NH Homesteader- turkeys!

[farmerjan]

Okay, I get it with the chickens. And you can always kill off the excess and get them frozen quickly if you do find you are moving. And I did just remember that you were saying fall for the moving so that makes some sense too. I wasn't being critical, you have a full plate with just a household and your daughter, and the goats, and didn't want you to get "overwhelmed" with animals. Hopefully your house will sell so you can get there before it gets too cold and can get all put together for the winter.

 

[NH homesteader]

No that's fine, I didn't take it that way! We kind of see extra chickens as potential chicken soup or dog food, lol. We are planning on hatching turkeys and chickens to raise and butcher in the fall, and we'll be putting 2 pigs in the freezer (which will last a year). And whatever we get from the garden. I want to go down with our stockpile for the year!

 

[NH homesteader]

Also hopefully DH will go down first and set up all the fences, coops, etc. We will put everyone in hoop houses and the goats will get cattle panel drylots for a while (which is what we do in winter here anyway). Both so we can get it done faster and so I can keep an eye on them for parasite issues, etc. So it shouldn't be too bad!

 

[CntryBoy777]

NHH, what is the oldest rooster you have harvested and ate?....just wondering the "Break Point" on that with roos.

 

[NH homesteader]

I have no idea. Never butchered one over a year. I figure if it isn't good enough to eat I'll make broth and feed the meat to the dogs!

 

[CntryBoy777]

Thanks, these won't be a yr old til 6/7, so if one does get taken out before then, I''ll put it in the freezer. Instead of feeding the buzzards....

 

[Bruce]

I don't remember, are these layers? If so the pullets you get now will be laying by fall, if you were to move then I bet it would be easy to sell them on Craig's List. Guaranteed female and they will lay all winter.

 

[Latestarter]

Never mind pushing that roo around with a stick... It might work for a spell, but is never permanent. Grab him by the hooves & beat him to death then stew him.

Edit: It appears my comment raised the ire of some. I apologize, but since there are comments following, I will not edit what was originally posted. For the record, I have owned animals my entire life, and do NOT make it a habit of abusing them.

 

[babsbag]

I have had one mean roo and he went in someone else's stock pot. She doesn't have chickens so when I dropped him off I asked her what she was going to do with him until "the day". She said, "I have the water boiling as we speak".

Maybe my roos aren't aggressive because they have a lot of hens and a lot of space or they are too busy fighting with each other. I think I have 5 or 6 in my coop and probably 10 that are rogue.

 

[NH homesteader]

I am getting a variety of birds. Mostly layers, yes. I've never kept more than one roo (other than cockerels until they're butchered) in a pen, I imagine it would distract them! My turkeys are right next to my chickens and the roo and the tom pay surprisingly little attention to each other.

I agreed to allow him some more time, DH says he'll be better after his spring fever is behind him, haha. His one saving grace is he is very good to the hens. He never over-breeds them, and obviously he protects them.

I don't beat things to death. Nothing goes while we're angry at it unless we are in imminent danger, if he goes he'll go in a kill cone like the rest of them. Even my really nasty tom, even though I hated waiting!