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REV127 | 04-12-2007 08:15 PM
Just Killed A Young Hen I figured I'd share this since there's a few of us here who are interested in homesteading. I've been wanting to breed my own sort of chicken and one of the traits I want are the blue and green eggs so I picked up a pair of Ameraucana chicks a while ago. We didn't look them over closely enough so it turned out that one of them had a birth defect, a crossed beak. I probably should have culled her immediately but it didn't look too severe and I thought I could at least grow her out till she was table sized. Well, as time went on the beak defect just got worse to the point she had real trouble feeding. She was larger but lighter than my bantam rooster, just feather and bones. I tried not to get to know her, never handled her but just by her nature she was good tempered and tame, aside from the beak she was a real pretty bird too. Well between not wanting to see her half starving all the time and the need to make room for some other birds I decided it was time to cull her. There wasn't enough meat on her bones to be worth eating and she was a nice bird so I decided I'd dig her a little grave over by where I burried a pair of chicks that didn't make it. I picked her up, she was quite calm, and walked around the side of the house beyond sight of the other birds. I gently laid her down on the ground, feet stretched out behind her and her neck stretched out front. I've cut a bird's head off before so I knew I wasn't going to go through that again. Instead I took section of 1" schedule 40 pvc about a foot long I had laying around from another project. I held her down gently with one hand to make sure she didn't panic or see what was going to happen and gave her a firm rap on the skull, instantly knocking her out, she didn't even make a noise. I gave it a few more just to be sure, there were a few reflex spasms for maybe 20 or 30 seconds but I had her restrained so it wasn't a spectacle. After she stopped moving I laid her in her grave with her head tucked under her wing and if there's a heaven for chickens I'm sure she'll make it. Thanks to The Man and a brutal early life I don't feel the way about killing that I should but this was kind of sad for me. It seems like a real waste somehow, she'd never be able to give eggs or meat, keeping her as a pet would only bring her slow starvation. She never had a chance really. In the grand scheme of things I suppose anybody else would have culled her straight off so at least with me she got more of a life. In retrospect it kind of makes me wish I had gotten to know that hen a little better, taken some time to pet her or feed her a bug so she might have known a little more love in what life she had. Killing is a reality of eating meat, people handle it in different ways. I don't try to repress it or cover it up but accept it for what it is. I respect the life I take and I'm thankful for the nourishment it provides. Even chickens are social animals and while perhaps not as smart as people they are bright in their own way. Each has a unique personality, they learn, they have friends, they feel happiness, sorrow, love and fear like most higher animals. I don't try to pretend they don't. I don't think a seperation from this is healthy, I think it breeds a contempt for life. I also believe you can judge a man by the way he treats animals. Anyway, it's a reality of the trade and I thought it might be helpful to those thinking of taking it up. Collecting eggs is much easier at first but do be aware that a hen will live for much longer than she will be a good layer. I have 7 hens that will always be pets and I will continue to care for them long after they cease to be reliable layers. They will still be useful for insect and weed control, and they are good little friends. Between now and the day they die however I will have many more layers that will need to be culled. Something to keep in mind. I'm not trying to talk anybody out of anything, it just is what it is.

electric-amish | 04-12-2007 08:28 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Its sometimes the weird thing that can get into your mind and stick. I would say the Chicken had a longer life with you than it would in the jungles or what ever place they are native to. You didn't act rashly or out of malice but with compassion for suffering and with the heavy realization of your responsibility. Doing well by animals is a mark of a good man. Electric-Amish

The Shadow | 04-12-2007 08:36 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Good post. I'm in a city so I just feed about 100 to 150 birds all winter, they are cheap entertainers and are a small connection to nature but I'm glad I don't have to cull out the bad ones. They just drop in for a meal or they don't. Thanks for your thoughts.

damoc | 04-12-2007 08:41 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen purchased some speckeled sussex chicks this year they are now about 10weeks old and have the run of the property.normally this time of year we have a pretty big bug problem drives the wife nuts this year with the chickens no bug problem and since they went free range they eat hardly any food supplied by me. truly an amazing creature http://www.damoc.com/chickens/chicks1.JPG

realassets | 04-12-2007 08:43 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Rev, you're a good man. If everybody respected animals like you do this world would be a much better place. :clap2:

