Kill cones?

I had to look that one up. So much for the axe and chopping block.

How was the first one dispatched? Inquiring minds want to know the bloody details!

The R&D was not for naught.

I will still need a plucker for the occasional cull bird, small batches of experimental birds I raise from time to time, pheasants and quail we shoot, and for my turkeys. The model I made works quite well, but not for heavy duty processing.

The first cull bird was killed in a traffic cone I found in front of our property last summer. It had no base, so I shortened it up at both ends and nailed it to a tree, pointy end down. Placed the chicken in it head first, and a quick cut with a filet knife started the blood to flow. A few minutes later it was dead and had bled out completely,

Pictures or it didn't happen.

Out of respect for the victim, I didn't take pics or video of the kill. (Actually, I just plain forgot to)

Plucker victim before.

Plucker victim after.


Next victims in 8 , 30 and 35 weeks.


Yes, that is a RonCo Compact Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ oven. As cheesy as the commercials are, the thing freekin' rocks. So sorry you are jealous.

Do you name them? Could be an interesting dinner time topic.

Yes, we named the latest batch. Chicken dinner 1-25, Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas dinner.

Our laying hens, we'll invest some emotions with them as they'll be here for 3 or 4 years, if I do a good job protecting them. They have already developed some fun personalities, and they were VERY interested in my planting peas along their fence line. They coming running and flying to me as I enter the coop, as I ALWAYS have a few treats for them. Maybe the turkeys will get a proper name, as they'll be with us for 6 months or so.

The meat chickens are here, and then off to freezer camp in a few months. They are cute for exactly 5 days, and then they become ugly softballs with feathers.

hey andy,
I haven't read all your chk pages, but for waterers, I've had luck with the Little Giant poultry fountain.
unlike most others (especially the bell waterers) i can plumb it to either a bucket or a pressurized line.
This is the least labor intensive watering system I've found.
I've got three plumbed to a 55 gallon rain barrel in the brooder, so i don't have to reach in and fill the little quart dealio every other day, especially if it fills with shavings.

this link shows some pics http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=187164

I've got about 8 of them, and they've been in use for almost 5 years now. No issues at all.

Yeah, I know that cleaning out those waterers is a pain. Once they grow up a bit, by the next week or so, I'll give them access to the entire brooder, which is 4x4. On the other side I have another watering system, more of a commercial style nipple system. It holds a gallon of water, and lasts about 2 days. It is adjustable for height and looks just like this one in the coop.

The coop waterer is fed by this bucket

which is fed by a gutter on the back of the coop. There are a few filters in the process to keep the water free of debris. I'll have to fill it once a week, along with the bucket waterer in the run during the summer, but from fall through spring, it should be good to go. (I'll get a heater for the bucket in winter.)

I'm giving them some basic meds, vitamins, and electrolytes for the first 2 weeks in their water. These deteriorate over time, so I'll keep doing the quart waterers until I let them have run of the entire brooder. At three weeks they'll head out into the main run with the others, as it will be mid May.

I know the meds and electrolytes are not necessary, but I have pretty healthy chickens, and everybody is off of them after 2 weeks.

Great setup.
I learned the hard way to plumb the overflow away from the brooder.

Nice coving.