My chickens are bossy.
No… I mean it. And the Rhode Island Reds are especially ornery little hens.
On any typical day the chickens are running around the property here there and everywhere. Getting into stuff they’re not supposed to, eating the dog kibble (which is a lot more expensive than chicken kibble), and generally making a nuisance of themselves. The dogs completely ignore them so their uppity attitudes are lost on my hounds, the cat steers clear of them because she can recognize a troublemaker when she see's one, but they get pesty and stubborn with me on a regular basis - stamping their feet and hunkering down in their mulish little way, forcing me to actually pick them up to remove them from off-limits places (like my hay bale stack). But their most favorite pastime is to torment the ducks and geese.
No… I mean it. And the Rhode Island Reds are especially ornery little hens.
On any typical day the chickens are running around the property here there and everywhere. Getting into stuff they’re not supposed to, eating the dog kibble (which is a lot more expensive than chicken kibble), and generally making a nuisance of themselves. The dogs completely ignore them so their uppity attitudes are lost on my hounds, the cat steers clear of them because she can recognize a troublemaker when she see's one, but they get pesty and stubborn with me on a regular basis - stamping their feet and hunkering down in their mulish little way, forcing me to actually pick them up to remove them from off-limits places (like my hay bale stack). But their most favorite pastime is to torment the ducks and geese.
RIR's still ready to rumble and Big Boy has his forehead hackles up
This morning I heard a ruckus in front of the barn and went to have a look… my Cornish Rock chicken had puffed herself all up and was guns-drawn on my 14 lbs Muscovy boy who outweighs her by a dozen pounds. He's normally pretty zen but Weheheeellll, lemme tell ya, he is NOT gonna let some chicken push him around so then when she rushed him he charged her. That (previously sweet natured) chicken fought back like a fully feathered Calamity Jane and it was ON! He got ahold of a big chunk of her neck feathers but before he could pull her down all the way to the ground she beat him with her wings pretty good. He hung on and they tussled like that for a moment before the whole barnyard waddled and ran over to see the fight. The other chickens jumped into the frackus with wings beating and Big Boy was outnumbered. He pinched a couple of them when they got close enough and it was all over in 30 seconds. I had my camera but by the time I switched it on the whole thing was done except for a little post-game chest thumping (pictured above). I still don’t know who schooled who or which started the fight (I suspect the chickens tho). The Muscovy all gathered up together and did that crane and bob thing they do in solidarity, all the while trilling and huffing what I’m sure were piercing chicken slurs at the retreating hens. Now they’re out there with their duck-chests all puffed out, strolling among the chickens daring them to stick just one chicken toe across the line.
Geese and ducks high-tailing it out of the pasture
A few weeks ago I was out in the yard and noticed the ducks and geese were happily grunting and chortling and digging their little beaks around in the grass, not paying much attention to anything other than tasty bugs hiding in the greens. The geese tend to stand sentry duty around the flock while they forage and were taking turns eating grass and keeping an eye out. The chickens were busily running all over the yard in a hurry to get from one very important chicken task to the next. As one of the RIR’s was wandering her way past the ducks I noticed her do a little second take at one of the geese's backside (I could almost see the wheels turning in her malicious little chicken brain)… just as the goose bent to nibble some grass that chicken goosed him! That poor Goosey-Goose jumped 4 feet in the air and let out a big old rusty honk. The RIR just carried on like nothing had happened. I would have to say the chickens firmly believe they're running the barnyard... goosing the goose? Are you kidding me?
Queeny is actually a very calm & sweet girl
Another time, back when Duck Dodgers had 5 Welsh Harlequin girls all to himself (I’d just harvested the other 3 drakes), he must’ve been feeling like he was the big man on campus and his little ducky britches got a bit too big for him. I was walking across the barnyard to get from one chore to another and out of the corner of my eye I saw Duck Dodgers make an opened beak threatening gesture at one of my Muscovy girls, Queeny. I stopped to watch just to see what would happen. At first Queeny pulled her head back in surprise, then a moment later she narrowed her eyes, craned out her neck and huffed her quiet Muscovy trill at him, like, “don’t you dare talk to me like that!” Duck Dodgers held his ground so she charged him! He ran, she chased and finally when she caught him she jumped on his back, dug in those pterodactyl claws, mashing him into the dirt, grabbed the back of his neck and hit his head against the ground a few times. He managed to get away and she chased him just a second longer. When he stopped and turned around she advanced again and he boogied it on out of there while she huffed and trilled and bobbed her head at him. He went back to his girlfriends and fluffed up his feathers, then resumed leading them to grazing. He didn’t mess with the Muscovy girls after that.
