3 brown

Brew day! Pale Ale

10.5 pounds belgian pale ale malt
3.5 gallons 140 degree water (Mash temp 128-132)
45 minutes infuse 3 gallons 160 degree water (mash temp 140-144)
100 minutes sparge

Sparge 8 gallons 170 degree water.

1 hour 30 minutes 15 gm NZ pacific gem (2007) 15.9 alpha acid

Boil to 5.5 gallons.
30 minutes 12 gm 2006 cascade 7.7 alpha acid
dry hop 10 gm saaz 2.5 alpha acid
1056 american ale yeast
o.g. 1.052

Brewing MBA Saturday - a Munich Alt ale, ~6.5% ABV german amber. Picking up 25 kg new malt on Tuesday... brewing plans for spring:
pils experiements (pils malt, ale malt) x (2 pils lager yeast strains) (Jan/Feb)
Maibock (Feb)
Trippel (March)
Abbey (March)
Pale (March, sooner if stock drops)
Stout (March)

Beer fridge should get refrigerant this weekend. 3 zones - freezer zone 5-15 degrees, serving and carbonating zone 35-40 degrees, and lager zone 45-55 degrees.
Active cooling and air circulation for the freezer and serving zones (fan will blow air off evaporator into freezer zone, and from freezer zone to serving zone. Lagering zone will have vent open from freezer zone if temp is above 50 degrees letting cold air enter). Serving zone will hold 16+ 5 gallon Cornelius kegs, 9 on tap, 7+ storage and getting forced carbonation.

1 green, 2 brown

Americauna laid her first egg of 2009. Going to be interesting to see how her production runs this year.

2 brown

Monday 3 brown

4 brown.

Looking at egg stock pile I notice that there are about 2 larger eggs in every dozen.

I suspect that the 4 young hens are producing a bit below full production, and one of the old hens is producing an egg every 2-3 days.

1 brown

Well that post earlier today ... Chickens before they hatch/eggs before they're laid. The two escapee hens aren't escaping after I secured some additional fencing high on the fence poles. There's a possibility that they've found a new place out of the coop to lay, tomorrow will tell.

Swam usual mile today.

which hens are laying?

Flock is
2 wyandotte lacewings (old)
1 RI red (old)
1 americauna (old)
1 golden sexlink (old)
2 barred rock (young)
2 RI red (young)

I know at least 1 young RI and BR is laying as they've been ranging outside the chicken yard and laying outside the coop. Some days there are 4 eggs - 2 outside, 2 in coop. I think that the other 2 young hens are also laying... which accounts for all of the production - 4 hens should lay 6 eggs every 36 hours, 12 eggs every 3 days when in full prodcution. 4 hens would have laid 36 eggs in 9 days. None of the older hens is laying, all are eating and taking up space. I suspect as the diurnal cycle gives more light that the lacewings will begin laying again.

Spring chick order (currently) planned as: (RI Red and BR should be majority of flock)
3 RI Red
2 silver laced wyandottes
3 americuana
1 gold laced wyandotte
1 Barred Rock

(5 RI Red, 3 BR, 3 Americauna, 2 S.L. Wyandotte, 1 G.L Wyandotte - 14 hens)

culling of 2-3 older brown egg layers will happen by the equinox - will determine which hens are laying and decide then. I think the americauna will be a light producer this year, but occasionally blue eggs will show up. I've got a soft spot for that hen - sentimental attachment to the chicken that crosses the road.

Winter 2009-2010 should have 4 18 month old hens, and 10 young (9 month old) hens. Production of about 4 eggs every 3 days from the 18 month hens, about 16 eggs from the younger hens - or a bit over 3 dozen eggs per week. Summer 2010 has 14 hens at peak production - should be over 2.5 dozen eggs every 3 days, over 6 dozen per week. No chick order in 2010 or 2011 - let flock drop to new chicks in 2012 or 2013 to begin replacing 4 young bird - 3 RI Red, 3 BR in 2012 or '13.

3 brown.

21 eggs in 9 days. a bit over 2 per day average. Would like to be up to 4 per day by end of February.

4 brown

Wednesday 0.

4 brown

2 brown

electric fence killed a rat last night.

2 brown

Saturday 2 brown

Friday 2 brown

2 brown

Wednesday 2 brown.

4 brown

Monday 1 brown, 1 brown cannibalized.

Imperial Oatmeal Stout (Solomon's Oatmeal Stout - first made on my son's birthday)

15 pounds belgian pale ale malt
1 pound steel cut oats
1 pound roasted barley
1 pound chocolate malt (british 400 degrees L)

mash 4 gallons 140 degree water
Sparge 8 gallons 170 degree water

Boil to 6 gallons
Hop with 35 gm Chinook 12.1 alpha acid 45 minutes
Boil to 5.5 gallons

1056 american ale yeast

o.g. 1.082

2 brown

Saturday 2 brown

2 brown

Thursday 2 brown.
Caught another skunk. Small scavengers/omnivorous mammals seem to have had a good year for population expansion. Unfortunately they also get some increased mortality due to predation on my flock. If their range did not impinge on humans and livestock I'd be happy for their increase in numbers. As it is they are a pernicious nuisance.

