We've been doing a lot of stuff; I just haven't felt like typing it up this past week. But, I did resolve to post at least once a week, and it has been since last Monday.
My March hatch was very good - out of 41 eggs that developed, 36 hatched. Four did not even pip, and one quit, apparently too weak to get out of the shell. I have twelve Meaties and 24 Feyd chicks, not all of which are full Wyandotte since Penny the black sex-link hen contributed some. This is now my best development and hatch rate.
This morning, I started caponizing the January hatch, which is Azar x the Pretties. The best cockerel has a single comb, plus white tips on his feathers, and there is no stand-out good rose comb cockerel in the bunch. They are certainly quick and agile, though! Out of four prepped for caponizing, we had two escapes, one known slip, and one that may be a capon.
I think my last hatch of the spring in the incubator will be Tiny x the Flashy Girls again ... not only is Bigfoot still growing out nicely, but his sisters look good as well. After I gather up the eggs, I'll switch Azar and Tiny and put those eggs under broodies over the summer.
Showing posts with label capons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label capons. Show all posts
21 March 2016
21 January 2016
Pleasant surprises
Today has been just full of pleasant surprises here. For this morning's round of caponizing, I have one slip and three more pullets. This time, since I suspected one or two of being a pullet, I checked for saddle feathers versus cushion feathers on the back behind the wings but in front of the tail. I didn't expect three, but a, very pleased about the most colorful one. She's a keeper for certain - size, width, and color on top of that.
Another pleasant surprise started yesterday when Lynn got hold of a fellow who expressed interest in buying eggs. He asked for "15 to 20 dozen" last evening, and I sorted and wiped down 15 dozen just from our back table - his big requirement is that they not be refrigerated, and that is no big deal this time of year. Lynn had gathered up at least twelve dozen when I took my box of eggs up to her, and must have scared up another five dozen because he wrote her a check for 32 dozen eggs at $3/dozen. He would like to get 20 dozen per week, he says.
Just now, while out on a cigarette break (neither of us smoke in the house), I decided to clear a little excess vegetation around the Tree of Destiny, and then I figured since I was right there, might as well see if the two grape vines are still alive. Not only are they both still alive, but they are doing much better than I thought. Instead of growing upwards this past year, they went stealth mode and did the grapevine equivalent of a low crawl to each side. I nicked the one I thought dead with the weed whip, and that is green wood fiber under its bark. This just happens to be the time of year to prune such things back ...
I am collecting eggs from Spikey and the broilers (plus Bertha now) and another batch from Azar and the Pretties for hatching. The farmer's almanacs I am using also give set dates for egg incubation, and the 28th looks perfect for me.
The two cockerels from yesterday's attempt at caponizing are sold, to be delivered on February 6th, which is New Year's Eve by the Chinese calendar. Leo had asked about getting a Wyandotte for Chinese New Year back in December, and I had planned to have this crew caponized earlier than this. This works out just fine - two for Leo and his family, and one for hubby and I.
Another pleasant surprise started yesterday when Lynn got hold of a fellow who expressed interest in buying eggs. He asked for "15 to 20 dozen" last evening, and I sorted and wiped down 15 dozen just from our back table - his big requirement is that they not be refrigerated, and that is no big deal this time of year. Lynn had gathered up at least twelve dozen when I took my box of eggs up to her, and must have scared up another five dozen because he wrote her a check for 32 dozen eggs at $3/dozen. He would like to get 20 dozen per week, he says.
Just now, while out on a cigarette break (neither of us smoke in the house), I decided to clear a little excess vegetation around the Tree of Destiny, and then I figured since I was right there, might as well see if the two grape vines are still alive. Not only are they both still alive, but they are doing much better than I thought. Instead of growing upwards this past year, they went stealth mode and did the grapevine equivalent of a low crawl to each side. I nicked the one I thought dead with the weed whip, and that is green wood fiber under its bark. This just happens to be the time of year to prune such things back ...
I am collecting eggs from Spikey and the broilers (plus Bertha now) and another batch from Azar and the Pretties for hatching. The farmer's almanacs I am using also give set dates for egg incubation, and the 28th looks perfect for me.
The two cockerels from yesterday's attempt at caponizing are sold, to be delivered on February 6th, which is New Year's Eve by the Chinese calendar. Leo had asked about getting a Wyandotte for Chinese New Year back in December, and I had planned to have this crew caponized earlier than this. This works out just fine - two for Leo and his family, and one for hubby and I.
20 January 2016
Caponizing 0 for 3
So, I decided to brave the cold and caponize this morning. Out of three, I have two slips and one pullet. The pullet now has a nice red bracelet to identify her, and was truly a surprise pullet. I had thought I might have two pullets in the cockerel tractor, but when I went to look over the weekend, I could only see one (who now needs a red bracelet and web snip to identify her) and not this one. She certainly has good size to her.
I have four in isolation for tomorrow morning, which is forecast to be warmer than this morning was, with its noticeable frost. Friday is supposed to be warmer still, but also a high chance of thunderstorms and rain. Then it will get windy, and get cold again ... winter in the deep south.
I have four in isolation for tomorrow morning, which is forecast to be warmer than this morning was, with its noticeable frost. Friday is supposed to be warmer still, but also a high chance of thunderstorms and rain. Then it will get windy, and get cold again ... winter in the deep south.
17 January 2016
Salad seeds started
I felt motivated to do some more planting this evening after hubby and I went out for dinner to celebrate the successful auction. This time I planted two types of lettuce, some green English cabbage, and something called corn salad, which I have never tried but am quite curious to taste.
