More Human Method of Killing?

Ok, at what point did we become a nation of whusses? I didn't believe my ears this morning when I heard this news story, but it turns out it's true. Bell & Evans is a processing plant in PA that plans to gas chickens, putting them to sleep, before slaughtering them. Yes, they are going to anesthetize the chickens first.

So what pushed this? Who do you think. PETA! These people have no idea what it means to be a production farmer. They are such whimps they won't even drink milk, because it is an abuse of the cow to make it continually produce milk. I urge you to boycott Bell & Evans just for the simple fact that they caved in to PETA of all people. Send your e-mail to them and let them know what you think of thier new method of killing.

Egg Size Chart

This drives me nuts every year. So this year I am putting it on my blog, so I can find it again. Seems like between the time I butcher and the time my new chickens start laying, I lose my egg size chart. So here it is, for the US, grading sizes are:

Modern Sizes (USA)

Size	Weight	Cooked volume
Jumbo	Greater than 2.5 oz. or 71 g
Very Large or Extra-Large (XL)	Greater than 2.25 oz. or 64 g	56 mL (4 tbsp)
Large (L)	Greater than 2 oz. or 57 g	46 mL (3.25 tbsp)
Medium (M)	Greater than 1.75 oz. or 50 g	43 mL (3 tbsp)
Small (S)	Greater than 1.5 oz. or 43 g
Peewee	Greater than 1.25 oz. or 35 g

Chicken Feeder!

Ok, I did it. Took me about 45 minutes and cost me about 5$ more, but man this is cool. To make this chicken feeder you need a 32 gallon plastic trash can (12.98), A concrete Mixing tray(4.98), Two sticks of all thread (1.79 each), four nuts and four washers (1.00). I spent about 22$ total on this, but it will save ALOT of work for me.

To start, you mark off your quarters. I used the center injection point to mark straight across the bottom of the trash can. Then I used a piece of paper to get my 90 degree angles.

After you mark it out, drill holes at each of the lines. They should be approximately the same size as your all thread. I used 5/16 inch all thread. Measure down about an inch from the top and then drill through the sides of the can.

Next, mark the center of each side of the concrete tray or tub that you have. Mark your drill point about 2 inches from the top of the tray. This will help keep them from throwing the feed out and wasting it.

Now you mark the sections you are going to cut out. Leave a large strip in the middle. There are no exact measurements for this one. I used the indentations on the bottom of my can as a reference.

Now put the all thread through the bottom, put a washer and nut on one side, pull it snug, lop off the excess with a hack saw, put a washer and a nut on the other side, repeat, and your done!

The only thing that puzzeled me until I built that, was how the food got out. I didn't realize from the other pictures that the trash can is actually held off the bottom of the tub by the all thread. There's about a 2 inch gap between the bottom of the can and the bottom of the tub. That is why you drill four holes in the cross strip and use wire ties to hold it to the all thread. This keeps it from warping under the weight of the feed and allows room for the feed to gravity feed to the bottom tray. His blog said it held 250 lbs of feed, but mine holds three 50lb bags. Maybe his trash can had more room. Just don't overestimate the amount of feed you can hold. Good luck!

Cheap Chicken Feeder! Neat Idea!

If you are like me, you get really tired of trekking out every day to fill up those small feeders. Well this guy did too. He came up with a brilliant idea to create a feeder out of a trash can and a tray, it will hold 250 lbs of feed at a time, and the chickens won't be knocking it over either.

http://www.ajoyfulnoisefarm.com/?p=172

I think I am going to try this and modify it a bit using one of the blue barrells that we use for the plucker. I'll post pics if I do.

More Government Regulation - Oh Joy

The media has whipped people into a frenzy about salmonella and eggs. They are waving the bloody flag of mass plague, destruction, the end of civilization if we don't do something about the egg production in the country. Reminds me of chicken little!

80% of all chicken meat sold in grocery stores has salmonella on it already. Why aren't they screaming and hollering over that and recalling that poultry? Because the fact of the matter is that this bacteria exists in alot of places that you don't think about. So why aren't we all dead? Because if you cook any of these items you destroy the bacteria and make it safe to eat! As long as your not putting raw eggs into your lemon grass organic strawberry smoothie (yes, there is ALOT of sarcasm in that statement!) you aren't going to get sick.

So the government has seen an opportunity to grab more power for itself in relationship to our food supply. They are going to implement more regulations! If they want to implement a regulation that actually works, limit the number of chickens that an organization can have. Top it off at 200,000 or so. Get rid of the huge agri buisnesses and let the food supply chain go back to the local farmers who can produce better eggs with less problems!!!!

Finally! Eggs!

With all of the news lately about Salmonella, I am doubly happy that my chickens have started laying. The first two that I got were both double yolkers! This has turned out the be the best flock I have had so far. The Black Bhramas and Buffs get along very well.

Coon Traps

We all have problems with coons eating our chickens.  My additional problem is that I have a dog.  I love my dog and don't want her to get caught in a traditional trap.  I tried using live traps, but once a coon got in, my dog ate the trap to get to the coon. 

So I got to looking for a dog safe coon trap.  Here is one I came up with. 

It's called a lil griz trap.  The idea is that you bait it with marshmallows, or some other sweet treat that a coon will like.  They reach inside, the trap closes on their arm, and they are stuck until you retrieve them.  It only closes as they pull their arm out.  A dog can step on it all day and not set it off.  Pretty neat little contraption.  Here's the link:  http://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NWS001&Product_Code=WCSGrizz&Category_Code=WCSSS

I have no idea if that's a good price or not.  But it's a starting point.  Good Luck!