Big Boy with his girls
The four Muscovy prefer to flock by themselves. They’re a bit like a flock of 3-year-olds: very curious, get up to a bunch of hijinx, and like to explore on their own. They have their own pecking order and prefer that the other ducks maintain a little distance but they’ve generally allowed the Harlequin to hole up in their barn with them when they catch sight of a predator and run for the nearest safe portal.
The Muscovy have all been sequestered for the last 3 weeks in a smallish run while they heal from hawk wounds, but I let them out into the barnyard this weekend where they encountered the geese face to face for the first time. There’s always been a thin wall of fencing between them, but they’ve interacted many times through it without any trouble. I reckon the geese decided the Muscovy would be easy to bully and came right over to lay claim to the water dish the Muscovy were using. My two most timid Muscovy hens high tailed it
The Muscovy have all been sequestered for the last 3 weeks in a smallish run while they heal from hawk wounds, but I let them out into the barnyard this weekend where they encountered the geese face to face for the first time. There’s always been a thin wall of fencing between them, but they’ve interacted many times through it without any trouble. I reckon the geese decided the Muscovy would be easy to bully and came right over to lay claim to the water dish the Muscovy were using. My two most timid Muscovy hens high tailed it
'Queeeeeeg? Out of my pool!'
out of reach but Queeny ignored the goose and continued to drink while Big Boy wouldn't be bullied either and did the Muscovy huff and puff. Everyone stood their ground for a moment but it looked like a draw to me since they both went their separate ways. Then later that day one of the geese wanted to push Queeny away from the waterbowl again but she ignored the goose… until he stuck is long neck out and made his rusty gate sound “Queeeeeeg?!” (you dare disobey?!). I could tell from her body language that the goose was about to get it. She stretched out her own long neck right back at the offending goose, who didn’t back down, so Queeny reached out and got herself and nice fat bite of goose chest meat in her big, pinchy beak and twisted hard… and hung on tight! The goose started to back up – all the while honking in a panic – and she hung on like a pit bull until she was sure she got her message across then she chased him for good measure. That big ol’ goose had learned a valuable lesson: don’t mess with Queeny the Muscovy girl!
It might sound like there’s one rumble after another in the barnyard but most days all the animals just play and chortle and make their way from the grass to the pool. Once in a while I catch sight of… well… a sight. There’s no lack of entertainment around here, that’s for sure!
It might sound like there’s one rumble after another in the barnyard but most days all the animals just play and chortle and make their way from the grass to the pool. Once in a while I catch sight of… well… a sight. There’s no lack of entertainment around here, that’s for sure!
This week my mom and her friend came out from California to visit for a couple of days so, of course, we three played tourist for a bit. The only time I really get out to see the sites is when I have guests in town... otherwise it's just the daily grind and then home again. It's always fun to get out there and revisit the interesting stuff we have in DC. I mean, I see the Capitol Building every day on my way into work.... but it still never gets old. And the memorials are great - the Korean War Memorial is my favorite followed by the FDR Memorial.
Korean War Memorial
I don’t know if it’s because I’m a patriot or if it’s the newness of living in our nations capitol, but I never tire of seeing the monuments. It brings our country’s birth into perspective for me every time. Seeing that small seed of our independence planted by bold, intrepid, and strong willed people building a new life in a new place; watching the historical timeline to see it germinate; and follow our
FDR Memorial
founding fathers trial and error while they tend its frail leaves with their own brand of hard hewn and hard headed individuality until it grew into the strong and vigorous grove it is today. It's amazing to me every time to see how we got from there to here.
And the monuments always pull at the heartstrings. It’s important to remember that they aren’t dedicated to the celebration of war but as a remembrance to those who gave their lives so that we could remain free… or so that other nations could live free in a republic (for which it stands, one nation, under God, with Liberty and Justice for all).
We saw all the monuments on the Mall but there wasn’t time to take them to Arlington – which isn’t something you breeze through. We visited a sampling of the 9 Smithsonian’s that DC has on offer, and had a wonderful dinner at the house with my closest friends. It was a lot of activity to pack into only 2 days but I had a great time.
Breadline at the FDR Memorial
Mom got to spend some time with the granddogs and Savannah Kitty who she hadn’t seen in a long time. And she was finally able to meet the chickens, ducks and geese and see my little operation. Buffy the Orphington had just hatched out her second brood of the season so I had 10 brand new little baby Silkies, Ameraucana’s, and Naked Neck Turkins to fascinate over.