Kahlil Gibran | 04-12-2007 08:48 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen In the last century when I was only sixteen years old I raised a Black Angus steer in 4H Club. Would feed it before my own breakfast. Gave it a name. Safeway Stores bought him at the Auction at the County Fair. I cried. Virtually every single thing we eat is/was a Living thing. Everything.

electric-amish | 04-12-2007 08:49 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Chicken question for those in the know. Damoc you said they have free run of the place. Why do they come back? Thanks, E-A

damoc | 04-12-2007 08:55 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen dont know why they just do every night right back to the pen that i first moved them outside to at about 6 weeks http://www.damoc.com/chickens/chicks2.JPG when i first moved them outside i had a fenced run for a week or 2 now i just let them roam they are right next to the dogs night pen and the dogs were trained not to harm them.i think this helps to keep away predators. the rooster was given to us and protects the younger ones

REV127 | 04-12-2007 09:16 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Chickens are kind of home bodies. I don't know if that's natural or bred into them, but they won't wander too far. When I let my chickens out to roam, play and forage they don't ever wander more than 20 or 30 yards. When the sun starts getting low they'll march back over to their chicken tractor and ask to be let in. It's pretty amazing how a good rooster will treat the other birds in his flock. Mine has fought off raccoons that were trying to get at his hens and he'll come running if he hears one of his birds calling for help. If he finds a particularly good piece of food like a big bug or worm while foraging he won't eat it himself but call for the hens to come over and get it. I've even see him pick up a big bug in his beak and give it to one of his hens. Mine's a Rhode Island Red which have a reputation for being feisty but he's one of the tamest birds I have. I can pick him up and pet him, give him a bath, and he respects my authority. My little bantam rooster is the same way. I interact with my birds though so if they don't get to know you they'd probably be flightier or aggressive. Bird society is different than human society and the pecking order can be brutal for new members but they do take care of eachother. The other day one of my newest hens, the healthy Ameraucana, was getting scared when I was rounding her up. One of my Rhode Island Red hens, a little older, walked over to where we were, looked at the Ameraucana and started making the sweetest little soothing sounds you ever heard, basically telling the young chicken that everything's ok and not to be affraid. If you hang around them long enough you start to learn chickenspeak, it's pretty cool.

Weho Dave | 04-12-2007 09:17 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Thanks for that story. I placed an order for 20 chicks today at the feed store (10 ameraucanas, 5 white leghorns, 5 new hampshire reds). They arrive in 4 weeks. I expect half of them won't make it to laying age with the varmints around here, but I hope they all do and I will be working on making their coop secure and fencing in an area for them to range in. I think it is natural to get attached to the animals we raise and nurture. It sounds like you showed compassion and mercy in doing what needed to be done quickly and as painless as possible. I was raised with chickens for a while and I remember my mom trying to wring a rooster's neck. She couldn't do it and just made the darn thing mad. My dad finally got it and chopped its head off and the thing got up and ran around headless. It scared the living daylights out of our german shepherd, who was usually eager to play with them.

Waylon | 04-12-2007 11:27 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Nice post Rev. Although I like guns, I do not like to kill animals. I like for them to be around when I am outside. I have been clearing a road on my land just today and saw some turkeys early this morning roaming and it makes me feel good to have a place that they fell comfortable enough to roam. I saw a deer track next to the creek last week and was telling my friend about it. He wanted to go out to hunt it. I have one lousy deer on my land and all heed want to do was kill it. I think many animals can sense that I mean no harm to them. A small dog that lives across the road from my parents never crosses the road to my folks unless she sees my truck, then she comes a running. She keeps wanting to get in my truck and go home with me, but she is not mine and I can't take her. I set her out and she follows me a mile down the road before she gives out chasing me (probably because I have to go so slow to be careful not to hit her). I don't mind hunters, I am just not one of them. I would have to be starving to kill that deer.