So this tray, marked with a Heinz ketchup pack (what can I say? The cat has not brought either of us nice colored twistie ties recently) consists of:
Oh, a short chicken note: We took six Wyandotte chicks from out underneath one of the "dragons" who was still on the ground with the chicks who did not figure out hubby's stairs of scrap wood from the deck. After we got those six and put them in to cuddle up with Pollux, our capon chick nanny, hubby moved four more Wyandotte chicks up into the nest boxes with the other dragons. My comment was, "It's a good thing chickens can't count, or I'd be in a LOT of trouble tomorrow morning!"
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| two kinds of lettuce, green English cabbage, and corn salad |
- Burpee "Salad Bowl" lettuce
- Burpee "Ashley" red lettuce
- American Seed "Early Green" cabbage
- Burpee corn salad
Oh, a short chicken note: We took six Wyandotte chicks from out underneath one of the "dragons" who was still on the ground with the chicks who did not figure out hubby's stairs of scrap wood from the deck. After we got those six and put them in to cuddle up with Pollux, our capon chick nanny, hubby moved four more Wyandotte chicks up into the nest boxes with the other dragons. My comment was, "It's a good thing chickens can't count, or I'd be in a LOT of trouble tomorrow morning!"
01 January 2016
Pictures from 2015
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| the "Star Trek" killer aloe in bloom |
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| Tiny, from early spring |
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| another pic of Tiny, from spring |
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| smoked salmon and a sweet potato on the grill |
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| Feyd and the Big Butt Girls |
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| coop repair, all hardware cloth |
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| coop repair, from the side |
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| roof replacement on the banty house |
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| detail of the nest box roof replacement |
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| a smoked cull cockerel |
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| young smoked cull cockerel in the big crock pot |
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| hubby's pink nosed monster, Little Bit |
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| cat on the windowsill |
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| George the bunny |
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| Brother, Feyd's crossbreed son |
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| Brother's nice broad breasts (5 months at slaughter) |
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| George on the grass |
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| George the black otter colored looks-like a Mini Rex |
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| stuffed slip at ten months |
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| Bigfott, the one grow out cockerel from October hatch |
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| Pollux the nanny capon |
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| closeup of Bigfoot |
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| Pollux's shiny tail feathers |
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| Pollux the chick nanny |
23 December 2015
Chicken thoughts and updates
I have some pictures that may actually be in focus, but the thingy that I plug the memory card into to plug into the computer has finally given up the ghost. Hubby says his dad sent it to him when he did the Korea rotation, and that was back in 2007, so I suppose we got our money's worth out it. Now to find a replacement ...
The incubator was full-up by Sunday afternoon, so I went ahead and set it on the 20th instead of the 22nd (solstice). If this batch follows the same timeline as the previous one (even though I lowered the set temp another half degree because they were still hatching a bit too early) ... then I will have the first chicks hatching on my birthday, January 9th! I tried for birthday chicks last year, but they had to bump my order back to my brother's birthday due to a poor hatch rate. It happens. I have fifteen Silkie eggs and 27 gold-laced Wyandotte eggs from Azar and the Pretties.
I now have three Silkie pullets out there setting nests. The first one has five Silkie eggs under her, set on Sunday also. The second had three Wyandotte eggs under her from Tiny and the Flashy Girls, but she kicked two of them out - twice. So she has one Wyandotte egg under her, and will get some Silkie chicks from the incubator when they hatch. The third, a black pullet I got at the auction a few months ago, just decided to set yesterday, so I am only letting her have golf balls until the eggs in the incubator hatch, at which point she'll have Silkie chicks also. I'll start Pollux out with eight of the Wyandotte chicks, and see if he can nanny more than that or not.
From the October hatch of GLWs (Tiny x Flashy Girls), I will only grow out one cockerel, nicknamed Bigfoot, and caponize the rest. I have more pullets than I originally thought, and at least two are in the current cockerel tractor (supervised by Pollux) because they have large feet and shanks and I mistook them for boys a few weeks ago. I also suspect there are two effeminate cockerels hiding in the pullet tractor - I'll know for certain when I try to caponize them.
We will be eating one of the pied guineas, as the rest of the flock has rejected it. This is the one I had to separate out last month due to an open sore pecked on its wing and back. We had all the guineas out to see if the pieds could mingle back into the flock, and this one was chased away by whichever guinea was closest.
The incubator was full-up by Sunday afternoon, so I went ahead and set it on the 20th instead of the 22nd (solstice). If this batch follows the same timeline as the previous one (even though I lowered the set temp another half degree because they were still hatching a bit too early) ... then I will have the first chicks hatching on my birthday, January 9th! I tried for birthday chicks last year, but they had to bump my order back to my brother's birthday due to a poor hatch rate. It happens. I have fifteen Silkie eggs and 27 gold-laced Wyandotte eggs from Azar and the Pretties.
I now have three Silkie pullets out there setting nests. The first one has five Silkie eggs under her, set on Sunday also. The second had three Wyandotte eggs under her from Tiny and the Flashy Girls, but she kicked two of them out - twice. So she has one Wyandotte egg under her, and will get some Silkie chicks from the incubator when they hatch. The third, a black pullet I got at the auction a few months ago, just decided to set yesterday, so I am only letting her have golf balls until the eggs in the incubator hatch, at which point she'll have Silkie chicks also. I'll start Pollux out with eight of the Wyandotte chicks, and see if he can nanny more than that or not.
From the October hatch of GLWs (Tiny x Flashy Girls), I will only grow out one cockerel, nicknamed Bigfoot, and caponize the rest. I have more pullets than I originally thought, and at least two are in the current cockerel tractor (supervised by Pollux) because they have large feet and shanks and I mistook them for boys a few weeks ago. I also suspect there are two effeminate cockerels hiding in the pullet tractor - I'll know for certain when I try to caponize them.
We will be eating one of the pied guineas, as the rest of the flock has rejected it. This is the one I had to separate out last month due to an open sore pecked on its wing and back. We had all the guineas out to see if the pieds could mingle back into the flock, and this one was chased away by whichever guinea was closest.