The ducks were skittish because something scared them pretty good the first day she was here. I still don’t know for sure what’s terrorizing the birds but the ducks and geese stayed in their duckyard or very close to it for those few days.
Today I was out there catching up on chores all day and after I chased them out into the barnyard for exercise, sunshine and fresh pasture they decided that it was safe as long as I was out there walking around so there were a lot of happy little chortles as they found the tastier bugs. I reckon we’re back on track and I’m glad to see everyone acting like they should.
Pretty Girl mostly recovered
The Muscovy have spent the last 3 weeks in “sickbay” after a really horrible hawk attack in early August. All 5 were terribly maimed and I wasn’t sure 3 of them would even make it through the night. I did lose Freckles on the second day but everyone else miraculously pulled through and all their wounds have healed up so well!
When I found them after the attack, I got them all cleaned up and then I applied new dressing on their wounds twice a day and got them on vitamins and probiotics (Rooster Booster is awesome!). They all stayed in a little corner of the barn sleeping most of the time for the first few days. Then when they weren’t hanging out in the barn, they were confined to a relatively small yard covered with bird netting and salted with straw to keep them all clean. Pretty Girl took the longest to come out of the barn and to heal but her wounds were the worst, except for Freckles. Eventually, I gave them a pool to swim and get themselves cleaned-up in with a good dose of vinegar to keep the bacteria in check. I was really amazed at how quickly and thoroughly they recovered… you can hardley see any scaring, it's totally amazing.
Today I took down their portable fence and let them free into the barnyard… they were so happy to roam and hunt for bugs and I was happy to see them enjoying that again. I’ll miss Freckles though. She was so friendly and would come running up to me when I came out in the barnyard.
This week I’ll expand the primary duckyard, effectively tripling the space to about 250’ x 250’, then put a bird netting roof over the top of it. I’ll move the Muscovy into the regular duckbarn with the rest of the flock (since they’ve been sleeping in MY barn for the last 15 weeks) and everyone will stay in the duckyard when I’m not home and only come out to range on the rest of the property when I get home from work and on the weekend. I’ve lost 20 ducks in the last 15 weeks so it’s far too dangerous for them to be out from under cover when I’m not there.
Today Buffy hatched 10 of the 15 eggs I put under her when she went broody (again!).
She hatched out 6 Welsummer chicks in April (read about that here) and then in August she went broody again. For a week I kicked her out of the nestbox each day and collected the eggs. She’d run around the barnyard like she was supposed to until that night when she would sleep in the nest box. I figured if she was so committed I’d order her more fertile eggs (remember, I have no rooster here). So I ordered a dozen from a fellow chicken keeper (Dipsy Doodle Doo) in Arkansas (Clovis Place Garden and Poultry) whom I met through BackyardChickens.com. She was kind enough to put together a variety pack of colored egg layers of interesting looking birds and sent a collection of 15 eggs of Ameraucana, Silkies in a variety of colors, Naked Neck Turkins, and frizzles. The colors of the eggs I received were really great! There were tan, olive green, and two shades of blue.
I can see that I have one Turkin because it’s the only chick without feathers on its neck. The others are interesting colors but I’m not sure yet what I’ve got out there. Once they’re old enough to sex I’ll figure out what to keep and what to sell and look forward to then finding out what color eggs I’ll be getting. Very egg-citing!
Buffy just loves being a mom and she’s very good at it. I let the other chickens out to free-range and close their access off to the henyard, then I open the broody box gate and let Buff take her babies out for a private scratching match. That’ll work great until they’re bigger and she’s ready to bring them out onto the property. For now they’re snack-size morsels for the Muscovy so I’ll keep them in a safe place until they’re old enough. Wow… 10 more chickens! Wonder how many will turn out to be roo’s?
She hatched out 6 Welsummer chicks in April (read about that here) and then in August she went broody again. For a week I kicked her out of the nestbox each day and collected the eggs. She’d run around the barnyard like she was supposed to until that night when she would sleep in the nest box. I figured if she was so committed I’d order her more fertile eggs (remember, I have no rooster here). So I ordered a dozen from a fellow chicken keeper (Dipsy Doodle Doo) in Arkansas (Clovis Place Garden and Poultry) whom I met through BackyardChickens.com. She was kind enough to put together a variety pack of colored egg layers of interesting looking birds and sent a collection of 15 eggs of Ameraucana, Silkies in a variety of colors, Naked Neck Turkins, and frizzles. The colors of the eggs I received were really great! There were tan, olive green, and two shades of blue.