MrFreeze | 04-12-2007 11:51 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
I expect half of them won't make it to laying age with the varmints around here, but I hope they all do and I will be working on making their coop secure and fencing in an area for them to range in.
Why not do a chicken tractor that you move daily? Maybe you're limited by space or terrain but if you were able to you'd get a nice fertilizer spread and chickens getting the good stuff. For those learning I'd highly recommend Pastured Poultry Profit$ by Joel Salatin. Even if you're not looking to make money on the deal it has a lot of good information. Nice chickens damoc.

AMforPM | 04-13-2007 12:59 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen You came up with a very gentle death for her, Rev. Kudos. When we kept chickens (till last summer, when our last old hen passed.) we were amazed at how smart and social they are. We easily got ours used to putting themselves in Fort Henhouse at night. And since we gathered greens from outside their part of the yard for them, gave leftovers plus some grain, they loved to see us coming. Chicken speak is fascinating. I have wondered things like is the universality of music related to how easy it is to learn what chickens mean. So much is tonal. My favorite sound I call 'the happy chicken song' a soft semi clucking mutter they make when you put out fresh seedy hay or something they can scratch around in slowly getting tidbits and bugs. Leftovers got them too excited for that song and they had scrums with hens breaking out with some especially tasty bit and a few chasing. Oddly the breakout hen would squawk as she ran, attracting pursuit. Our roosters did as you describe and also had a 'run and hide hens' sound, and the hens would if there was a hawk or something, and he would dance around in the open calling the danger to himself, spreading his wings to be more visible I guess. The hens would hide under shrubs or the henhouse (which is a bit elevated, or this one I built is. That area is somewhat wet sometimes so I built a box like house up on concrete blocks, put in a very thick marine plywood floor, sealed so nasty chemicals did not reach the hens, topped with bedding I changed out and it became great compost with the droppings. I used hay or wood shavings. We did not have enough fallen leaves, but they would be fine too. Then perches, feeder and waterer, and 2 levels of nests at one end that had their own door so we could gather eggs easily. i made huge windows that had hinged plywood covers for cold weather covered with very heavy hardware cloth so they could be warm in winter and cool in summer. Their door is bottom hinged so it opens into a ramp for them. I found the one time I butchered that chickens become loved friends to me, and the smell of the blood from one attempt kept me unable to choke down chicken for years. So ours contributed eggs, not meat. But between manure, eating pests, and eggs for protein for us they did their share and earned their keep. If I bred my own and did not order mostly female chicks I would have to make a deal with a butcher for the young roosters since you can't keep too many with the flock not only for economics, but they fight. Maybe someone would butcher at frier size for us for a share of the meat. I respect those who can harvest meat and take comfort the animal lived a good life with them instead of a factory hell life. But I can't do it. If the only meat I could get was domestic livestock I would stop eating meat and go with beans and eggs for protein. It is funny, because I can hunt. But once a critter loves me I find it really hard to kill it. Luckily I can live symbiotically with hens and not have to harvest their flesh. I see not one thing wrong with anyone raising chickens for table. I just have some inner barrier and animals that join the household economy feel different to me. In some way they become family to me. If we had enough land for a milk cow she would not be butchered either, and someone else would have to do my beef butchering for a share when she had male offspring. Though if things breakdown enough one can castrate boys and train them for tractor chores. They are slow, but strong. The first animals my dad was given to train as a boy was a brace of oxen. His grandad thought you could make more mistakes training them than any others like mules or horses and not ruin the animal. Great grandad used mules almost exclusively for farm work, but he was teaching dad with the oxen. Dad said oxen can't be beat for pulling logs from deep hollows. They plough or pull a wagon fine too, just slowly, or run threshers or mills walking in a circle. From Dad I got that sense of domestic animals as family, though they butchered. But old mules got light duty and to live out their years and old milk cows were 'put out to pasture' not butchered. They were viewed as having earned their retirement. I was surprised, since wringing every penny is the way of factory farming, how many eggs even an ancient hen gives. Generally only that hyperproductive first year is enough for egg factories. A few keep them 2 years. At 8 she gave about half her young productivity.

smullen | 04-13-2007 01:46 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by Weho Dave (Post 570755) Thanks for that story. I placed an order for 20 chicks today at the feed store (10 ameraucanas, 5 white leghorns, 5 new hampshire reds).
I have a couple of questions... 1. Whats a Chick usally run???? (The ones your refering to, no jokes, lol..) 2. Do they all raise good eating eggs or are some better? 3. Do they all make good meat or just some? 4. If and when they do lay eggs, do you just takem in the house, washem off, put'em in the fridge till time to cook'em or is there some sorta treatment and process???

