Maine

[striperon]

Finally, 11 weeks later, the girls are moved into their new coop. It's got it's certificate of occupancy, but there are still some things that need to be finished: Pop door x 2, broody pen/jail, electrical, some more paint, some more trim, skirt, and a winter run. It was pure pleasure to see them on their roomy perches, with plenty of room to spare. Pure torture getting them there!

LG,

It sounds like Bucka's DH's formula may have applied to your project. lol

Congrats on the new digs for the chicks.

Photos??????????????????

 

[lazy gardener]

Eventually... I can take them, claim techno idiot regarding getting them posted.

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks to the help of friends, our wood has been split and put under cover. What a relief to have that task behind us, and what a joy to have friends who would step out of their homes on a cold day to help us out!

 

[Jazor]

Long time no post! How is everyone? In news around here, we had one of the golden laced wyandottes killed & eaten in the yard while I was out hunting. I was suspecting a hawk/eagle but there are some pretty cocky ravens that have been hanging around lately and they are absolutely massive. It's possible they wanted some meat. Not sure. I have seen them fly into the run and steal duck eggs, so I guess anything's possible.

In other news, I processed my turkeys this weekend. The largest one dressed out to 41.6lbs, which means I clearly do not need to get them so early in the spring next year wow! Massive. Long time plucking, that's for sure. I'll be making reservations with a proper butcher next year, I can't do it fast enough for it to feel "worth" doing. Was a great experience though, and I am happy I did it. The other smaller turkeys dressed to 20lbs and 26lbs.

My real reason for posting--besides wanting to update--was to see if anyone here has meat rabbits? I am looking for a buck, and I'd travel a bit to get one that was purebred (no pedigree necessary) so I could get something going with them. I don't have a specific breed that I must get, but I'd prefer a new zealand white. Realistically, I'd take any decent meaty though. Not particularly looking for giants, I would prefer the medium sized breeds. Anyone have any, or know a decent breeder?

Cheers,
Jazor

 

[buckabucka]

Jazor, -I don't know anything about rabbits, but we bring our chickens to Greaney's for processing. They charge a flat rate of $4/bird, will split and quarter, and bag them with a date and weight label. Turkeys, on the other hand, have a processing charge of .69 per pound. So your 40 pound turkey would have cost $28 to process. I don't know if all places charge by the pound for turkeys, but I was surprised by how much it costs.

 

[Jazor]

Each place is a bit different. Probably has to do with their operation, and what it's set up for. West Gardiner Beef's pricing is below:

Poultry

• Chickens/Pheasant - $3.50
• Split or Quartered - $.50
• Turkeys - $9.00
• Split or Quartered - $1.00
• Over 30# - $10.00
• Over 40# - $12.00

So I guess it's all about where you go. I waited far too long to make reservations--and learned my lesson. I am going to take my orders for next years' Turkeys now, run my calculations, then make a reservation for slaughter for 2015 so I can be sure to get mine in and ready to go on time. Slaughtering myself was a great experience, and has actually made me want to get more livestock; however, processing 40lbs turkeys isn't something I'm interested in doing much more than once!

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully there are some folks interested in rabbits. I've been doing my research and made a couple appointments at local Rabbitrys so I can check out the breeds and get off on the right foot. I'll have some pics to share once I get them. If anyone has info, please share! Otherwise...back to your previously scheduled episode of Chicken TV!

Cheers,
Jazor

 

[buckabucka]

Wow. Much better deal on turkeys there! We have been to West Gardniner Beef (and much to SCG's delight, had roosters run off into the woods there)
But we also ran into trouble getting an appointment there, so we switched to Greaney's, which is much, much closer to our house. I would not want to run a processing business, but there is definitely a market for that here. DH met someone that had driven all the way from Sullivan to West Gardiner Beef.

 

[Jazor]

...But we also ran into trouble getting an appointment there...

You're exactly right. That's why I plan to take my orders now, see what the demand is--if any--and make a reservation for the amount of Turkeys I have pre-sold so to speak. I don't plan to raise any more than 12 for next year but we'll see how it goes. I need to run the calculation on what I need in order to break even (including a bird for my table). I think it should be quite doable.

I have located a few Rabbitry's that seem to have good rep. Rocky's Rabbitry in Bowdoin is the first I'll be visiting. If all goes well I should have a breeding trio soon. I will keep this updated.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Wow. Much better deal on turkeys there! We have been to West Gardniner Beef (and much to SCG's delight, had roosters run off into the woods there)

Yes, I love this story.

Also note that if you want to learn to process yourself, it's not bad. I usually post here a day or two in advance if I'm going to process and anyone is welcome to come watch and/or participate.

 

[lazy gardener]

Sounds like I'll be paying for processing next year. That's the only down side to raising my own meat birds. I am so terribly slow: it takes me 45 minutes to complete one bird, start to finish. Hubby is loathe to be involved in the process, though he will act as the axe man, and help with the water, hose. But, for that price, it's well worth it to pay someone to do the dirty work, and pick up the processed birds on the other end. Are those prices for flash frozen, or just butchered and bagged??