I can see that I have one Turkin because it’s the only chick without feathers on its neck. The others are interesting colors but I’m not sure yet what I’ve got out there. Once they’re old enough to sex I’ll figure out what to keep and what to sell and look forward to then finding out what color eggs I’ll be getting. Very egg-citing!
Buffy just loves being a mom and she’s very good at it. I let the other chickens out to free-range and close their access off to the henyard, then I open the broody box gate and let Buff take her babies out for a private scratching match. That’ll work great until they’re bigger and she’s ready to bring them out onto the property. For now they’re snack-size morsels for the Muscovy so I’ll keep them in a safe place until they’re old enough. Wow… 10 more chickens! Wonder how many will turn out to be roo’s?
|
|
|
|
|
|
I’ve been watching my lone Welsh Harlequin drake, Duck Dodgers, slowly working his way through a brand new pecking order and it’s been a little heart wrenching but also very interesting.
The Back Story: So when I started out my duck enterprise it was with 3 little Khaki Campbell ducks I hatched in my incubator. You can read all about them in this post. Not long after I purchased a flock of 14 adult and juvenile Welsh Harlequins along with 11 assorted tiny ducklings and 2 goslings. Duck Dodgers was the leader of the pack of the adult Welsh Harlequin when they came to my farm. The others were happy to follow him to and fro around the property and he was easily able to keep the mostly juvenile drakes in check.
Well, some sort of predator (hawk or owl most likely) moved in who wasn’t partial to free-range chickens in the least was pleased to see I’d finally set up a free-range duck buffet. So she invited her raptor friends who especially enjoyed rare Khaki Campbell and Welsh Harlequin duck. Needless to say, I lost all the Campbell’s and most of the Harlequin in the ensuing months. Terribly sad and disappointing. I think I’ve got a good management plan figured out now but poor Duck Dodgers and his WH gal Blush have had to blend in with a separate well established flock since it’s just the two of them left from their old one.
Unfortunately for Duck Dodgers, that established flock includes two large American geese who are, without a doubt, at the top of the pecking order and are unlikely to ever be knocked from their lofty perch (not at almost 30 lbs and over 3 ft tall). But that little WH drake had to peck and push his way through 11 other ducks to regain some semblance of his previous position.
The Back Story: So when I started out my duck enterprise it was with 3 little Khaki Campbell ducks I hatched in my incubator. You can read all about them in this post. Not long after I purchased a flock of 14 adult and juvenile Welsh Harlequins along with 11 assorted tiny ducklings and 2 goslings. Duck Dodgers was the leader of the pack of the adult Welsh Harlequin when they came to my farm. The others were happy to follow him to and fro around the property and he was easily able to keep the mostly juvenile drakes in check.
Well, some sort of predator (hawk or owl most likely) moved in who wasn’t partial to free-range chickens in the least was pleased to see I’d finally set up a free-range duck buffet. So she invited her raptor friends who especially enjoyed rare Khaki Campbell and Welsh Harlequin duck. Needless to say, I lost all the Campbell’s and most of the Harlequin in the ensuing months. Terribly sad and disappointing. I think I’ve got a good management plan figured out now but poor Duck Dodgers and his WH gal Blush have had to blend in with a separate well established flock since it’s just the two of them left from their old one.
Unfortunately for Duck Dodgers, that established flock includes two large American geese who are, without a doubt, at the top of the pecking order and are unlikely to ever be knocked from their lofty perch (not at almost 30 lbs and over 3 ft tall). But that little WH drake had to peck and push his way through 11 other ducks to regain some semblance of his previous position.
Ducks in a pecking-order shoving match (not my ducks)
He was able to out-push the 3 runner ducks one at a time, the 2 Khaki Campbell’s gave him a run for his money but he eventually won that shootin’ match. He ran up against 2 rotund brick walls when he next had to challenge the Black Cayuga hens (Darkwing Duck #1 & #2). That little pecking match lasted a long time. He would challenge one of those big girls and she was always ready to put her head down and push him back with all her weight. One day I was watching the latest bout between one Darkwing Duck and Duck Dodgers. It was a vigorous shoving match and just when I thought old Dodgers was gonna win... one of the geese came over to break it up.
