Farm Life

Montana near Idaho border north. Near Troy.
 
I doubt we'd go that far. They see it as something different and peck at it. So, it gets dirty quick. DM
 
David, I went back to page one of this thread to look at where this all started. It is amazing how they have grown. They really are a great source of food.

Will you be sharing more from the garden in this or another thread? I can't raise chicken where I live, but I do have a small garden. I am growing tomato, onion, cucumber, radish, green pepper and jalapeno pepper this year. I pulled some radishes this week and they were great! It does feel good to raise something on your own.


20160625_194835-1_zpsptf2psea.jpg
 
Last edited:
Gedd, some folks think of them as pets so decorating them is not out of the ordinary.
Shack, yes. We have some cherry tomatoes. I'll try to get a photo up. I think that will fit in this topic. Good effort, with your 'Green Thumb'. DM
 
I'm down in the single digit numbers with chickens Not processed. 3 of these are in our target weight and are marked for processing as soon as I can get to them. The rest we'll feed for a week or so and keep weighing.
Something I've noticed using the powdered steels. When you start to noticed them showing some wear and they loose that really quick cutting edge. Morphing into a using edge. This occurs at about 50% edge wear . So, size up your cutting job from that point accordingly. In processing chickens it's easy a steer would be more difficult. Buck's S30V blade showed this at around 6 or 7. So, it will do about 13 or 14. Which is a Pile. DM
 
Good to know David,I've noticed it too but I'm very happy with how long the sharp edge lasts after the scary sharp edge diminishes
 
You're welcome. Each steel has it's particular behavior. So, when you encounter this ask about it here. Chances are someone has noticed the same characteristic and taken notes on it. The blade stropped back to sharp in 18 minutes from slurry applied to a pine 2X4 then on to finer slurry on hard leather. I thought this was great considering all it had cut. We are down to 5 chickens and they are getting close to our target weight. Perhaps by Monday our processing will be over and all in the freezer, ready for use throughout the winter. DM
 
It's nice to hear you will be finished with this project soon. As far as keeping chickens as pets, I guess it's ok. I was told not to name the chickens as they grew, it would make them harder to process. I did name a few........... delicious, tasty, fried, Sunday dinner, etc. That kept them at arms length. Never had a problem dispatching any of them.
 
I have a major bunch of chickens running loose around the house. My wife likes to go out and call to them so they come running and she can throw them some cracked corn. We have lots of eggs with incredible orange yolks, but my wife refuses to cook and/or eat any of the birds even if I kill and clean them. Had so many eggs recently that I let a couple of hen set on some. They are idiots and only managed to hatch one chick but it is fun watching that hen raise the little biddy.
I think we have about 50 birds out there now. Got 50 goats, a huge boar and a couple of sows, a bull and 6 cows too. Have not had time to garden the past couple of years. Don't seem to get much time for knife making either. I would post a pic of my Buck I've owned for 50 years but posting pics here is just a pain in the butt as far as I can figure out.
 
Ged,I'm like you. I don't get attached to them. My girls had some that won nice awards at our county fair and we kept them longer. They sold some at the show too. So, that's a good way to get started in raising and learning about chickens. My kids always had animal projects they raised and showed. When they see them now they remember the experience and I hope they will carry that forward. Keeping busy caring for animals is a good activity and builds knowledge. DM
 
Red, good to see you visit us here in the Buck Forum. Yes, posting photos is a pain but we get to see what your talking about. What does the stamp read on your Buck knife?
You have a petting zoo established. DM
 
Here is chicken #37 a 9 1/2 lb. processed this morning. Look at the length of the entire 103 and compare this 7 lb. bird to the 3 1/2 lb. bird in the photo with the Club 110 in D2 steel up above post 90. A different size bird, and the drums, wings and neck removed. DM
 
Last edited:
It was Doc that favored the use of cleavers for this type work. I concur. At times I use my hatchet to sever the bones and a favorite knife for the rest. However, you can use only a knife but pick the model carefully. When using only a knife I prefer a wide blade with deep belly and thick spine. With a thick handle to give you power and control when making the cuts. I use the heel of my hand to push the blade through. You'll find a 3/16" spine offers more comfort for the push. Whereas a 1/8" spine will cut into the heel of your hand. If you have a favorite 110 you want to try then it's better to use a hatchet to sever the bones. Edge retention is greatly increased when using a hatchet. Try it both ways and see. Here's some tomatoes for BuckShack. DM
 
Last edited:
The tomatoes look great David! They are coming along just fine and a little ahead of mine.
 
Thanks. This heat stopped them from growing and some fruit fell off. So, we had to rig up a sun shade and cool them down. But were still getting some. DM
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top