Veritas | 04-13-2007 01:50 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahlil Gibran (Post 570704) In the last century when I was only sixteen years old I raised a Black Angus steer in 4H Club. Would feed it before my own breakfast. Gave it a name. Safeway Stores bought him at the Auction at the County Fair. I cried. Virtually every single thing we eat is/was a Living thing. Everything.
Or to put a reverse spin on your statement, my philosophy is that if it didn't grow fresh out of the ground, fly in the air or swim in the sea, I won't eat it. My exception to that rule is a nice rare filet mignon.

AgAuGal | 04-13-2007 01:54 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Man, I'm am certainly associated with some good people at this forum. Kudos to all of you for your respect of animals. I understand the need at times for taking an animal. But seeing you approach each animal with respect says so much about your character. I do not understand the attitude of lets kill because we can, because we have a big gun and they don't. If the animal is hurt or is raised to feed family/community don't think there is a problem but I am looking forward to the day no death is required of any animal.

AgAuGal | 04-13-2007 01:57 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by smullen (Post 571030) I have a couple of questions... 1. Whats a Chick usally run???? (The ones your refering to, no jokes, lol..) 2. Do they all raise good eating eggs or are some better? 3. Do they all make good meat or just some? 4. If and when they do lay eggs, do you just takem in the house, washem off, put'em in the fridge till time to cook'em or is there some sorta treatment and process???
ok Smullen, great ?'s but where are you going to raise chickens in St. Louis? :eek_ma: Lacledes Landing? Just messin w/ ya. I was picturing down town, not much green except by the Arch/museum.

mooshcook | 04-13-2007 02:11 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen I've been veggie except for seafood, eggs and cheese for about 7 years now. I will eat a little chicken or turkey if someone is offering and I don't want to get into the "veggie" thing. I get eggs from my brother who lives right out of town. Those free range eggs taste better and cook better. Also I rarely get sick. I'm not saying everyone should do it but it works for me. Got a juicer too. Greens good. :emotions16:

Mercury Rising | 04-13-2007 02:15 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Hats off to all the kind hearted. Thank you for sharing Rev. Just give love to all.

Veritas | 04-13-2007 02:25 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by mooshcook (Post 571052) I've been veggie except for seafood, eggs and cheese for about 7 years now. I will eat a little chicken or turkey if someone is offering and I don't want to get into the "veggie" thing. I get eggs from my brother who lives right out of town. Those free range eggs taste better and cook better. Also I rarely get sick. I'm not saying everyone should do it but it works for me. Got a juicer too. Greens good. :emotions16:
Keep in mind that when you "juice", you loose the fiber. May want to add some nuts to your regimen.

Weho Dave | 04-13-2007 02:37 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by smullen (Post 571030) I have a couple of questions... 1. Whats a Chick usally run???? (The ones your refering to, no jokes, lol..) 2. Do they all raise good eating eggs or are some better? 3. Do they all make good meat or just some? 4. If and when they do lay eggs, do you just takem in the house, washem off, put'em in the fridge till time to cook'em or is there some sorta treatment and process???
Hi Smullen, the chicks up here run $1.55 each, unless you get over 50, then they are $1.35. They are one day old chicks, so they require a heat lamp and anti-biotics until they gain some strength. They take around 8-9 months to mature enough to start laying. Some are better layers than others. The best layers I think are the leghorns. The ones I had growing up consistently laid double and triple yolk eggs on a daily basis. We had one we call the 'semi-' as in truck, that laid a five yolk egg once. We also had quail, but the eggs were very small, like grapes. Believe it or not, we fried their eggs too and they were one bite-sized but very tasty. Some chickens are also bigger and meatier than others. The feed store has a sheet with a blurb about each kind they carry. Since I only want the eggs, I didn't pay too much attention to the meat factor. Up here in Massachusetts, you have to consider a hearty breed that can stand the winter nights down to zero degrees or below. New Hampshire and Rhode Island Reds are bred for cold weather. The Ameraucanas lay colored eggs. Really, they are blue and green. The Leghorns lay white and the Reds lay brown eggs. It should be a colorful mix. I have always just washed the eggs and cooked them. The fresher the better. Eggs in the stores are days to weeks old. To me, they start tasting a little stale and bland after a few days. If not eaten fresh, they can be refrigerated. When the eggs start piling up, they can be given away to friends and neighbors or sold. They get $2-3 a dozen for free range eggs up here.