Now I didn’t think that was.fair so I was a bit disappointed, but - whoa-nelly - not as much as poor Dodgers! He was clearly very frustrated that the bully goose had stepped in when he was making progress in shoving that Cayuga back a step that he didn’t even bother to lift his head but ran like Toro the Bull straight at the goose and hit him square in the (lower) chest. He pushed the goose back a step (mostly from surprise, I think) then stamped off, clearly bent out of shape, to the other end of the duck yard draking and muttering who-knows-what all the way.
I wasn’t sure he’d ever out-shove those Cayuga, but watching him today it seems that he’s positioned himself just below the geese. Ducks are pretty subtle most of the time in their pecking order so I can’t say for certain, but I haven’t seen him spar with any of the other ducks in a while though I have seen him pinch a few to tell them to get out of his way… and they do.
It appears that meek little Blush isn’t interested in climbing the duck ladder so she’s happy to find another water dish when a flockmate is being rude. I did notice the other day that the Runner drake got a little pinch from her when he got too close. Guess she's not completely at the bottom ;~)
I wasn’t sure he’d ever out-shove those Cayuga, but watching him today it seems that he’s positioned himself just below the geese. Ducks are pretty subtle most of the time in their pecking order so I can’t say for certain, but I haven’t seen him spar with any of the other ducks in a while though I have seen him pinch a few to tell them to get out of his way… and they do.
It appears that meek little Blush isn’t interested in climbing the duck ladder so she’s happy to find another water dish when a flockmate is being rude. I did notice the other day that the Runner drake got a little pinch from her when he got too close. Guess she's not completely at the bottom ;~)
I know it’s been a long time since I’ve updated the going’s-on of Moose Manor. So beware… this one is an extra long post to make up for it.
The harvest of the chickens and ducks (30 birds total) was exhausting physically and mentally so I took a little break from all but the most basic outside communication (ie; work). Don’t get me wrong… there are no breaks around here on the farm! Every day it’s early to rise and late to bed because there is always more to do than there is time to do it. I just needed some hermit time to reflect, renew, and finally resolve myself to moving forward with preparations for my next harvest. There are, as always, a lot of things that have to happen between now and November to ensure I’m more efficient at this task.
Farm to Fork - A recap of the Summer 2010 harvest:
I began the process on April 23rd with 16 unmedicated White Muscovy ducklings from J.M. Hatchery in Lancaster County, PA. This hatchery uses improved breeding stock from France that produces males weighing 12 pounds in 12 weeks. I’m happy to report that this is very accurate and the stock was incredibly hardy and healthy. 6 of my ducklings were male. I lost 1 duckling in week 3 when it got out of the brooder unnoticed and couldn’t get back in; I lost 2 females in week 9 when they were attacked by hawks. I selected 1 male (the 2nd largest) and 3 females (the largest, the friendliest, and the prettiest) to keep as breeding stock and the rest were allocated for harvest at the 12 week mark while they’re still young and tender.
When I ordered my Muscovy, I also placed an order for 21 unmedicated Cornish Cross roaster chickens with Meyer Hatchery in Polk, OH. I requested a delivery date 6 weeks prior to the scheduled harvest date so I could do all the birds at one time. These chickens are specially bred first-generation stock selected for fast feathering, rapid growth, and nice carcass finish. Meyer states 4lbs average dressed weight in 7 weeks with a 2lb feed conversion and 98% livability. I thought mid-way through that the birds had stopped growing at the appropriate pace (taking a hit in my feed conversion ratio), but there was a spike in growth right at the end. The chickens preformed as promised, and were in excellent health. The hatchery sent me 2 extra for normal mortality, I lost both in the first week. It stormed heavily at the end of week 6 so I couldn't butcher as planned then in the days that followed it was extremely hot and even with a giant box fan and lots of shade and water I lost 2 more chickens to heat just days before freezer camp. In the future, I’ll move my summer harvests closer to spring so that the Cornish aren’t heat stressed.
Harvest preparation: Several days before the harvest I created an online ordering site where folks who had expressed an interest could reserve a bird. Within an hour or so of sending out my notification email I was “sold out” of all my birds! And I still got some email requests... I even sold a couple out of my own pantry – I think I was left with one of each of the 3 types of birds for myself. LOL!
OK… having plucked a few chickens and ducks in my time, I knew that if I was gonna process 30+ birds with just my own two hands I needed to get a mechanical plucker. I immediately discovered that small plucker machines, like the Featherman, were way the heck out of my price range ($800-$2500). They work like a champ, getting 3 or 4 birds at a time spanky clean in 30 seconds. But there’s just no way I can ever justify that kind of cost for my little operation.
