02/15/2021
What did you do on Valentine’s Day? Hubby got his skid loader back up and running and I butchered our fall meat birds. We’re getting the process down pretty well. We de-head them together and then I get to skinning. We choose to skin our birds while they’re still warm, instead of plucking (soooo much easier!) Then I put the birds(whole) in a cooler full of ice for 2-3 days. This helps tenderize the meat, so it’s not tough. After a few days I’ll part the birds out, vacuum seal and plop them in the freezer.
This fall we tried a dual purpose bird for meat for the first time, Red Rangers. These birds took A LOT longer than what I anticipated (20 weeks). And we still actually only ended up butchering the roosters, because I felt the hens were too small.
So the hens are now moved into the big coop with my other egg layers and they should start laying eggs very soon. Lucky for them right! That’s the only good thing I can think of that came out of the dual purpose bird. AND these birds are SUPER personable.
In conclusion, I don’t think we will ever be raising red rangers again, unless requested by a friend.
If anyone has interest in purchasing pre-slaughtered meat birds from us this spring please get in contact with Matt or I, so we know how many chicks to purchase. These meat birds will be Cornish crosses that are ready to be butchered in 8 weeks. We’ll do all the dirty work and you’ll get the fresh meat!
Of course hubby didn’t fail to surprise me with some roses 🌹💕
