By the time I get into the chicken room to feed and water them and collect eggs it is dark. They have gone up high to roost, an instinct all chickens have to protect them from predators. It's really quite cool to see them lined up on the roosts we have built for them, and other spots they find themselves. My chicks have grown up to be beautiful roosters for the most part - way too many roosters. Matt wants to eat them, but I don't want to. Although he may say that, I know he doesn't want to spend two hours plucking them. I thought about letting them go in the barn, but Pavarotti, the big barn rooster, would beat them up. So for now they stay in the chicken room, chasing and raping the little bantam hens. I hate to see that and always think the little hens are being hurt, but they shake it off and go about their business. And, a nice surprise during the darkest time of the year, they are starting to lay more eggs. I feed them to the grateful kitties, who LOVE raw eggs. When I crack the egg to open it, the cats come running.
Hi Maggie! I'm just catching up on your blog. Plucking takes 2 hours? when I pluck a chicken, I boil enough water to submerge the body completely, just momentarily. Then I pull it out of the water, let it cool a moment, and the feathers just fall away as rub my hand through the feathers. After the feathers have been removed, I roll a few pages of newspaper up and light them on fire on one end. I use this little torch to singe off the tiny hairs that are left after the feathers are gone.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kathleen! How was your visit to the family farm in Colorado! Thanks for your tips on chicken processing...let's hope it doesn't come to that!
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