29 November 2015
Thanksgiving capon dinner
First, the "empty stomach warning" ... that is, do not look if you have an empty stomach. Go snack before reading on!
We had Uno the capon as our Thanksgiving dinner, and yes indeed, he was tasty. For those who may not recall, here is Uno out on the grass:
Note that his comb and wattles are small and still chick-pink ... that is how you can tell a capon from a slip. When the hormones come back on a slip, they redden up and grow their comb and wattles again. Even without his hormones, Uno still kept almost all of his tail feathers and held his own among the six slips. I do recall him being a little pill as a cockerel, and unlike Pollux, Uno showed absolutely no aptitude for nannying chicks. The one time we tried, all the chicks were huddled in the far corner of the tractor while Uno was eating all the food.
Uno plucked and dressed out beautifully. My postal scale only goes up to five pounds, so I don't have a weight for him, but he was well-fleshed and had a generous amount of rich golden-yellow fat on him. Here he is on the smoker:
Doesn't he look just positively scrumptious? Hubby only gave him a light smoking - one hour - just enough for flavor. Then, into the largest crock pot:
For some reason, I thought I posted a pic of one of the cull cockerels in that same crock pot, but apparently not. Uno was ten months old, and the next-oldest cockerel we've eaten was only six months old, so there is a definite difference in size and cooking time. When I served dinner, he was cooked through, but not to tender stage yet. Next time, I'll just set up the crock pot on low to go overnight, or maybe just "warm" which is one setting below low.
For those curious, dinner was rounded out with baked sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole (frozen from grocery store broccoli, as our plants out in the garden aren't ready yet), cranberry sauce, and homemade dinner rolls. Dessert was baked pumpkin cheesecake, and was served a couple hours before dinner to give the rolls enough rising time. It's a good thing we ate dessert first - no one had room for anything else after the dinner! That was my first baked cheesecake, and I probably should have gotten a pic, but it is just too late for that now.
We had Uno the capon as our Thanksgiving dinner, and yes indeed, he was tasty. For those who may not recall, here is Uno out on the grass:
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| Uno the hatchery GLW capon |
Uno plucked and dressed out beautifully. My postal scale only goes up to five pounds, so I don't have a weight for him, but he was well-fleshed and had a generous amount of rich golden-yellow fat on him. Here he is on the smoker:
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| capon on the smoker |
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| capon in the crock pot |
For those curious, dinner was rounded out with baked sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole (frozen from grocery store broccoli, as our plants out in the garden aren't ready yet), cranberry sauce, and homemade dinner rolls. Dessert was baked pumpkin cheesecake, and was served a couple hours before dinner to give the rolls enough rising time. It's a good thing we ate dessert first - no one had room for anything else after the dinner! That was my first baked cheesecake, and I probably should have gotten a pic, but it is just too late for that now.
20 November 2015
Cull cockerel harvest
OK, I was able to keep to my self-imposed work schedule for this first stretch of cooler weather, and slaughtered the eight remaining cull cockerels through the week, plus Uno the full capon this morning for Thanksgiving Day dinner. Of the eight cockerels, two are big and meaty enough to roast whole, Brother, Feyd's larger cross-breed son and one of the Ameracauna cockerels from Luanne. So, six went into jars: seven quarts of stock (two with a bunch of carcass meat for casseroles) and eight pints of meat. I'll get pictures later on, as I am waiting for the quarts of stock to cool enough to open the pressure canner and check how many sealed.
The pints of meat canned up SO beautifully! All I added to them was 1/4 teaspoon of canning salt, and each one ended up with rich golden liquid from the meat - canned in its "natural juices" as the grocery store label would read.
As I hoped, Brother had his sire's big meaty breasts. He also had nicely fleshed leg quarters, and he'll be frozen whole along with the largest of the Ameracauna cockerels. Meanwhile, Uno came out not only meaty, but with large deposits of rich golden-yellow fat, not only under his skin but in the abdominal cavity. I tried to save as much of that as I could, and hubby held open a quart sized zip bag while admiring it as I put it in. I am trying to decide if I want to render it first, or use it "raw" for making pot pie crust. I'll need to get a new scale to weigh Uno's whole carcass - he is certainly more than five pounds (the limit on my postal scale). I'd also like to get weights on Brother and the Am cockerel. Especially Brother, since he was only five months old.
I am definitely looking forward with eager anticipation to next year's capon batch, from my Wyandotte sires: Feyd, Azar, Tiny, and even Spikey (over whatever remaining red broiler pullets and Feyd's daughters). This morning's slaughter of my first full capon made all the efforts and slips worth it.
Full speed ahead, as I work towards the goal of consistently producing twelve pound capons!
The pints of meat canned up SO beautifully! All I added to them was 1/4 teaspoon of canning salt, and each one ended up with rich golden liquid from the meat - canned in its "natural juices" as the grocery store label would read.
As I hoped, Brother had his sire's big meaty breasts. He also had nicely fleshed leg quarters, and he'll be frozen whole along with the largest of the Ameracauna cockerels. Meanwhile, Uno came out not only meaty, but with large deposits of rich golden-yellow fat, not only under his skin but in the abdominal cavity. I tried to save as much of that as I could, and hubby held open a quart sized zip bag while admiring it as I put it in. I am trying to decide if I want to render it first, or use it "raw" for making pot pie crust. I'll need to get a new scale to weigh Uno's whole carcass - he is certainly more than five pounds (the limit on my postal scale). I'd also like to get weights on Brother and the Am cockerel. Especially Brother, since he was only five months old.