So, being the DIY diva that I am, I’m building a chicken plucker machine instead of buying one (you can see it in action here). If I’m crafty enough I might get out of the project only $300 lighter in the wallet – that’s a cost I can live with for the amazing speed and convenience of this contraption. But, as you can imagine, with building housing for the different birds and the regular upkeep of the farm, and, oh yeah... that day job that pays the mortgage, there wasn’t time to get it done before harvest. Other smallholders have off-set the cost of buying a Featherman by renting it out when they aren’t using it (which is more often than you are, right?). I found a guy just about a 2-hour drive from me, over in Virginia, who was renting his machine out so I scheduled my harvest date with him. I was supposed to pick it up Friday evening so I emailed him that afternoon to make sure the time was good… he said it wasn’t back from the last renter. No Way! It would be back Tuesday so I rescheduled and took Wednesday & Thursday off of work.
Cornish Harvest: Those Cornish were not gonna make it through the weekend with the heat so I had no choice but to do all the plucking by hand. I got an early start but it still took me 12 straight hours to pluck and process 20 chickens by hand. And when all the naked carcasses were on ice I still had to dig a 4 foot hole on the back of the property to compost the waste. At 9:30 that night I finally had everything cleaned up and dragged my tired, smelly self inside to shower and sleep. I got up really early the next morning to package and weigh my birds so the customers could start picking them up at 9am. What a job!
So the stats on the dress birds… I lucked out with about 50/50 hen to cockerel ratio (I really didn’t know until I processed them). They picked very cleanly and dressed out nice. The consistency of weight was pretty exact: cockerels dressed out at 5 & 5.5 lbs each and hens dressed at 4 & 4.5 lbs each. I had one that dressed out as a Cornish game hen and one that came in at 3.5lbs (which is what folks were expecting them to average). I would like to harvest them a little smaller – or maybe grow them in two age groups next time so I have birds running between 6 lbs and 2 lbs.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, Tuesday rolls around and I contact the Featherman renter guy and the machine is still not back yet! It's not like I can go down the the Rent-all and get a plucker machine! This is the only guy advertising the rental of just the machine (and not a 16 foot trailer of mobile processing equipment). I can’t imagine plucking this many ducks by hand… they have 4 times more feathers than the chickens. No choice now but to get out there and get started since I already took the time off work and folks were expecting their ducks to be ready.
Welsh Harlequin Harvest: I got started at 7am because it was supposed to be a hot day with a high of 109 and I wanted to get as far along as I could before then. I had 3 Harlequin drakes that needed to be culled for a better boy/girl ratio in the flock so I did them first. They each took about 30 minutes to pluck because I had a lot of trouble getting off the tiny downy feathers closest to the skin. I followed some old timer's advice and used paraffin wax on the first duck… that was a total disaster. I probably didn’t do it right so I did the other two without. They were all juveniles and in the light duck class so they dressed out at an average 3.5lbs. They were nice and lean, half the fat during processing that I had with the chickens (who were a little on the lean side too because I didn't fatten them on corn the last week).
Muscovy Harvest: I had set aside 9 of these ducks for harvest (nearly half were very large drakes) after separating out my 4 breeder stock. I learned A LOT about harvesting ducks that day. Most important of all is that you don’t harvest these big, strong ducks the same way you do chickens and light ducks, no sir. I tried the new-fangled European system of pumping inert gas (argon or helium) in a small enclosure to make them sleepy first but that was unsuccessful. I'm still not sure the best way, personally, for me to do it. These guys were the most taxing on me mentally and every one of them was a challenge.
Stats on the meat: My drakes averaged 8lbs dressed weight and the hens averaged 5lbs dressed weight. All were very meaty but extremely lean, there was no fat on the gizzard or heart and zero excess fat to be removed in processing. The hens, especially, are very active birds so I’m not surprised.
