Preparations Update

[Tank-Girl]

Today I brought two baby pullets and a male guinea pig.

I need to put my money where my mouth is in producing protein on this suburban lot.
More baby pullets, guniea pigs and later meat breed pigeons and ducks.
I'm pretty excited at the thought getting of meat pigeons

I could buy tins of meat or meat sales but it won't reproduce and once it's gone, it's gone.
Ducks will produce not only eggs and manure but they'll be a excellent source of fat
which is extremely hard to do on a small block.

From my studies on the great depression, ww2 rationing and failed economies fat was a commodity
that was very hard to find.
Fat from the ducks and the chickens are going to be a huge blessing.

 

[Caribou]

Picked up 2800# of coal today in my trailer. I'll see how it works out before I get a larger load delivered. I loaded my coal bucket, that is was nicer than splitting and stacking firewood.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@hiwall wondering if you have used your solar dryer and how it turned out and whether it worked ?.

 

[Amish Heart]

I've thought about pigeons for meat, but dressing them would be a pain in the butt. I don't mind doing average sized chickens, we butcher plenty. But I don't do the small varieties, like silkies, because it's a pain to get the innards out properly. Guinea pigs breed like rabbits...how do they taste, Tank G?
We raise rabbits.

 

[hiwall]

@hiwall wondering if you have used your solar dryer and how it turned out and whether it worked ?.

I have not. Just have nothing here to dry right now. Plus it was more for a future event just to have on hand. It just about has to work, though I could see that cleaning it would be a pain. It will be next summer before I will try it I'm sure.
I do also have the racks for my Sun Oven to use that for drying but have not done so.

 

[phideaux]

When I mowed the farm last week , I counted 8 rabbits running around.
That's the most I've seen at one mowing.
So the coyote must be moving away .
So , I left one field not mowed , almost 100% broomsage just to give them cover.
So I'm promoting my meat availability.

Jim

 

[Tank-Girl]

I've thought about pigeons for meat, but dressing them would be a pain in the butt. I don't mind doing average sized chickens, we butcher plenty. But I don't do the small varieties, like silkies, because it's a pain to get the innards out properly. Guinea pigs breed like rabbits...how do they taste, Tank G?
We raise rabbits.

Here we aren't allowed to have roosters and my State won't let you keep rabbits.
I'm on my own so a single meal sized animal is perfect.
Also being in a tropical climate when the grid goes down regularly here there isn't anything left to spoil in the heat.
Guinea pig tastes like pork.
Gestation is around 60 days but young are born fully formed, can see and run within minutes of birth.
Litters can range from 1 to 6 but 3 is about the average.

 

[Amish Heart]

Yes, but, how do gut a pigeon? Their cavity is too small to fit my hand in. And you're having to work with the butt end AND the craw end without damaging either. Sounds like you could use a broody hen and some fertile eggs. Bummer no roosters. We have 7 or 8 crowing at all hours. You get used to it.

 

[jimLE]

a neighbor friend and me went garage saleing.i bought 4 wooden spoons for cooking at one..paid 50 cents for them..what look's to be a old tupper ware container.paid a quarter for it.and a metal oil lamp at another.paid 2 dollars for it.

 

[hiwall]

Yes, but, how do gut a pigeon?

Same as you do quail or most any bird. I always skin them rather than try to pluck them.

 

[SheepDog]

I will NEVER pluck another bird. I did, or tried to do it just once. That was it! I skin everything except bugs and worms. (no need to skin mollusks)

 

[Tank-Girl]

Yes, but, how do gut a pigeon? Their cavity is too small to fit my hand in. And you're having to work with the butt end AND the craw end without damaging either. Sounds like you could use a broody hen and some fertile eggs. Bummer no roosters. We have 7 or 8 crowing at all hours. You get used to it.

 

[Amish Heart]

Two fingers, huh? Looks like he took it pretty much all out on one end.

 

[Terri9630]

Our neighbors used to raise pigeons and they would use a pair of scissors to carefully cut out the back bone and then remove the innards.

 

[Amish Heart]

Well I guess that's one advantage to small birds. Takes considerable effort to cut through the bone area above of the butt end of the turkeys I did, and without cutting through the poop tube.