Weho Dave | 04-13-2007 02:49 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by MrFreeze (Post 570934) Why not do a chicken tractor that you move daily? Maybe you're limited by space or terrain but if you were able to you'd get a nice fertilizer spread and chickens getting the good stuff. For those learning I'd highly recommend Pastured Poultry Profit$ by Joel Salatin. Even if you're not looking to make money on the deal it has a lot of good information. Nice chickens damoc.
Hi MrFreeze. I might do a chicken tractor. The terrain is somewhat limiting. I have three acres, but part of that is forest and part is garden. I don't mind if they go in the forest cuz they will love eating the ticks, but I don't want them laying eggs where I can't find them. The neighbor down the road says something got into his coop last year. He said it was a bobcat, but I don't know if I believe that. I think the big problem around here is raccoons and possums. The skunks are bold too.

AMforPM | 04-13-2007 04:14 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen My favorite breed is Black Australorpes which can be ordered from Murray McMurray (their catalog, paper and online is great.) http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/prod...stralorps.html They even beat Leghorns at laying and are only not the factory bird of choice because they are bigger birds and eat a little more per egg. A non issue where your hens forage part of their food, get scraps, etc. $.005 more feed per egg matters to factories, but not to me. They are hardy in both cold and heat, have a quiet gentle disposition and very musical voices compared to other breeds. (The Brahmas have even sweeter voices, but lay a whole lot less. They are huge if you want meat, though, and extremely cold hardy.) Several of our Aussies used to jump on my shoulder when they were young and often got in my lap if I sat in their yard. One laid an egg there once, which I have read is unusual. They lay big delicious brown eggs. If you hens get plenty of green things to eat they make really tasty eggs with deep orange yolks. And then you take them right in and cook them. Freshness matters in everything and fresh eggs are a treat. No store egg is likely to be fresher than 2 weeks and it is legal to sell an egg that has been sitting in a fridge 6 months. Ick. I had one Aussie separated to let her and the rooster make some chicks and she laid an egg a day for about 6 weeks. But it was a bad idea. She never got broody or 'sat' ie she was not ready to start a family. I had several breeds and I was trying to make sure dad and mom were both Aussies. When I get hens again I will only have an Aussie rooster, solving that, and when one gets broody I will know dad was the same breed. I'm always tempted to have a mixed flock because different breeds have such pretty feathers and watching the different colors of the birds as they graze is very peaceful and relaxing.

AMforPM | 04-13-2007 04:30 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen This is a link to the Brahmas. They will actually go happily out to forage in not too deep snow. They sneer at cold. And they are as pleasant voiced as songbirds. http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/prod...t_brahmas.html They are my 2nd favorite breed and I have tried quite a few, but not all. I find the voices matter to me a lot because, you know if you live with them it becomes part of your environment and many breeds have really screechy annoying voices. Plus I really care about disposition in any domestic animal. Though they lay quite a bit fewer eggs than Aussies in annual total, one great thing about them is they lay well in winter when all breeds slow down. They do not do well in hot climates. All chickens are endangered by heat and need a shady place if summer is hot. In the high 90s egg factories start having die off and at 100 birds have a heat emergency. So if your climate is hot, think of a cooler shaded location for summer quarters.

TonyG | 04-13-2007 05:02 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen First time I had pasture fed scrambled egg, I thought the lady of the house mixed orange juice with it. They have a much deeper yellow to the yoke and a much firmer yoke. Taste much better too. The 5 yoke egg story reminds me of a time when I was working for a chicken farmer. We missed putting one of the chickens on the truck and he got back in the chicken house late in the fall after the new chicks were in. So he had a second go round of feed and life. Well, same thing happened when the second batch went out. So now this chicken is about 14 lbs and still growning. After the 3rd 8 week cycle, we start calling her 'superchicken' because of her size. The farmers wife said she weighed almost 20 lbs and made lots of chicken corn soup. TG.