1 brown

Tuesday 2 brown

Monday 2 brown

2 brown

Saturday 1 brown. Have a cold, will not be swimming outdoors in 40-50 degree rain.
Friday 4 brown.

Imperial oat stout Saturday or Sunday - depends on when I can get the beer cooler.

Inaugurator Bock beer.

13.5 pounds belgian pils malt. 2 pounds great western Munich malt (organic).
4 gallons 140 degree water - mash for 45 minutes, add 2 gallons 160 degree water, remove 1.5 gallon of initial mash water, to raise mash temperature to 150+ degrees. Continue mash for 45 minutes.

Sparge with 7.5 gallons 170 degree water.

Boil to 6.5 gallons. 42 gm Hallertau 75 minutes
Boil to 5.5 gallons. 14 gm saaz 20 minutes.

Wyeast 2487 Helles bock
o.g. 1.072 f.g 1.015 (estimations)

Ferment in old beer refrigerator initially. New beer cooler for secondary fermentation.

new 6 foot 1 inch poultry wire fence put up on Thursday, may keep birds in their yard.

electric fence on coop has lower circuit strung, need to place insulators for return to fence charge, and for the initial run from the charger. I've been reluctant to fool with it much due to rain.

1 brown Thursday
1 brown Wednesday.

Pale Ale

10.5 pounds belgian pale ale malt
3 gallons 140 degree water
sparge 8 gallons 170 degree water.
1 hour 30 minutes 21 gm chinook (2001) 13.1 alpha acid
25 minutes 13 gm cascade 5.0 alpha acid
dry hop 10 gm saaz 3.4 alpha acid
1056 american ale yeast
o.g. 1.052

I think my new mash tun and sparge system difficulties were due to not boiling wort down long enough. I racked zot d'amour wit beer today and I ended up with a bit over a gallon of extra beer. Boiled a bit longer on today's beer. I may cut back a little on the amount of sparge water next time, although my next 2 beers will be big alcohol contect - Inaugurator bock (target 8.5% ABV) and Imperial Oat stout (9.5% ABV). Grain bill is 14 pounds pils malt (+ crystal and black patent adjuncts) for the bock, 16 pounds pale malt (+ chocolate, roasted barley and groat adjuncts) for the stout.

2 brown.

americauna was on the roof of my house late in the day.

13 brown. I've not posted a count for some days - was out of town, and the continuing massacre of my flock has been big news.

The masked marauder was terminated with extreme prejudice last night via a low noise projectile. He had come around at 7:50 PM, I was preparing a meal for myself and heard the hens distress cries, went to the window and saw him attempting to enter the coop from the roof. THe first projectile convinced him to go elsewhere, second one dropped him from the top of the fence, whence he ran a short distance wimpering and expired. I think that the raccoon is responsible for the major portion of the massacre of my flock.

I got up this morning and a skunk was in the live trap. It also got the low noise projectile treatment. I hope this ends the problem. Coop will be electrified regardless, but this could be the end of the predation crisis.

Flock has 9 hens - I'd been counting them in the coop when I closed it up in the evening, one enterprising hen saw the continuing murder of her coop mates and effectively said, "screw this noise I'm outta here" - she's been roosting in a tree.

Flock is
2 wyandotte lacewings
1 americauna
1 golden sexlink
2 barred rock (young)
3 RI red... if I counted accurately, minimum of 2 of which are young hens.

Flock is down to 8 chickens, 1 duck. Less than half as many birds as I had at the beginning of November (actually it was right before Thanksgiving that the marauder began its predation).

electric fencing is a necessity for the long term, and will be purchased and installed in the next 2 days.

lost an americauna last night. I'm sad, I think she was the chicken that crossed the road.

2 brown

(Masked) marauder has been in and out of the trap. I put the last killed bird's carcass in for bait, it's been outside the trap in the morning every day. Interesting thing today trap was sprung with bait out of trap. I'm not sure how it is managing that one.

Flock has been closed up in coop at night since last bird killed on Friday morning. So far this has worked to keep marauder from getting another bird. I'm out of town for a couple of days, have a friend staying in guest bedroom which is right next to coop. He'll hear the marauder if it is molesting the flock.

3 brown on Sunday.

1 brown

Swam usual.

I was up in the chicken yard during the period I got the call Friday morning (3:30 AM until 4:30 AM). No sign of marauder.

Did a count of my flock this morning:
2 juvenile RI Red
3 Juvenile BR
1 old BR
2 old Wyandotte lace wing
2 americauna
1 golden sexlink
1 old RI Red

12 hens. 1 duck.

This puts next year's chick order at:
3 RI Red
2 silver laced wyandottes
3 americuana
2 gold laced wyandotte
2 buttercups

adding 13 hens, retiring 7. flock would have 18 birds if no losses.
Unless I share chicks at feed store this is a single order, 13 laying chicks, 12 meat birds.