I am definitely looking forward with eager anticipation to next year's capon batch, from my Wyandotte sires: Feyd, Azar, Tiny, and even Spikey (over whatever remaining red broiler pullets and Feyd's daughters). This morning's slaughter of my first full capon made all the efforts and slips worth it.
Full speed ahead, as I work towards the goal of consistently producing twelve pound capons!
08 October 2015
Feeding time at Jurassic Park
So, I looked out the window just a short bit ago, and saw this.
They know what time it is ... feeding time! They've been out running around since a little after lunch. It rained about half an hour ago, and was still dripping. Feeding time is about the only time they are this close to each other without squabbling.
I do have a pic of Uno by himself, that shows he is still chick-pink in the face, comb, and wattles. I'll edit that one later though.
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| Uno the capon and six slips gaggled up for feeding time |
I do have a pic of Uno by himself, that shows he is still chick-pink in the face, comb, and wattles. I'll edit that one later though.
18 August 2015
Cappy's grand finale
This post is a tribute to Cappy the Gold Laced Wyandotte, hatched 20 January 2015. For a cockerel who had absolutely no future in the breeding pen, he has had quite the good life! I attempted to caponize him back in April ... in fact, I truly thought he was my first capon. As a believed-capon, he was nanny to two batches of cockerels. It was only last month that his hormones returned in full force, and it was obvious he was a slip. So, Friday morning we slaughtered him. We let his carcass rest in the back refrigerator, then brined him all day and night Sunday. Hubby lit the smoker firebox yesterday afternoon while I seasoned: a light sprinkle of salt, black pepper, a very light sprinkle of cayenne pepper, then slices of a zested orange.
By 5:30 PM the smoking was rudely interrupted when the sky opened up into what Lynn described as "a monsoon" when she stopped by to pick up Maria's eggs to sell. We put Cappy in the oven at 350F, but all we had last night were the wings, as the wonderful aroma was just about driving us crazy. Great, most excellent flavor, but the meat had not cooked quite long enough.
Today I snapped a pic before covering Cappy up with some foil and putting him back into the oven, this time at 250F for a couple hours.
The breast meat was a tad dry, but that was probably because we didn't baste him. Hubby thinks we should use the drippings for either a gravy or a sauce. The flavor is fantastic! We have more slips, so we can experiment to see if it's a matter of the smoking, the seasoning, the bird being older, or a combination of those things. We'll also vary cooking factors like basting or wrapping in foil longer.
We are really hoping Uno is a full capon, because we both want to roast a fine capon for one of the winter holidays!
By 5:30 PM the smoking was rudely interrupted when the sky opened up into what Lynn described as "a monsoon" when she stopped by to pick up Maria's eggs to sell. We put Cappy in the oven at 350F, but all we had last night were the wings, as the wonderful aroma was just about driving us crazy. Great, most excellent flavor, but the meat had not cooked quite long enough.
Today I snapped a pic before covering Cappy up with some foil and putting him back into the oven, this time at 250F for a couple hours.
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| Cappy the capon slip, smoked and seasoned and ready for the final roast |
We are really hoping Uno is a full capon, because we both want to roast a fine capon for one of the winter holidays!
29 July 2015
Capon slips
So, as I think I mentioned last week, most of April's capons are actually slips ... even the nannies Cappy and Puffy. While the caponizing was not exactly a success, it isn't exactly a failure, either. The slips have had a good three months' worth of growth, and this morning I (attempted to) get a pic illustrating the size difference between Cappy and one of his cockerels who is approximately the same age Cappy was when caponized. Excuse the blurriness (those who aren't already used to my stunning LACK of photography skills!) because Cappy decided to toss his head in annoyance just as I snapped the comparison pic.
Now, for another interesting thing about Cappy in particular: when he started growing his comb at the beginning of this month, it grew fast and tall. With Azar and Tiny, I have a visual difference in the combs between one who carries the single comb recessive (Azar) and one without the recessive (Tiny). Now, I have visual difference on hatchery stock: Feyd does not have the recessive, while Cappy certainly looks like he does. His comb is already a bit bigger than Feyd's, who is two years older. Here is a clear pic:
If Cappy had stayed a full capon, he'd probably have been our chick nanny for a few years, but as his hormones have come back he has lost his patience with the chicks. Ah well, he is a good size now for smoking.
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| size difference between Cappy (the blur) and hatchery GLW cockerel the age Cappy was when caponized |
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| Cappy's monstrous comb |
23 July 2015
Chickens do not follow plans
Just a bit of generalized grumping here, because the chickens are not co-operating with my carefully made plans. Seriously, the chickens do not give a single flying leap about what ideas and plans I might make.
Right now, the biggest rebels are the hens. They are acting like middle school girls with their little cliques, and Little Girl is the outcast. I tried putting her in with the layers, Goldie and the three sex link pullets from the October batch, but after the third morning of poor Little Girl with her beak in the corner of the tractor, I gave up and brought her out of there. She is now in the banty house with the two Eileens ... who were supposed to be in the broody tractor with the Wheaties. The Wheaties - especially the aptly-named Bossy - will not give either Eileen enough peace to even lay an egg in the new cubby-holed nesting box. We gave Bossy a 60 hour time out, and she still returned to the broody tractor as the snippy and peckish boss hen, even bossing the cockerel Rock Star around. Rock Star was supposed to have been a pullet - he fooled both Maria and me on that one. He is not confident enough to put either Wheatie in her place, so he has a much smaller harem of hens now.
Little Girl got along fine in Tiny's tractor, even after I took out Beetle and Blackie and put in the Flashy Girls ... but I cannot tell her eggs from the Flashy Girls' eggs so Little Girl had to move. She couldn't go in with Feyd, Beetle, Blackie, and the Big Butt Girls either, since her eggs are indistinguishable from her sisters' eggs. Spikey and the Broilers' tractor is at capacity with the five red broiler pullets, and besides that the pullets have their own clique and squabble enough as it is.
