|
Could be a weisel found your chicken coop. They will get in through the tinest places and leave no sign of entry. They generally will kill and leave the bird as they are mostly after their blood. I don't recall a racoon being a meat eater. Congratulations on filling your freezer, home grown meat is always fresher tasting. You'll taste the difference when you have your first chicken dinner.
|
Originally Posted by wanderingcreek
I miss living on the farm. We raised our own pigs, chickens, turkeys and a cow every year. My kids were 12 and 13 when we got the first 4 pigs and we explained to them what we were raising them for. They named them "Pork Chop, Bacon, Ham and Ribs" because they said that is what they were going to be. They helped feed them and there were no problems when butchering time came or with eating any of the meat. Everything tastes better when you raise it yourself.
a home--grown chicken ! fried chicken on Sunday ! I wonder how my Mom did all the work that canning, etc required ? she is still going strong at 96! |
2 Attachment(s)
Originally Posted by Barbm
hubby and I had a discussion of chickens yesterday. I really want some. we have the room- 34 acres. I found a place that has coops. And this has been so informational. I really want chickens.
Hoop Coop [ATTACH=CONFIG]117677[/ATTACH] Chain Link Dog Run Coop [ATTACH=CONFIG]117686[/ATTACH] |
Originally Posted by Rachelcb80
Originally Posted by quiltnchik
Originally Posted by Jingleberry
I would only eat fruits and vegetables if I had to kill anything, watched my Mom wring chicken's neck when I was about 6, never left me. Made a bad impression.
If it ever comes to having to fiend for ourselves (no grogery stores, etc.) do you really think you will still be here raising your own food to kill? Really? At 65 I don't believe I will ever need to raise my own food and/or meat. Also, a lot of people have no idea what goes into store-bought chickens, cows, pigs, etc., or that most eggs bought in stores are approximately 3 months old when they reach the store - YUCK! It's unbelievable what goes into commercially raised meat. These chickens down the road live in the nastiest conditions, no access to fresh outside air or light, their feed is made from ground up leftover chicken parts and the day of collection is so brutal. They come in with big cages with spring loaded doors. They sling the chickens head first into the cages and many of the birds suffer broken wings, legs, etc. They ride on the back of those flatbed 18 wheelers, in whatever the weather condition is, to wherever the processing plant is. I have no idea what goes on from there but what I know is enough. My next step is getting a little weanling steer and raising him up. Right now all we have is an electric fence for my horse and that's definitely not enough for a cow, but someday we'll get a better fence put up. Milk is the one area I'm stuck on. I can't be here every morning and evening to milk a cow and it's illegal to buy/sell raw milk in the state of MS (and many other states for that matter). |
lots of good info here. rachelcb80, do you have a suggestion on websites to learn more about how our commercial meats are being processed? if we're going to continue to eat meat, i'd like to make better choices for my family.
|
Originally Posted by peabee
lots of good info here. rachelcb80, do you have a suggestion on websites to learn more about how our commercial meats are being processed? if we're going to continue to eat meat, i'd like to make better choices for my family.
|
Congrats! I know what it's like to raise chicks from eggs. My children did this for science fairs. The one year daughter procrastinated until it was almost too late. But we made it. However, the morning of the science fair, the electricity went out and the incubator began to cool down. So we wrapped it in blankets and brought an electric blanket with us to school. You got it! The room began to 'tilt' with all the children grouping around my daughter's exhibit. These little babes decided to hatch then and there. It was exciting. After we were finished with the chicks, we gave them to a friend who had a hen house. My guess it was chicken dinner for them, but they didn't invite us for dinner. :)
Oh, well, just wanted to contribute. You brought back some fun memories. |
Originally Posted by Jingleberry
I would only eat fruits and vegetables if I had to kill anything, watched my Mom wring chicken's neck when I was about 6, never left me. Made a bad impression.
|
Originally Posted by peabee
lots of good info here. rachelcb80, do you have a suggestion on websites to learn more about how our commercial meats are being processed? if we're going to continue to eat meat, i'd like to make better choices for my family.
My biggest eye opener was when we moved to where we live now. There's a lot of chicken farming in this area and we live down the street from a group of 4 chicken houses. To say it's made me ill to see how the birds are raised and treated is an understatement. A really good book that I found last year is called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It's changed how I feed my family quite a bit. I would recommend it to everyone who is serious about changing the way the eat. |
We raise our own poultry, too. The processing isn't my favorite part, but oh, my, they are wonderful! It does feel wonderful to take care of more of our food ourselves - and understand what it takes to put it there! We raise jumbo turkeys. Our largest turkey dressed out at 48-1/2 pounds. What a feast!
|
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 09:27 AM. |