around here.

• My husband & dad worked together & built me another chicken pen (second one thus far, both have same dimensions, but one has lots of roosters and the other doesn't.) which I am currently using to contain the roosters destined for the stew pot.  The new pen is entirely too good for them, but my hens don't like the new pen because it is too "clean" they say, so they keep parading right back into their hen house and making nasty clucking noises in my direction for even making such a suggestion as to MOVE!  lol

•  Mom, Ms. Bunny & I are preparing to begin the corn preservation push (we put up between 30 & 60 quarts of sweet corn per year).  That corn is a very much enjoyed food during those long cold winter months.

• Our garden was a fail on almost all fronts this year.  Except for the raspberries, everything failed to produce anything, which was a disappointment but it's just how the world works sometimes.  Unfortunately we'll just have to end up buying broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and onions this next year... We've never been allowed to grow our own corn, if we were to grow corn it would mess up the seed corn grown by the farmers who rent our land, so the corn we get is grown for us and the other land owners by the farmers who've signed our contracts.  However the raccoons have found the corn patch, so I don't know how that has been handled thus far but live traps & poison were on the list of possible ways to resolve the issue.

• Little Frog is busy as a little bee!!!  He's crawling full throttle now, into everything, pulling himself up on furniture and walking along it.  Even though he is 9-months, he is registering in the 92nd percentile on development and abilities.  We suspect it is due to having 6 adults in the house and all of the non-electronic stimulation he receives from being in a large household. (I do not allow him to play on or watch any electronics).

• Dad is busy busy busy with his honey bee "ladies" as mom calls them.  His bee hives are doing fantastic, he's had to add several extra boxes because his "ladies" are working so hard that they are just filling everything up to the brim.  If their behavior is any indication, this coming winter is going to be a very very hard one.  Dad is making plans to move the hives into a storage shed nearby to protect them from the winter winds, also contemplating providing some sort of a heating system in the event that the interior temperatures drop below 40*F.  He is ecstatic that they are doing as well as they are since this is his first year keeping bees.
• He has realized that he knows as much, if not more than most "experts" because he has spent SO MUCH TIME researching, reading, watching videos, talking to people in the area, looking at various set-ups...  My dad & I are both the type of people who do a lot of research about things we get into.  Total immersion and all that stuff.

• I was "given" 11 chickens last night.  10 chicks that are 2-weeks old of various "mutt" breeds because they are 50% white leghorn, but the other half of their breeding is:  welsummer/brahma cross, white leghorn (not a mutt of course), buff brahma, rhode island red & australorp) in various numbers.  Also 1 barred rock (adult) rooster, that has been dubbed Coronal Sanders because he is most definitely going to be eaten.  He scared little frog by crowing in his face, already has spurs, is too pompous and struts around like he's gonna attack anything that comes too close to him.  It hasn't helped his temperament that he has been 100% free range for his entire life, but I am currently counting the days before these boys are getting tossed in the pot.
  

  

  Coronal Sanders

  
  

  

  Over-all look at 1/3 of the rooster house.

   
  

  

  Rusty (EE)

  

  No-name EE 2

  

  No-name EE 1

  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• The three below are NOT being put in the pot, but while I'm posting rooster photos I thought these boys needed some recognition too! lol
  
  

  

  Rodney

  
  

  

  Lightning

  

  Roger