Most of the Ideal Poultry Gold-Laced Wyandotte cockerels that I caponized this spring are slips. Even Cappy and Puffy are definitely slips, and Cappy is a lot more irritable with his younger cockerels now that his hormones have been restored. So far, it looks like Uno and Rumpy are my only capons, and Rumpy looks iffy some days. Ah well, Luanne gave me a good twenty cockerels to practice on, and the learning curve is pretty steep for caponizing.
So, I need more room because fussy chickens do not want to get along peaceably in the groups I'd like them to be in. Bah. I guess we'll be expanding into the back acre sooner than we anticipated.
OK, that should conclude this week's grumping. Here are a couple pics of Azar and the Layers, Goldie, Darkie, Penny, and Bright Eyes. Well, it's actually just Azar and a couple of the layers ... they wouldn't stay inside the picture frame.
Just in case the overall tone doesn't come through properly ... this is wry humor on my part. Everyone knows the chickens won't even hold still for decent photographs, so how could I imagine they'd like my ideas for roommates?
Right now, the biggest rebels are the hens. They are acting like middle school girls with their little cliques, and Little Girl is the outcast. I tried putting her in with the layers, Goldie and the three sex link pullets from the October batch, but after the third morning of poor Little Girl with her beak in the corner of the tractor, I gave up and brought her out of there. She is now in the banty house with the two Eileens ... who were supposed to be in the broody tractor with the Wheaties. The Wheaties - especially the aptly-named Bossy - will not give either Eileen enough peace to even lay an egg in the new cubby-holed nesting box. We gave Bossy a 60 hour time out, and she still returned to the broody tractor as the snippy and peckish boss hen, even bossing the cockerel Rock Star around. Rock Star was supposed to have been a pullet - he fooled both Maria and me on that one. He is not confident enough to put either Wheatie in her place, so he has a much smaller harem of hens now.
Little Girl got along fine in Tiny's tractor, even after I took out Beetle and Blackie and put in the Flashy Girls ... but I cannot tell her eggs from the Flashy Girls' eggs so Little Girl had to move. She couldn't go in with Feyd, Beetle, Blackie, and the Big Butt Girls either, since her eggs are indistinguishable from her sisters' eggs. Spikey and the Broilers' tractor is at capacity with the five red broiler pullets, and besides that the pullets have their own clique and squabble enough as it is.
Most of the Ideal Poultry Gold-Laced Wyandotte cockerels that I caponized this spring are slips. Even Cappy and Puffy are definitely slips, and Cappy is a lot more irritable with his younger cockerels now that his hormones have been restored. So far, it looks like Uno and Rumpy are my only capons, and Rumpy looks iffy some days. Ah well, Luanne gave me a good twenty cockerels to practice on, and the learning curve is pretty steep for caponizing.
So, I need more room because fussy chickens do not want to get along peaceably in the groups I'd like them to be in. Bah. I guess we'll be expanding into the back acre sooner than we anticipated.
OK, that should conclude this week's grumping. Here are a couple pics of Azar and the Layers, Goldie, Darkie, Penny, and Bright Eyes. Well, it's actually just Azar and a couple of the layers ... they wouldn't stay inside the picture frame.
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| Penny, Goldie, and Azar |
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| Bright Eyes, Azar and Goldie |
03 July 2015
Chicken math
There is a joke around BYC about "chicken math," which usually means a person ends up with more chickens than originally planned. Some folks there understand chicken math involves more than just addition ... it also includes subtraction, multiplication, and division. I have recently been doing all of those math functions.
First up, the subtraction, not all intentional. One of the Wheaties died Tuesday. She had been moping and sulking i the corner since I took away the eggs, nest box, and even the golf balls, so we didn't notice right away when she developed diarrhea again. By the time we caught it and dosed her, it was too late ad she died about an hour later. Another subtraction involved two going next door as gifts. My neighbor Maria had brought us a couple batches of homegrown potatoes, and a couple small loaves of her pan, Mexican sweet bread that is absolutely awesome slathered with butter and with coffee. In return, I took Whitey over to her (who was originally believed by both of us to be a pullet - oops) then when she came over to look at Feyd's chicks I gave her one of the Delaware cockerels when she remarked how pretty she thought they were.
About those Delawares ... Luanne needed to cull a bunch of her cockerels, and she happened to mention it to me in one of our email exchanges, so I road-tripped over, and brought home over 20 young chicks (3 and 5 week old), two Delaware cockerels (8 and 10 weeks old) and a new Wheaten Ameracauna hen, which Luanne called "Torpedo Girl" because she is pretty sure this is the hen that lays the funky torpedo-shaped eggs that do not hatch. The ten week old Del is likely to far into puberty already to caponize easily - he is HUGE for his age, and judging from his feet will grow even bigger than the Wyandottes. The 8 week old Del will get caponized along with the Wyandotte boys that are in with Cappy right now, and the twenty-some-odd young ones are for caponizing practice also. Luanne needed the space, as not only did she have a great hatch rate, but she has a good percentage of that hatch she wants to grow out, including two very nice and promising-looking Wyandottes I noticed.
Multiplication was covered by the demon-possessed broody Eileen, who is a very protective mother hen. All four chicks are thriving under her care.
Now, for the division idea. I divided the batch of GLWs from Cackle into two groups so far, and will take thirteen pullets up to Palatka tomorrow morning to try to sell at the little farm swap in TSC's parking lot. That leaves me with eleven pullets, and one cockerel to grow out further. I intend to pare down the pullets to the best three, while I made up my mind this morning to definitely keep the cockerel, Tribble, for breeding. Along with being a good size and very nicely colored, Tribble is people-friendly and easy-going. I am banking on that general good-natured attitude being hereditary. Oh, hubby named Tribble, saying the little chick noises sounded like the tribbles from the original Star Trek series.
