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Last year when one of my hens went broody, I set her up in a separate enclosure with a quiet nesting box where she successfully hatched one of 6 eggs (it was a young rooster and I blamed his age for the low fertility rate). When the hen decided she was done being a mom and it was time to...

I've recently been given a whole bunch of meat rabbits and I've been building a colony-style pen for them, housing them in wire cages and an unused meat-chicken coop while I build. I'd love to show some photos of my set-up to someone with experience, particularly my nest boxes . I'd love some...

I have a mixed flock of 7 hens and one rooster. 5 of the hens (3 Production Reds, 1 Easter Egger and 1 "Favaucana") were purchased as chicks in the spring of 2015. Two Wellsummer pullets and the rooster were added the summer of 2016. Until recently I'd say things were going pretty well. One...

I've raised chickens for 6 years but this is my first year with a rooster. Since I have one girl who goes broody, I decided to let her hatch some eggs this spring. She's been very contentedly sitting on 6 eggs for 15 days in a big plastic covered kitty litter box in a separate chicken house...

This summer I somehow became the rooster-remover for a half of El Paso County Colorado after volunteering to take someone's unwanted rooster when I was at the feed store. Through word of mouth I ended up with over 20 roosters during the summer. One I kept, one I rehomed and the others were...

I know there are regulations about selling butchered chickens, but I'm wondering if they apply to swapping. I started posting an add on Craigs List offering to trade pastured chicken for elk or venison (it's hunting season here in Colorado). Does anyone know whether this would get me in trouble?

This spring I was in the little local feed store and the woman in front of me in line was bemoaning the fact that one of her pullet chicks turned out to be a rooster and needed to "rehome" it because roosters aren't allowed withing city limits. I told her I'd take it, but that the chances were...

So this is my fourth summer with turkeys. My first year I accidently purchased 4 Royal Palm poults (we were told they were Broad Breasted Whites). They never got very big, but our Thanksgiving turkey was so amazingly delicious that we decided to try again the next year with several Bourbon...

Hey friends. I've been keeping laying hens for a little over 5 years now. Several times in the past I've tried holding onto a rooster and each time I've ended up adding him to the stock pot because he's been so rough with the hens, chasing them, stressing them out and even injuring them. This...

Hey folks, this is my 5th summer raising meat birds, mostly for the family table. I've always followed the butchering method that has me cutting into the chest cavity below the bird's breastbone, sticking in my hand, trying to loosen all the innards and then pulling them out. Sometimes this...

Last spring I raised 7 Pekin meat ducks. While they were a bit of a pain, I decided to do it again this spring. 8 days ago I called my closest feed store and they told me they had Pekins and Rouens available so I made the 45 minute drive to discover they only had Rouens. I was assured by the...

I have 6 Narragansett turkeys, 2 toms and 3 hens. They are about 24 weeks old. Today I found two turkey eggs in the turkey house. I was very surprised. Although this is my third fall with turkeys (Royal Palm the first year and Bourbon Reds the second) they have always been butchered by...

On Friday evening (say 48 hours ago) I noticed that one of my turkey hens was limping. I saw that she seemed to have some kind of thread wrapped around one ankle, just up from the claws. When my husband got home I had him hold her while I used scissors to cut off the thin thread that had...

So yesterday I butchered my first duck. It took me over an hour to pluck the darn thing. I can usually pluck a chicken in about 15 minutes. In this case I had most of the feathers removed in about 30 minutes and then took another 35 to remove the down. Does anyone have any pointers on how to...

So yesterday I butchered my first duck. It took me over an hour to pluck the darn thing. I can usually pluck a chicken in about 15 minutes. In this case I had most of the feathers removed in about 30 minutes and then took another 35 to remove the down. Does anyone have any pointers on how to...

I received my order of this year's Freedom Ranger chicks on April 10th. This is my fourth order all orders between 35 and 50 birds and, as usual, I was very pleased with the health and condition of my chicks when they arrived. As with my other orders, I'm pleased that there were 0 losses during...

So this is my third summer raising turkeys (my 5th with chickens). The first year I had some Royal Palms (was told at the feed store they were BBW). Last year I tried Bourbon Reds and this year I dedided to try Narragansetts. Now I will say that all turkey poults are sweet, social...

I ordered 10 Narragansett poults through my local feed store. When I went to pick them up, I discovered that an employee had, unknowingly, sold two to a customer. On a whim, I added two "Bronze" turkey poults to my 10 Narragansetts. (I put the "Bronze" in quotation marks because the feed...

OK, after several years raising both chickens and turkeys I decided to add ducks to the mix this spring. I have 7 10 day old Pekins in a brooder in the garage. I now understand why folks choose to brood their ducklings in the bathtub! I've been changing and cleaning out their brooder as much...

Do any of you keep the down or feather when you butcher your meat ducks? If so, how? Will scalding ruin the down?