Butchering day.

[agchat]

Free wheat you sure do bring back memories. Those things one experiences in life is for sure in my mind a memory to look back on, something to treasure. I must admit though you must live in gods country. Here raising chickens was always a battle to try and keep them alive. Foxes for starter was a problem, we always had to keep ours penned up. Even penned, those ****ing mink were a pest hard to keep out. Wait untill some morning you go out and over half of them are dead from a mink. After that happens a few times, the sport is not much fun any more.

[agchat]

Oh ya, two things we noticed here after we got rid of chickens, was one the lice in the barn milking cattle backed way off, and two the gophers in the pasture disappeared when we stopped shooting the foxes. They had to work a little harder to get there food. Now that I think of it between cleaning the chicken house, delicing and debeaking them when cannibalism started, na I will just buy them from you now, lol.

[wmoebis]

Bucket one time at a family get together we kids had all mom's flock (50) hypnotized at once.
Not sure who had more fun us kids or grown ups watching.

[sumdumguy]

Farmaholic is right. He must know that it's not easy determining the sex of a rabbit. They are a bit like chickens. The rooster pecks on hens head to fertilize the eggs, you know.

[fjlip]

It is true, we played with the bantams that way too.

[tweety]

10% of the income for food. I'd say that's pretty cheap.

[AllisWD45]

Good topic. Wife always loved working with animals. Currently have a small garden,15 laying hens. Have 35 meat chickens in a chicken tractor a portable chicken coop. Fresh grass every few days and a homemade ration. Also raise grass fed beef which to me is no better or worse than grained just have lots of grass and not much grain to feed. Home raised pork coming in exchange for beef
Have butchered beef pork and chickens for years but now custom done. Also will take chickens to get done off the farm. A money value cannot be placed on raising my own food. Just a lot of satisfaction

[blackpowder]

Never gutted as a kid only plucked. Our turkeys even had milk so i know what a 40 lb tom looks like.
Although I'm too lazy myself to follow this lifestyle today, I salute freewheat.
His children will not turn into the professional scabs that are turning all my hair white. (Family law and pschycology experts).

Country boys can survive!!