I'll fuss and fight with the digicam later for pictures.
First up, the subtraction, not all intentional. One of the Wheaties died Tuesday. She had been moping and sulking i the corner since I took away the eggs, nest box, and even the golf balls, so we didn't notice right away when she developed diarrhea again. By the time we caught it and dosed her, it was too late ad she died about an hour later. Another subtraction involved two going next door as gifts. My neighbor Maria had brought us a couple batches of homegrown potatoes, and a couple small loaves of her pan, Mexican sweet bread that is absolutely awesome slathered with butter and with coffee. In return, I took Whitey over to her (who was originally believed by both of us to be a pullet - oops) then when she came over to look at Feyd's chicks I gave her one of the Delaware cockerels when she remarked how pretty she thought they were.
About those Delawares ... Luanne needed to cull a bunch of her cockerels, and she happened to mention it to me in one of our email exchanges, so I road-tripped over, and brought home over 20 young chicks (3 and 5 week old), two Delaware cockerels (8 and 10 weeks old) and a new Wheaten Ameracauna hen, which Luanne called "Torpedo Girl" because she is pretty sure this is the hen that lays the funky torpedo-shaped eggs that do not hatch. The ten week old Del is likely to far into puberty already to caponize easily - he is HUGE for his age, and judging from his feet will grow even bigger than the Wyandottes. The 8 week old Del will get caponized along with the Wyandotte boys that are in with Cappy right now, and the twenty-some-odd young ones are for caponizing practice also. Luanne needed the space, as not only did she have a great hatch rate, but she has a good percentage of that hatch she wants to grow out, including two very nice and promising-looking Wyandottes I noticed.
Multiplication was covered by the demon-possessed broody Eileen, who is a very protective mother hen. All four chicks are thriving under her care.
Now, for the division idea. I divided the batch of GLWs from Cackle into two groups so far, and will take thirteen pullets up to Palatka tomorrow morning to try to sell at the little farm swap in TSC's parking lot. That leaves me with eleven pullets, and one cockerel to grow out further. I intend to pare down the pullets to the best three, while I made up my mind this morning to definitely keep the cockerel, Tribble, for breeding. Along with being a good size and very nicely colored, Tribble is people-friendly and easy-going. I am banking on that general good-natured attitude being hereditary. Oh, hubby named Tribble, saying the little chick noises sounded like the tribbles from the original Star Trek series.
I'll fuss and fight with the digicam later for pictures.
21 June 2015
Capons running around!
We've been learning to let the chickens out of their tractors.
Sounds funny but we weren't sure what would happen.
Everything has been going just fine, they even put them selves "away" when they're done!
Thanks for looking!
29 May 2015
Capons as chick nannies
We started out using a capon as a chick nanny on the extra cockerels I got from Luanne - that one is Cappy and he is still with his remaining new capons. He does seem to be a bit attached to them, as I went out the other morning and saw him lightly pecking at one to try to wake it ... when I got closer I saw that would be a hopeless cause. No apparent injury or illness on that one (the Wyandotte) so I am figuring he must have thrown a clot after the surgery or something not visible like that.
Our second nanny-capon is Puffy, the one who windpuffed so bad. He is in with his Silkie chicks, which now number only ten. We have been losing Silkie chicks every so often, and it is always the smallest, least active/vigorous, so I wonder if they are just more delicate or fragile than the regular-feathered chicks. What is truly adorable - and no, I have not yet gotten a pic of this - is when the Silkie chicks cuddle up to Puffy, and then one peeks up at me from under his wing. Here is the closest pic I have to Puffy cuddling with his Silkie chicks.
Now last night, hubby picked out a capon - the single combed one, who mellowed out significantly when caponized - to put in with the cull Wyandotte pullets from Cackle. This morning, I had to lure him out, as he had all the chicks huddled into a corner. So, while most capons will nanny chicks, not all will. But, as Meatloaf sang years ago, "Two outta three ain't bad."
Our second nanny-capon is Puffy, the one who windpuffed so bad. He is in with his Silkie chicks, which now number only ten. We have been losing Silkie chicks every so often, and it is always the smallest, least active/vigorous, so I wonder if they are just more delicate or fragile than the regular-feathered chicks. What is truly adorable - and no, I have not yet gotten a pic of this - is when the Silkie chicks cuddle up to Puffy, and then one peeks up at me from under his wing. Here is the closest pic I have to Puffy cuddling with his Silkie chicks.
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| Puffy the nanny-capon and one of his Silkie chiks |
08 May 2015
Busy week
This has been a rather busy and fun-eventful week so far. Kicking things off, we celebrated our ninth anniversary on Monday by going up to Jacksonville to have a Japanese hibachi lunch with the in-laws. Before lunch, hubby and I both went "book mining" at a large new-and-used bookstore called "Chamblins Book Mine." After lunch, hubby dropped me back at the Book Mine while he went off to WalMart with his parents ... there are days I just cannot stomach the noise and crowd at WalMart, and Monday was certainly one of them. Since the Book Mine is so huge, that gave me the opportunity to look at the cookbook section. I quickly realized I needed to be extremely picky and choosy, or I might need a semi-trailer to haul home my purchase! LOL The theme for cookbooks turned out to be baking. While I didn't find a bread-specific book I liked, I did get one dedicated to 200 years of American baking, which yielded a new honey wheat bread recipe I made yesterday (more on that in a bit).
Tuesday, our actual anniversary date, was dedicated to the chickens. Along with caponizing in the morning, my neighbor Maria came over and bought four of the red broilers. Two were definitely "por comer" (to eat) and one was the lighter colored broiler pullet she had been telling me was too pretty to eat. The other broiler pullet she decided was also too pretty to eat once she had the bird in her hands. It amuses me when she tells me my meat birds are too pretty to eat, as I have decided I just don't really enjoy raising ugly birds (like the Cornish-Rocks).
