Chickens

[Dan_Shade]

is it a breast blister?

i was also concerned about that miscolored nad, though that may not be a big deal.

[Norm]

I had to look it up but from the definition it sure seems like what I've seen. I've also seen some where one of the innards is diseased or misformed. I get rid of them too although I only see one or two out of the 50 we raise so it's not a big deal.

[Qweaver]

We're having a predator problem, probably a fox.  We lost a lot of ckickens before we got a hen house.  We've seen a few both day and night.  We left the hen house door open a few nights back and lost one chicken at about 3:00 am.  Our neighbor has lost all of his chickens to predators but he does not have a hen house.  Rodney put out some spring traps for the foxes but only managed to catch two chickens.  We now have two limping chickens...we named one of them Sarah...Sarah(the human Sarah with the broken leg) was not amused.  Our other problem is that the hens are laying and setting out in the woods ( I guess thay got tired of us stealing their eggs) where they are easy pickins for the foxes. I'm considering building a trap similar to the hog traps that we use in Texas.  The foxes seem too smart to go into a small trap.
Quinton

[Mooseherder]

Hey Dan,
Most laying Chickens have some degree of Breast blister but it is usually just a clear mucous membrane that easily seperates from the meat when you prep. That chicken looked to have some sort of disease. Anytime you see the innards like that they tell a story.

[Dan_Shade]

the testes look to be swollen and discolored to me, are they?  the rest of the innards looked about normal. 

(i'm not going to eat the chicken. at this point, i'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with it, if anything).

[Mooseherder]

Looks like some kind of deficiency but I am not qualified to say for sure.
The old food safety rule is when in doubt, throw it out.

[Dan_Shade]

yeah, i'm not starving, it's not worth the risk to me.  i don't like that I killed the little jerk for nothing   however, it's much nicer around here without him!

[Roxie]

Well, the good news is that he looks like he was gonna die soon anyway. 

[Modat22]

Sorry I had to bump this thread, I'm thinking about getting some chickens for a few eggs and some oven roasters and was doing some searching.

I never thought I'd raise chickens myself because I can still smell the wet nasty smell of plucked scalded feathers from my younger years. But the idea has been picking up steam, along with raising a few rabbits.

[WH_Conley]

Know what you mean about the smell. My stomach wins out. Love young rabbit, gotta get past the grand childs though.

[Dan_Shade]

if you have plenty of room get 25-50 of a heritage breed, and a good house, that should be enough to keep you in chicken and eggs for quite a while.   the broilers are a headache, they all need processed at once, or they start to die on you.  I lost 5 on one hot afternoon once, I gave up after that.