The duck harvest had to span two days. I spent 12 hours in the heat plucking and processing by hand and I still had 3 left when it finally got dark – 1 drake and 2 hens. So I dragged myself out of the house early the next morning for round 3 of processing, which included the only Muscovy that accidentally got a name: Angel Wing. My Muscovy who I carried out to spend his days in the grazing pen with the Campbells to avoid having his deformed wing eaten by his flock-mates. The 3 busy little brown Campbells that he considered to be inferior ducks… but they liked him anyway. I decided to cull the drake first that morning to get it over with. Before I took him I grabbed the last two hens together so that the very last one wouldn’t be alone for an hour… they get very sad and a little panicky when they’re all alone. I put them in a large wire dog kennel on the other side of the barn where all the other non-harvest ducks were hanging out. That way, when I culled the second to last girl, the very last girl wouldn’t be lonely. I got started on Angel Wing and it was slow going because my plucker muscles were pretty tired from the day before. After he and the first hen were all dressed out and on ice I headed over to grab the last hen. I stood there looking at that kennel and feeling like I just could not kill one more living thing that day. I was at my limit. So instead of harvesting her, I let her out of the kennel to be with the other Muscovy. I know… I know… but I was maxed out. She half ran, half flew over to the little group and everyone seemed appropriately excited. They were all doing the little Muscovy dance around her. So now I have a slightly larger breeding stock of 4 hens and 1 drake.
And she now has a name: Lucky Girl.
.
The harvest of the chickens and ducks (30 birds total) was exhausting physically and mentally so I took a little break from all but the most basic outside communication (ie; work). Don’t get me wrong… there are no breaks around here on the farm! Every day it’s early to rise and late to bed because there is always more to do than there is time to do it. I just needed some hermit time to reflect, renew, and finally resolve myself to moving forward with preparations for my next harvest. There are, as always, a lot of things that have to happen between now and November to ensure I’m more efficient at this task.
Farm to Fork - A recap of the Summer 2010 harvest:
I began the process on April 23rd with 16 unmedicated White Muscovy ducklings from J.M. Hatchery in Lancaster County, PA. This hatchery uses improved breeding stock from France that produces males weighing 12 pounds in 12 weeks. I’m happy to report that this is very accurate and the stock was incredibly hardy and healthy. 6 of my ducklings were male. I lost 1 duckling in week 3 when it got out of the brooder unnoticed and couldn’t get back in; I lost 2 females in week 9 when they were attacked by hawks. I selected 1 male (the 2nd largest) and 3 females (the largest, the friendliest, and the prettiest) to keep as breeding stock and the rest were allocated for harvest at the 12 week mark while they’re still young and tender.
When I ordered my Muscovy, I also placed an order for 21 unmedicated Cornish Cross roaster chickens with Meyer Hatchery in Polk, OH. I requested a delivery date 6 weeks prior to the scheduled harvest date so I could do all the birds at one time. These chickens are specially bred first-generation stock selected for fast feathering, rapid growth, and nice carcass finish. Meyer states 4lbs average dressed weight in 7 weeks with a 2lb feed conversion and 98% livability. I thought mid-way through that the birds had stopped growing at the appropriate pace (taking a hit in my feed conversion ratio), but there was a spike in growth right at the end. The chickens preformed as promised, and were in excellent health. The hatchery sent me 2 extra for normal mortality, I lost both in the first week. It stormed heavily at the end of week 6 so I couldn't butcher as planned then in the days that followed it was extremely hot and even with a giant box fan and lots of shade and water I lost 2 more chickens to heat just days before freezer camp. In the future, I’ll move my summer harvests closer to spring so that the Cornish aren’t heat stressed.
Harvest preparation: Several days before the harvest I created an online ordering site where folks who had expressed an interest could reserve a bird. Within an hour or so of sending out my notification email I was “sold out” of all my birds! And I still got some email requests... I even sold a couple out of my own pantry – I think I was left with one of each of the 3 types of birds for myself. LOL!
OK… having plucked a few chickens and ducks in my time, I knew that if I was gonna process 30+ birds with just my own two hands I needed to get a mechanical plucker. I immediately discovered that small plucker machines, like the Featherman, were way the heck out of my price range ($800-$2500). They work like a champ, getting 3 or 4 birds at a time spanky clean in 30 seconds. But there’s just no way I can ever justify that kind of cost for my little operation.
So, being the DIY diva that I am, I’m building a chicken plucker machine instead of buying one (you can see it in action here). If I’m crafty enough I might get out of the project only $300 lighter in the wallet – that’s a cost I can live with for the amazing speed and convenience of this contraption. But, as you can imagine, with building housing for the different birds and the regular upkeep of the farm, and, oh yeah... that day job that pays the mortgage, there wasn’t time to get it done before harvest. Other smallholders have off-set the cost of buying a Featherman by renting it out when they aren’t using it (which is more often than you are, right?). I found a guy just about a 2-hour drive from me, over in Virginia, who was renting his machine out so I scheduled my harvest date with him. I was supposed to pick it up Friday evening so I emailed him that afternoon to make sure the time was good… he said it wasn’t back from the last renter. No Way! It would be back Tuesday so I rescheduled and took Wednesday & Thursday off of work.