I made cookies this week, using a recipe from that "all-bad-for-you" cookbook and they came out nicely. I did glazed molasses cake cookies, and they really did turn out cake-like. Today I will likely be trying out a cake recipe in my new cookbook, which conveniently has a picture of a Boston cream pie on the dust jacket cover. All I needed to do was hold the book up and ask hubby if he'd like "this" instead of the usual pineapple upside-down cake for his birthday.
Yesterday, one of hubby's friends came down from Jacksonville to hang out, game, and of course enjoy the food here. Hubby made breakfast of bacon, toast, and poached eggs. By luck of the draw, hubby's friend got the double-yolk egg. He thought that was so cool. He also showed up with an empty egg carton, which I cheerfully filled while joking that, "Every good pusher knows to give the first hit for free." He agreed, and bought a second dozen. When he asked the price, I suggested $3 a dozen, which he promptly shot down saying our eggs are worth $5 a dozen up in Jax. So, he put a five dollar bill on our coffee cart, and went home with two dozen eggs. He said he'd like to come down once a month to get eggs and he hopes to try some of our homegrown chicken as well.
While hubby and his friend were gaming, I was bartering with the neighbor who raises grass-fed beef cattle for a couple of steaks for hubby to grill today, which is his birthday. When I asked how much I owed him, he said we could settle that later in the afternoon, as I had mentioned making bread. The recipe in the new cookbook is for two loaves at a time, and my neighbor says he and his wife LOVE homemade bread, and he returned the half-pint jar that held strawberry syrup (saying it was very good) and I mentioned being up to our armpits in eggs with only nine layers so far (and twenty more due to start laying in the next six weeks). So, I ended up with two New York strip steaks in exchange for a loaf of honey wheat bread, another half-pint of strawberry syrup, and a dozen eggs. Oh, and a couple cookies. He had asked if the cookies were fattening, to which I replied, "Of course! Non-fattening cookies are as worthless as non-alcoholic beer or decaffeinated coffee."
Now, to start up on the birthday cake, and also start cleaning up to make room for a spare bed because my son is coming down to visit on Monday.
Tuesday, our actual anniversary date, was dedicated to the chickens. Along with caponizing in the morning, my neighbor Maria came over and bought four of the red broilers. Two were definitely "por comer" (to eat) and one was the lighter colored broiler pullet she had been telling me was too pretty to eat. The other broiler pullet she decided was also too pretty to eat once she had the bird in her hands. It amuses me when she tells me my meat birds are too pretty to eat, as I have decided I just don't really enjoy raising ugly birds (like the Cornish-Rocks).
I made cookies this week, using a recipe from that "all-bad-for-you" cookbook and they came out nicely. I did glazed molasses cake cookies, and they really did turn out cake-like. Today I will likely be trying out a cake recipe in my new cookbook, which conveniently has a picture of a Boston cream pie on the dust jacket cover. All I needed to do was hold the book up and ask hubby if he'd like "this" instead of the usual pineapple upside-down cake for his birthday.
Yesterday, one of hubby's friends came down from Jacksonville to hang out, game, and of course enjoy the food here. Hubby made breakfast of bacon, toast, and poached eggs. By luck of the draw, hubby's friend got the double-yolk egg. He thought that was so cool. He also showed up with an empty egg carton, which I cheerfully filled while joking that, "Every good pusher knows to give the first hit for free." He agreed, and bought a second dozen. When he asked the price, I suggested $3 a dozen, which he promptly shot down saying our eggs are worth $5 a dozen up in Jax. So, he put a five dollar bill on our coffee cart, and went home with two dozen eggs. He said he'd like to come down once a month to get eggs and he hopes to try some of our homegrown chicken as well.
While hubby and his friend were gaming, I was bartering with the neighbor who raises grass-fed beef cattle for a couple of steaks for hubby to grill today, which is his birthday. When I asked how much I owed him, he said we could settle that later in the afternoon, as I had mentioned making bread. The recipe in the new cookbook is for two loaves at a time, and my neighbor says he and his wife LOVE homemade bread, and he returned the half-pint jar that held strawberry syrup (saying it was very good) and I mentioned being up to our armpits in eggs with only nine layers so far (and twenty more due to start laying in the next six weeks). So, I ended up with two New York strip steaks in exchange for a loaf of honey wheat bread, another half-pint of strawberry syrup, and a dozen eggs. Oh, and a couple cookies. He had asked if the cookies were fattening, to which I replied, "Of course! Non-fattening cookies are as worthless as non-alcoholic beer or decaffeinated coffee."
Now, to start up on the birthday cake, and also start cleaning up to make room for a spare bed because my son is coming down to visit on Monday.
05 May 2015
Three more capons and another maybe
This morning I finished up the January batch of Gold-Laced Wyandotte cockerels from Ideal. Out of the last four, I feel confident three are capons, and one is a maybe-slip. The last one may have had a piece of teste fall back behind the intestine, but I could not see for sure and that boy was getting quite cranky by that time. Chickens don't seem to be very fond of the fasting idea.
This brings my total for the Ideal GLWs to seven capons, two maybe-slips, and one probably-slip. Not bad numbers. There is one still cockerel, in with the red broilers, but he seemed to remember the first time around and would not hold still for a second try.
I moved Spikey and the four biggest and brightest Ideal Wyandotte pullets into the tractor with the three black phase Wyandottes from Luanne so they can get used to each other. None of the black phase cockerels has started kazoo crowing just yet, but it ought to be pretty soon. The new Wheaties seem to be trying out various corners and cubbyholes in the broody tractor, so hopefully they'll get settled in and decide to set nests soon.