 

[Terri9630]

Well I guess that's one advantage to small birds. Takes considerable effort to cut through the bone area above of the butt end of the turkeys I did, and without cutting through the poop tube.

Turkeys take effort. The first time I was removing the lower legs, I cut the tendon and the foot closed on my hand. I about wet my pants!

 

[Caribou]

Turkeys take effort. The first time I was removing the lower legs, I cut the tendon and the foot closed on my hand. I about wet my pants!

Tell me you got that on video.

 

[Amish Heart]

I did a couple of turkey hens a few weeks ago. Pulled out a ton of eggs forming. From the teeniest tinys to quarter sized without shells. Husband thought it was the weirdest thing. Granddaughter played with them.

 

[Terri9630]

Tell me you got that on video.

Nope! There was also the time I was gutting a chicken and the whole thing started twitching with my hand inside it and the time I squeezed the lungs and it squeaked. No video of those either!

 

[Peanut]

We processed chickens assembly line style when I was a kid. Grandma would wring their necks. Sis an I would pluck… Mom would gut..

My sister and I had quite a pile of plucked chickens going on the big table when one “woke up” (only stunned).

I remember laughing so hard as all of us chased that neked chicken around and around the barn…

 

[Terri9630]

Hubby had a "zombie" chicken. He uses his Old Timer knife to take the head off. On this one he didn't quite get through the last bit of skin. It was dead, spine cut, bled out but every time he reached for it it tried to peck him. Its the twitchy one from my last post. He just wasn't ready to go...

 

[SheepDog]

There is a cure for the "twitchy" bird. You hold it and talk to it gently while you bind the wings to the body and place a hood over the head. They get real quiet, you turn them upside down and place them into a funnel shaped tub that allows their head out the bottom. Using a piece of fine wire with handles on both ends you slip a wire loop over the head and up to the neck. Snap your hands apart quickly and give the chicken thanks for providing nourishment. This is the way my mom's dad did it and it was humane and fast. The blood was collected in a bucket under the funnel and was mixed in the feed for extra protein for the birds.

 

[Terri9630]

There is a cure for the "twitchy" bird. You hold it and talk to it gently while you bind the wings to the body and place a hood over the head. They get real quiet, you turn them upside down and place them into a funnel shaped tub that allows their head out the bottom. Using a piece of fine wire with handles on both ends you slip a wire loop over the head and up to the neck. Snap your hands apart quickly and give the chicken thanks for providing nourishment. This is the way my mom's dad did it and it was humane and fast. The blood was collected in a bucket under the funnel and was mixed in the feed for extra protein for the birds.

The bird wasn't twitchy until AFTER he was out of the cone with his head gone. He'd also been through the scalder and plucker (best invention ever!) before he ever got to my table.

 

[Peanut]

The bird wasn't twitchy until AFTER he was out of the cone with his head gone. He'd also been through the scalder and plucker (best invention ever!) before he ever got to my table.

A plucker usually takes the twitchy right out of a bird... Everytime I have had several to process I go see my neighbor.

I wonder if there is a slow setting for pigeons on a plucker. Seems like normal speed would batter a pigeon to pieces.

 

[Terri9630]

I love my plucker. One of our best buys ever.

 

[The Lazy L]

Young couple building a sail boat. They got hosed by the California power outage and their unpreparedness .

 

[Amish Heart]

Oh well.
Maybe go swimming or something.

 

[hiwall]

Young couple building a sail boat. They got hosed by the California power outage and their unpreparedness .

Pretty typical situation of total unpreparedness I think.
If I was running for office in stupid California I would run on the policy of never again shutting off the electric power.

 

[Meerkat]

When I mowed the farm last week , I counted 8 rabbits running around.
That's the most I've seen at one mowing.
So the coyote must be moving away .
So , I left one field not mowed , almost 100% broomsage just to give them cover.
So I'm promoting my meat availability.

Jim

Hubby said this morning with all the squirrels and rabbits here we won't starve.Of course hope nieghbors can aim cuse they too will be rabbit,squirrel hunting.Sometimes I'm affrid to sit on porch during huntin g season.

 

[Meerkat]

I just ordered 25 lb.s of flour.I like King Arthur. no after taste like store bought.t went up, $63.00.