Krugerrand | 04-13-2007 05:24 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen What a great thread. I really appreciate everyone who has shared from their own experiences - great stories, from great folks. I won't forget the first time I had an egg fresh from a hen up at a cousin's house a ways outside of Redding. Had such a deep, dark orange yolk, like a setting sun, and tasted magnificent! A true treat after growing up on grocery store eggs. Someday I'd like to have laying hens of my own. Not the right time/place, now... but someday.:bear_original: Really enjoying reading what you all have to say.:coolbeer:

smullen | 04-13-2007 11:52 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by AgAuGal (Post 571036) Man, I'm am certainly associated with some good people at this forum. Kudos to all of you for your respect of animals. I understand the need at times for taking an animal. But seeing you approach each animal with respect says so much about your character. I do not understand the attitude of lets kill because we can, because we have a big gun and they don't. .
I hear ya on killing animals... This sometime puts me in a weird spot... All of the males that I am related too are big time hunters... They'll track and kill anything thats got 4 legs, or feathers or thats not human... Myself, I'm really progun and into guns, I have a decent small collection and I love to shoot... Target shoot... I'm not so much into killing animals.... I have hunted and taken several rabbits, squirles, turkey and even a few deer... The last 10-15 years or so, I just don't really like to kill the animals... Its not a thrill to me and sometime I have trouble taking a shot... Don't get me wrong, I'm not a buding animal rights tree hugger and I've got nothing against anyone hunting, I'm just not that big into it anymore... I can still take them to eat, but not for the trophy... Also, kinda strange, I don't know why, but I'm less inclined to shoot a deer or other legged animal, than a Turkey or other winged animal...

smullen | 04-13-2007 11:59 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by AgAuGal (Post 571037) ok Smullen, great ?'s but where are you going to raise chickens in St. Louis? :eek_ma: Lacledes Landing? Just messin w/ ya. I was picturing down town, not much green except by the Arch/museum.
LOL.... Well, I wasn't really looking at rasing them in St. Louis... If I did, it could ony be 3-4 at most... Not even sure of that.... I live in the county... We have some land around Park Hills/Farmington, which is about 150 miles south-southwest of St. louis and after our daughters, graduates from H.S. and we have are finances in order, we want to move down there... When we do, I'd like to grow as much of our food as we can... By that I mostly mean fruits and vegatables, but I'm thinking about Chickens for some meat and eggs... We eat a lot more chicken than we do beef and pork... The only pork I eat is BBQ'ed Ribs maybe once a summer and an occasional sausage link for breakfast...

smullen | 04-13-2007 12:05 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by Weho Dave (Post 571067) Hi Smullen, the chicks up here run $1.55 each, unless you get over 50, then they are $1.35. They are one day old chicks, so they require a heat lamp and anti-biotics until they gain some strength. They take around 8-9 months to mature enough to start laying. Some are better layers than others. The best layers I think are the leghorns. The ones I had growing up consistently laid double and triple yolk eggs on a daily basis. We had one we call the 'semi-' as in truck, that laid a five yolk egg once. We also had quail, but the eggs were very small, like grapes. Believe it or not, we fried their eggs too and they were one bite-sized but very tasty. Some chickens are also bigger and meatier than others. The feed store has a sheet with a blurb about each kind they carry. Since I only want the eggs, I didn't pay too much attention to the meat factor. Up here in Massachusetts, you have to consider a hearty breed that can stand the winter nights down to zero degrees or below. New Hampshire and Rhode Island Reds are bred for cold weather. The Ameraucanas lay colored eggs. Really, they are blue and green. The Leghorns lay white and the Reds lay brown eggs. It should be a colorful mix. I have always just washed the eggs and cooked them. The fresher the better. Eggs in the stores are days to weeks old. To me, they start tasting a little stale and bland after a few days. If not eaten fresh, they can be refrigerated. When the eggs start piling up, they can be given away to friends and neighbors or sold. They get $2-3 a dozen for free range eggs up here.
Cool, thanks for the info... What kinda space is required for each chick???