This brings my total for the Ideal GLWs to seven capons, two maybe-slips, and one probably-slip. Not bad numbers. There is one still cockerel, in with the red broilers, but he seemed to remember the first time around and would not hold still for a second try.
I moved Spikey and the four biggest and brightest Ideal Wyandotte pullets into the tractor with the three black phase Wyandottes from Luanne so they can get used to each other. None of the black phase cockerels has started kazoo crowing just yet, but it ought to be pretty soon. The new Wheaties seem to be trying out various corners and cubbyholes in the broody tractor, so hopefully they'll get settled in and decide to set nests soon.
01 May 2015
April eggs and two more capons
First up, the egg numbers for April. I counted up 174 eggs, with Bright Eyes not laying until the 18th, and Ninny and Mula leaving for next door on the 29th with the two Wheaties arriving the 28th. Clear as mud? LOL That's a whole lot of eggs for the month!
This morning's caponizing has yielded two new capons and a possible slip. I couldn't see a piece in the last one, but what I pulled out looked like it might be missing just a small bit. If he is a slip, he probably won't show until at least July, so that gives him a couple months' more growing time.
This morning's caponizing has yielded two new capons and a possible slip. I couldn't see a piece in the last one, but what I pulled out looked like it might be missing just a small bit. If he is a slip, he probably won't show until at least July, so that gives him a couple months' more growing time.
30 April 2015
A second capon and a probable slip
Another morning of chickening, and another round of learning through experience. I had four candidates this morning, and while all four are still alive, I have one likely slip (incomplete capon, where some tissue remains and will grow back), one capon, and two full cockerels. The probable slip is the half-capon from last week, and the second teste broke apart and I could not locate all the pieces. The capon was the second one I did, also one of the Ideal Poultry GLWs, and while his testes broke also, I was able to keep track of them inside the membrane and get them out. I learned from one of the old capon downloads that twisting the teste before pulling it out cuts down on bleeding, and it certainly helped contain the pieces.
About those full cockerels: the one is the full cockerel from last week, and he was not going to have anything to do with trying that surgery idea again. The other is the runt of the red broilers, and pretty much all the red broilers are too jumpy for caponizing. Perhaps someone who is a lot better at caponizing could do them, but that is not me. So all the red broilers, plus the very uncooperative Wyandotte, are now in a tractor by themselves and will just be pulled out for slaughter.
About those full cockerels: the one is the full cockerel from last week, and he was not going to have anything to do with trying that surgery idea again. The other is the runt of the red broilers, and pretty much all the red broilers are too jumpy for caponizing. Perhaps someone who is a lot better at caponizing could do them, but that is not me. So all the red broilers, plus the very uncooperative Wyandotte, are now in a tractor by themselves and will just be pulled out for slaughter.
29 April 2015
Chicken update 29 April
Glossing over stuff right now, as there has been more serious chickening here. Yesterday hubby and I went to Luanne's to pick up some more black phase BLR Wyandottes and two broody wheaten Americauna hens, and came home with some free cockerels in addition. Twenty new chickens total:
We had to move the capon in with the smaller chicks, as we put him in with four his own age and they had him hiding in a corner. The pullets in particular went after him. He leaves the younger chicks alone for the most part, and they seem to be intimidated just enough by his size to not go after him. The capon will peck a bit over food, but nothing harsh enough to worry. He seems mostly preoccupied with eating, dust bathing, and lounging in the shade in peace and has been off by himself this afternoon.
Oh, we got our first blue egg yesterday before we even got the birds home. One of the wheaties laid in the carrier, and the other laid this evening once Mula, Ninny, and the smaller cockerel went next door. Oh yeah, Mula and Ninny went home LOL back over to Maria's who originally sold/traded them to me one and two years ago. Those two transformed into the Red Devil hens tag team as soon as they were away from Feyd. Including the late blue egg, we got nine eggs today as Mula and Ninny laid early this morning then refused to let the Wheaties too close to the bucket. Those two also had both cockerels running scared whenever they even twitched.
Tomorrow starts a three morning caponizing marathon, as I have a dozen more 14 week old cockerels to fix, including one who has been hiding out in the pullet tractor.
And yes, the IS the short version.
- four single comb Wyandottes, we didn't check the color. Either they'll be dinner or they will contribute to my meatie line.
- five black phase Wyandottes, one older (5 weeks old?), maybe one or two at 2 weeks old, and either 2 or 3 week olds.
- the two "Wheaties", both two years old and both proven broodies with minor feather color faults. I think Luanne said she has some progeny to continue working with, and doesn't need these two anymore.
- two "olive egger" cockerels, one larger than the other. The smaller one has already moved next door and the larger one is now named Bubba and he's in with the wheaties in the new broody tractor.
- six assorted cockerels for caponizing practice: some Americaunas, a couple New Hampshires, a Marans (mix?), and a Welsummer.
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| the two wheatie hens, the smaller cockerel, and Bubba in back |
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| the successful capon, in with capon cadidates |
Oh, we got our first blue egg yesterday before we even got the birds home. One of the wheaties laid in the carrier, and the other laid this evening once Mula, Ninny, and the smaller cockerel went next door. Oh yeah, Mula and Ninny went home LOL back over to Maria's who originally sold/traded them to me one and two years ago. Those two transformed into the Red Devil hens tag team as soon as they were away from Feyd. Including the late blue egg, we got nine eggs today as Mula and Ninny laid early this morning then refused to let the Wheaties too close to the bucket. Those two also had both cockerels running scared whenever they even twitched.
Tomorrow starts a three morning caponizing marathon, as I have a dozen more 14 week old cockerels to fix, including one who has been hiding out in the pullet tractor.
And yes, the IS the short version.
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