Cornish Harvest: Those Cornish were not gonna make it through the weekend with the heat so I had no choice but to do all the plucking by hand. I got an early start but it still took me 12 straight hours to pluck and process 20 chickens by hand. And when all the naked carcasses were on ice I still had to dig a 4 foot hole on the back of the property to compost the waste. At 9:30 that night I finally had everything cleaned up and dragged my tired, smelly self inside to shower and sleep. I got up really early the next morning to package and weigh my birds so the customers could start picking them up at 9am. What a job!
So the stats on the dress birds… I lucked out with about 50/50 hen to cockerel ratio (I really didn’t know until I processed them). They picked very cleanly and dressed out nice. The consistency of weight was pretty exact: cockerels dressed out at 5 & 5.5 lbs each and hens dressed at 4 & 4.5 lbs each. I had one that dressed out as a Cornish game hen and one that came in at 3.5lbs (which is what folks were expecting them to average). I would like to harvest them a little smaller – or maybe grow them in two age groups next time so I have birds running between 6 lbs and 2 lbs.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, Tuesday rolls around and I contact the Featherman renter guy and the machine is still not back yet! It's not like I can go down the the Rent-all and get a plucker machine! This is the only guy advertising the rental of just the machine (and not a 16 foot trailer of mobile processing equipment). I can’t imagine plucking this many ducks by hand… they have 4 times more feathers than the chickens. No choice now but to get out there and get started since I already took the time off work and folks were expecting their ducks to be ready.
Welsh Harlequin Harvest: I got started at 7am because it was supposed to be a hot day with a high of 109 and I wanted to get as far along as I could before then. I had 3 Harlequin drakes that needed to be culled for a better boy/girl ratio in the flock so I did them first. They each took about 30 minutes to pluck because I had a lot of trouble getting off the tiny downy feathers closest to the skin. I followed some old timer's advice and used paraffin wax on the first duck… that was a total disaster. I probably didn’t do it right so I did the other two without. They were all juveniles and in the light duck class so they dressed out at an average 3.5lbs. They were nice and lean, half the fat during processing that I had with the chickens (who were a little on the lean side too because I didn't fatten them on corn the last week).
Muscovy Harvest: I had set aside 9 of these ducks for harvest (nearly half were very large drakes) after separating out my 4 breeder stock. I learned A LOT about harvesting ducks that day. Most important of all is that you don’t harvest these big, strong ducks the same way you do chickens and light ducks, no sir. I tried the new-fangled European system of pumping inert gas (argon or helium) in a small enclosure to make them sleepy first but that was unsuccessful. I'm still not sure the best way, personally, for me to do it. These guys were the most taxing on me mentally and every one of them was a challenge.
Stats on the meat: My drakes averaged 8lbs dressed weight and the hens averaged 5lbs dressed weight. All were very meaty but extremely lean, there was no fat on the gizzard or heart and zero excess fat to be removed in processing. The hens, especially, are very active birds so I’m not surprised.
The duck harvest had to span two days. I spent 12 hours in the heat plucking and processing by hand and I still had 3 left when it finally got dark – 1 drake and 2 hens. So I dragged myself out of the house early the next morning for round 3 of processing, which included the only Muscovy that accidentally got a name: Angel Wing. My Muscovy who I carried out to spend his days in the grazing pen with the Campbells to avoid having his deformed wing eaten by his flock-mates. The 3 busy little brown Campbells that he considered to be inferior ducks… but they liked him anyway. I decided to cull the drake first that morning to get it over with. Before I took him I grabbed the last two hens together so that the very last one wouldn’t be alone for an hour… they get very sad and a little panicky when they’re all alone. I put them in a large wire dog kennel on the other side of the barn where all the other non-harvest ducks were hanging out. That way, when I culled the second to last girl, the very last girl wouldn’t be lonely. I got started on Angel Wing and it was slow going because my plucker muscles were pretty tired from the day before. After he and the first hen were all dressed out and on ice I headed over to grab the last hen. I stood there looking at that kennel and feeling like I just could not kill one more living thing that day. I was at my limit. So instead of harvesting her, I let her out of the kennel to be with the other Muscovy. I know… I know… but I was maxed out. She half ran, half flew over to the little group and everyone seemed appropriately excited. They were all doing the little Muscovy dance around her. So now I have a slightly larger breeding stock of 4 hens and 1 drake.
And she now has a name: Lucky Girl.
.
RSS Feed