Weho Dave | 04-13-2007 02:04 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen The chicks will bunch up together. They will have to be kept inside for a few weeks, in a box. They should have enough room to get away from the heat lamp if they get too warm. Grown chickens need a square foot each in the coop. Plus a private nesting box for every 4 or 5 birds, they will share. Here is a good website that will provide all the information anyone could possibly desire. http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs.aspx

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- - Just Killed A Young Hen (http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=126669)

Anty Ep | 04-13-2007 02:44 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen rev interesting story one day a bunch of crows were in the yard, calling and flocking on something in the yard, flying off and then bunching back up. on the way out taking kids to school I shoo'ed em off and went for a look see, kids following. well flop, flop, it's a bunny that's injured but still alive and the crows were eating it alive. pretty close to dead, spine picked to the bone in a big three inch strip, sickly looking to begin with with a lot of ticks on the neck, but still conscious, eyes open and scairt, resting once I drove the crows off with my presence before they saw this, a grisly sight I told the little girl to go get in the car since we were late for school and she did. told the boy to get me a shovel, and he did, I advanced to meet him, took the shovel and sent him off to get in the car. I didnt make a big deal, didnt answer their curiosity. looked over my shoulder and she's fastened in and he's buckling up. I tried to scoop him up and take him into the woods to die, but he flops off the shovel. I feel like hell about this, he's all panting and stuff, and I dont really want to but figure to be kind I needs to take him out of the misery of having a spine picked over by a bunch of crows. Not to mention I want to get rid of him before the kids see him. So I gives him a quick whack on the noggin with the shovel and out he goes. I scooped him up and took him in the woods and gave him a couple extra whacks for mercy. Off I went to school. I told the kids the edited version, it was dead rabbit (we have many come in and out of the yard, they like the hostas) and I didnt want them to see it. They didnt understand this since I am not particular about them seeing dead animals or looking at dead people at funerals, figure that's part of life to learn about death. But something in me felt like this grisly sight of the picked over spine, of the weak rabbit, with the bloated ticks on his neck, was just too much for a little kid to start the day. hell I felt kind of bad about it. anyhow I just told the kids we were in a hurry and I just had to get him out into the woods where dead animals belonged not the yard. of course my son went out after school to look for it and it was gone from where I left it. probably one of the crows dragged it off.

AgAuGal | 04-13-2007 08:31 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by smullen (Post 571484) LOL.... Well, I wasn't really looking at rasing them in St. Louis... If I did, it could ony be 3-4 at most... Not even sure of that.... I live in the county... We have some land around Park Hills/Farmington, which is about 150 miles south-southwest of St. louis and after our daughters, graduates from H.S. and we have are finances in order, we want to move down there... When we do, I'd like to grow as much of our food as we can... By that I mostly mean fruits and vegatables, but I'm thinking about Chickens for some meat and eggs... We eat a lot more chicken than we do beef and pork... The only pork I eat is BBQ'ed Ribs maybe once a summer and an occasional sausage link for breakfast...
Yeah I was just pullin your chain. Missouri is such a pretty state. The bugs are a bit big though.

