MEAT BIRDS THREAD ~Plans, pics, pens, pluckers, processing! GRAPHIC!

[BarredBuff]

I'm picking grain up tomorrow! Can I ask some more questions?

Do I just mix the grains? Put in the hot water, let set for 3 days and feed as needed. Does it spoil? Do you strain the liquid off???

 

[Beekissed]

I'm picking grain up tomorrow! Can I ask some more questions?

Do I just mix the grains? Put in the hot water, let set for 3 days and feed as needed. Does it spoil? Do you strain the liquid off???

You can...that's what I do when I buy them in the 100 lb. or 50 lb bags...just mix them in equal parts in a large trash can.

You don't use hot water, that I know of and it shouldn't take 3 days....all the studies stated 8-15 hrs of soaking will get some cultures going as long as the water/grain mix is exposed to the air. Sort of like the kefir that everyone makes here....just soaked grains and the yeast/mold cultures are pulled from the air.

It shouldn't spoil unless it's kept too tightly closed and isn't stirred/aerated enough or isn't fed enough.

I jump started mine with mother vinegar, so if you have some, I'd use it...makes for a fine ferment.

When I did it with the chick starter, it pretty much soaked up most of the liquid, so it was scooped out in an oatmeal consistency but with the whole grains I pull my bucket up and let it drain the excess fluid off before I feed, then lower the rest of the grains right back into the fermented liquid.

Keeping the same ferment going is called "back-slopping" and is recommended for strong cultures and a quicker ferment of the grains. If you have good fermented cultures going, I'd not throw them out...just add to each time to keep the fluid level slightly over the grain in the container.


On a side note....these little 3 wk. old CX have been foraging so avidly today that I had to finally go and put them in the coop tonight~in the pouring rain at 8:15 pm these boogers are out there scratching and digging for all they're worth! Worms come to the surface in a hard rain and they were gettin' while the gettin' was good!

 

[BarredBuff]

Thanks for the help!! I'm glad you are having such good luck with the little CXs!

 

[Beekissed]

I've had a few problems...lost 3 chicks in the dog water bucket, 1 chick smashed by the roo. That's a total of 4 chicks lost to accidental death...a record for me, previously my record was 1~smashed by a fat foster mama.

Good thing they sent 4 extra.

 

[BarredBuff]

I lost 8 of em when I had them. I don't know why....

 

[BarredBuff]

Just made some fermented grains. I think I packed it to tight though...but I believe it can be fixed...

 

[Wannabefree]

I have yet to lose any of mine thankfully. So far this has been a pretty good experiment. They aren't growing quite as fast with the supplemental greens and lower feed. Those crazy things would eat 24/7 if I let them! I am rather enjoying them though. Then again....I only have 10 They'll be 5 weeks old tomorrow.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm enjoying mine as well! I don't think I've ever seen any chicken in my care forage so much as these little dinosaurs...and they are quick, accurate and quite successful. I guess they are driven by an excess hunger because they hunt continuously with only small breaks of rest, then they are out there scratchin' out a meal.

I can't even imagine how many thousands of steps those short little legs have taken but they are constantly on the move. I'm pleased with the slowness of their growth and their mobility thus far and hope they will progress at this rate right up til the finish.

 

[ScottSD]

The plucker was a total flop. It removed zero feathers on a dry bird and I doubt seriously if it would have removed them on a wet bird. The short time it spent spinning against the feathers of my roo actually wore the plucker fingers down....

Needless to say, the plucker will be returned to Cabelas with my not so kind regards. We will be plucking by hand, it seems, per usual...the one plucker that never lets you down, doesn't cost a thing and is perfectly designed for the job~no modifications needed.

Rudy the Roo is absolutely delicious! I don't know that I had a more tender, flavorful adult DP bird...don't know if it's the fermented feed or just happenstance, but I'll let you know when we consume the CX fed in the same manner.

Did you scald the birds?

This guy has pretty much the same setup. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH6TSu0OvA8&feature=endscreen&NR=1

I have thought about making this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-pbRxIlpuw

 

[Beekissed]

Well...with the long fingers, I might have, but this one had short fingers for waterfowl plucking. Almost all the reviews of the product said it worked wonderfully if the bird was dry but not good at all with a wet bird. So I didn't wet it.

I could invest in the long fingers but that's just more money spent trying to see if it would work. I've seen those on YouTube and they take an incredibly long time to get the job done, considering the equipment...I can pluck one faster by hand than they can by drill mounted plucker.