Chicks going cheap

[Polly Fouracre]

Is the Credit Crunch hitting the chicken world?
I went to our local fortnightly poultry auction on Saturday to see if there were any eggs I could put into my tiny incubator( a fiver at a car-boot sale!) with a view to fattening for the table.
I saw what I wanted,eight pure Rhode Island Red eggs and waited patiently to bid.
I was amazed at the prices stock was sellingfor! Three pure-bred Wellsummer chicks-"Who will give me a pound apiece? Very well fifty-pence each? O.K. who wants all three for a pound? No-one? Not sold"
And this went on (with exceptions) all through the auction.
Came the eggs and I had reckoned on at least ten pounds for my eggs, I was the only bidder and got them for a pound!! I now wish with all my heart that I had bought six Dutch Redcap eggs as well if only to see what the grown chickens looked like(has anyone ever seen any?) They went unsold with no bidders.
Next auction will see me set up to recieve impulse bought chicks etc. and meanwhile my R.I.R's are tucked up warmly and,I hope incubating.

[HeyWayne]

Chicks are supposed to go cheap aren't they? Unless they're ducks of course.

[milly2306]

hi
i have long been interested in breeding chicks for the table but i'm a bit scared.how do you kill them? and what about "cleaning"? any advice for a scaredy cat?
xxxmillyxxx

[Polly Fouracre]

HeyWayne, do you never do any work??!!
Millie, killing anything is never easy but knowing that the animal or bird that you have killed has had a happy life and a quick end free from fear and pain makes it bearable.
First of all tell yourself that if this bird had ended it's life in a commercial slaughterhouse it's end would be moments of terror and panic. Then when dark go quietly to the hen house and pick up the bird.If you think you can do it quickly break it's neck at once.
If,like me, you don't think your hands are strong enough to do the job well this is what I do. I place a sock over the chickens head which keeps it very calm and take it to where I have set up a large log and a well-sharpened cleaver. Hold the bird by the legs over the log whereupon it will obligingly stick it's head out. Take a deep breath and give one almighty chop, making sure your aim is clear. The plucking etc. is easy after that.
You CAN do it!

[Birdie Wife]

Killing chickens isn't pleasant - it's not supposed to be - and personally I'm not very good with squirty blood, which tends to happen when you lop a chickens head off! It has definite advantages in being 1. quick 2. very final.

If you want to just break the necek cleanly there is an easy way to kill chickens if like me you're worried that you might not get the knack of breaking a chicken's neck in one go, which involves a broomstick and some level ground. Take the chicken aside from it's companions - after dark is good because they are sleepy and less likely to make a fuss. Take your broomstick and lay it flat on the ground in front of you. Grasp the chickens legs firmly, with the chiecken hanging down in front of you. It might make a fuss for a few seconds, but after a short time the blood rushes to it's head and it goes quiet. It will also helpfully put it's head out in front of it, as Polly says. This next part should be done smoothly and quickly:tuck the head under the broomstick, stand on the broomstick either side of the head and pull firmly upwards on the legs. If you do this too hard the head will come off, which isn't ideal, but at least the bird is dead. The chicken will flap uncontrollably for a few seconds, which is a reflex reaction.

The first time I did this, the deed was much easier than the thinking about it beforehand!

[HeyWayne]

HeyWayne, do you never do any work??!!

Just finished two reports so ner!

Good luck with the chicken choking Polly.

[Hilary B]

Good description by 'birdie wife'. As to cleaning, there are good descriptions with pictures in John Seymour's books.
Best time to pluck is as soon as the bird is dead. Rigor mortis doesn't take long and it makes the feathers stick tight, especially on the wings. There are lots of tricks for getting feathers off more readily, but plucking before the carcass is cold is simplest, and if you DO happne to want to keep the feathers, it is the best way.

[milly2306]

hi
thanks everyone. i CAN do this!! at least as you said i will have the satisfaction of knowing my chicks had a happy life!
xxxmillyxxx