GOLD DUCK | 04-14-2007 11:23 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen QWAK,When I was a kid I had all sorts of pet criters and at age 7 raised a tad pole in to a small frog but my brothers dog saw it hop an jumped on it and chomped down on it befor I could pry its mouth open. I was so upset I built it a little MOSELEAM and had my verson of a funeral for it.:Sorry: :cryin2: At 12 I started rasing tropical fish and tried to breed both Simease fighting fish and guppies. I loved watching the guppies give live birth and would catch and save them if I could because the parents were CANABLES! This eventualy resulted in about every container I could find (I think the count was over 30 at one point) with guppies of various sizes in them. I wanted to raise red/orange vail tails but most should have been culled but I just could not FLUSH them! When I moved to the DUCK NEST some one had dumped a begale pup on our road and she found her way to me and I had to save her even thow I was almost starving at the time my self. I called her "Lonsome GIRL" and she became my only companion for several years and was incredably smart could open doors her self and would even climb an 8' step ladder and sit on top when I was working on the roof because she so wanted to always be near me. (she could not get back down so I always had to resque her but it never stoped her from climbing up the ladder) A fiew years after Lonsome came to live with me after an ice storm, a male dog showed up 1/2 dead and freezing covered in mud and even small icicles hanging off his fur --- well we had to resque him too,I called him "HOBO" I had to stretch the budget to feed them both but I did and both were incredably loving and loial. Unfortunately dogs being dogs when Lonsome came in to season even with my best efforts to prevent it Lonsome got pregnent and there was NO WAY to strech the budget and my time to care for pups so some one localy told me what they did was to DROUND UNWANTED PUPS. I thought about it long and hard but could find no other solution. When Lonsome started delivering her pups as each was born I held them in my hands and promised each another life some time in the future then held them under in a bucket of warm water and CRIED like a baby:cryin2: as each slowly stoped moving (8 times) it was one of the hardist things I ever had to do in my life and by the time it was done both Lonsome and I were totaly and emotionaly EXHAUSTED.:bawling: :signs14: After that Lonsome changed bit, still very loving but her puppy play was over, she was a grown up dog. About a year later just befor deer hunting season a little buck deer showed up in the back yard it had been some ones pet that had escaped. It had a red collar and red ear tags like used on cattle in each ear,sort of like big red earings. It was atracted to my Lonsome girl and that deer stated with us off and on for two years. I called him "Little BUCK" He loved her and she loved him and they would go off wandering the woods together often visiting neabors and doing tricks for treets and just making people happy seeing them together. :love: :heart: The second year BUCK had grown a lot (he loved eating dry dog food and would dance on his hind legs for dog biskets) he only had one antler as he had got one damaged as a spike buck so that one never grew. When Buck came in to rut he would try to make love to Lonsome :bear_wub: but he was so big it would hurt her so she would come in side the cabin and Buck would come to the window and lick the glass:bear_tongue: :tongue_ma: :tongue: and get as close to her as she would let him. I tried to protect him from deer hunters and put up a long cable with a trolly on it and a long leash to a new collar I made for him. I made them both a brass bell with their names on them and our phone number should some one come across them. But BUCK managed to get loose and some SOB hunter driving down the rode saw him and shot him!:mad: :censored: Lonsome never got over losing her BUCK :rose: :heart: and would wander the woods searching for little BUCK ,her bell ringing and her baying "ARROU--AROOU -- AROOU" and one day she too did not come home.:questionm I searched for her but never found her but heard later that some one had been snatching dogs especialy BEGLES to sell for LAB ANIMALS! :censored: :rant: :pissedoff: :evil: To this day if I ocasionaly hear a begle baying some ware near, just for a moment I think or hope it is Lonsome Girl coming home, but it never IS of corse.:rose: :heart: It is a SAD ending to a LOVE STORY that is proof enough for ME that anamals realy DO LOVE in their own way and feel just as SAD as people do when they lose the ones they LOVE TOO!:albertein :love: the DUCK

JAYCEE | 04-16-2007 08:10 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen I just tried to turn a young rooster into a capon then other day. I cut him wrong and had to kill him. But I learned how to do it the right way next time. Castrating roosters is a good practice when you get too many males around. Capons get fat and juicy. They make good mothers for baby chicks too. This will boost your egg production by not taking a hen offline to raise the babies. They also do not fight.

____hoot____ | 04-16-2007 11:25 AM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Thursday was rabbit day when I was a kid. My job to raise, feed, kill and clean the rabbit of the week. Think I started when I was about eight.

Anty Ep | 04-16-2007 01:21 PM
Re: Just Killed A Young Hen Quote:
Originally Posted by JAYCEE (Post 573760) I just tried to turn a young rooster into a capon then other day. I cut him wrong and had to kill him. But I learned how to do it the right way next time. Castrating roosters is a good practice when you get too many males around. Capons get fat and juicy. They make good mothers for baby chicks too. This will boost your egg production by not taking a hen offline to raise the babies. They also do not fight.
I guess I learnt a new word today

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