Only 34 F this morning ... BRRR! I find small comfort in the idea that this will not last long, as the wind blows through my hair outside. The chicks don't seem too bothered by the weather, thankfully.
I slaughtered all five nuggets yesterday, figuring it would probably be warmer in the refrigerator than outside for them. The pullet tried to do a Logan's Run, so it was more tiring than normal as we chased her around the yard. That is the only real downside to having tractored meat birds of the Cornish-Rock variety: ours had the stamina to lead us on a merry chase. I ended up skinning three of them - perhaps I was just too impatient to pluck them properly, although we did give it a try. So, two are plucked (one moreso than the other right now) and three are skinned for dividing and canning. The livers and gizzards look fantastic for all five, and on one the bile duct came off as I pulled the liver out. We have enough chicken to last more than a month, which is about how long the assorted cockerels out there need to get large enough.
Ideal Poultry called me yesterday morning about my chick order. The hatch rate on the Golden-Laced Wyandottes was not good enough to fill my order, so delivery has been pushed back two weeks. Instead of picking up new chicks tomorrow morning for my birthday, I will be picking them up early on the 23rd ... for my brother's birthday. I did change part of the order, from assorted heavy cockerels to straight run red broilers.
Hubby ordered what we need to set up the electric netting fence to protect the chick tractors, and tracking shows it due to arrive Monday. We'll be driving up to the small city to get supplies to make more chick tractors soon - likely this weekend. Hubby will also be taking pics and notes on how he builds the next couple, as at least one person on the Homesteading Today forum has expressed interest in the details. We have decided to go back to the triangle design of the original tractor, with the funky roost too.
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