Just over a week ago I had it as:
2 americauna
2? barred rock juveniles
1 old barred rock
5 Rhode Island Red juveniles
2 old RI Red
2 lace wing wyandotte
1 golden sexlink

I must have double counted a RI Red (Minnesota election anyone ?) and not counted a juvenile BR. since then the RI reds have had 2 lost... and 1 old RI Red.

I secured the chicken coop in the evening. 2 hens were out in the yard in the morning anyway. I'm not going to fool myself that closing up the coop is going to end predation, but it will give a bit more time to catch the culprit.

Was kind of cool sitting and listening to the highway 100 yards away, watching a pair of mule deer run up the road at 4:00 AM. Chilly out.

3 brown

lost an older bird overnight. neighbors called about ruckus in chicken yard, i went out and culprit was gone. 4 or 5 chickens were not roosting, saw blood on ground where chicken was likely caught. Carcass was warm when I found it. I'm going to stay up, will terminate with extreme prejudice when the culprit comes around.

It looks like next year's order for laying hens will be bigger than I'd planned. 3 aracauna, probably some rhode island red and/or barred rock (want a minimum of 3 BR, 5 RI Red) and possibly a more exotic brown egg layer. Flock should be 14 strong laying hens for spring 2010, which may be a year with no chick order. Ultimately I'd like to have 5 year old hens being culled as replacements reach 1 year old. Vagaries of predation, etc may mean flock drops as low as 6 hens over a winter... I also need to give consideration predator control - maybe build a new coop that is unfriendly to predators. Electric fence is probably a good idea.

5 brown.

One of the ducks succumbed to a predator overnight. In addition the bait was missing from the trap. New bait in trap tonight. I'm pretty unhappy about the predation that has happened in the past week. 3 birds lost.

I will edit the first post when I have the true o.g. for the ESB. My recipe gave estimated o.g. - not from a recipe book... there is some learning to do as I've changed my mash set up - I had been using a 5 gallon pot for a mashtun, then duming the hot mash into a 5 gallon bay marie pan that I had hundreds of 1/8 inch holes drilled in the bottom. Bay marie pan sat in a 7 gallon plastic tub with a spigot. New mashtun is a 10 gallon water cooler with a perforated false bottom and a ball lock valve fed from below the false bottom. My estimations of sugar conversion are going to need some revision... I appear to not be getting as good a conversion as previous method. Some of that may be that the malt was crushed back in June, but I've used old malt before with the previous setup and don't see a strong correlation with conversion efficiency.

Will also give the hops alpha acid level. I generally do not calculate IBU or HBU from this info, but there are certainly calculators out there for those interested... I just go with experience and an idea of what I'm after. Since I've been brewing over 30 years, all grain for over 14 years... well I've got some idea what I'm doing.

Racking the wit beer (Zot d'Amour wit) Saturday. Will keg ginger porter and imperial stout then as well.

Brewing ESB
10.5 pounds belgian pale ale malt, 1# 40 degree L Crystal malt.
3.5 gallons 145 degree F water - mash 1.5 hours
sparge with 8 gallons 170 degree F water.

Boil to 6+ gallons
14 grams hallertau tradition 6.2 % alpha acid whole hops 1 hour
21 grams fuggles 3.2% alpha acid whole hops 15 minutes.

estimated o.g. 1.056 actual 1.050
Thames valley ale Wyeast # 1275

Another chicken lost to predation Tuesday, found late Tuesday after hearing a ruckus in the chicken yard after dark... went out to find a juvenile barred rock on the ground acting injured (scared?) I picked her up, found no obvios wounds or missing plumage, put her in a perch. Then discovered the remains of a juvenile rhode island red. I disposed of the carcass (it was cold, I probably missed it when I checked for eggs and had bee killed Monday night). I reset the trap for a raccoon, was attentive to noise from the chicken yard the remainder of the evening.

Haven't caught anything.

Wednesday 3 brown. Found outside of chicken yard. New fencing to keep birds in coming by end of day Friday.

3 brown

Found clutch of 14 eggs of unknown age - from juvenile hens that have been getting out of hen yard. I'm in process of clearing brush prior to getting a beer serving and lagering cooler which will need to be brought in via back door.

I think I will begin doing brewing blogging here too. Made a wit beer last week, ESB and pale ale planned this week. Lagers coming when new cooler is operational - 2 pils, one bock. Will be experimenting with recipes for lagers. Cooler is going to be awesome, room for 16 5 gallon kegs, 4 fermentation vessels from dimensions I was given. Will have 3 tap towers each with 3 taps - 2 nitrogen mix taps, 7 CO2 taps. 7 taps for beers, 2 for home made soft drinks - 1 root based, 1 fruit based soft drink. Going to be interesting experimenting on this as well. Will be getting sassafras from Indiana for some of the root based drinks. Possibly some Indiana ginseng as well. I think initially I'll be doing 3 gallon batches of soft drinks.

Monday no eggs

Sunday 1 brown

2 brown

Friday 1 brown.

No losses after raccoon transported.

Thursday 2 brown

Lost a juvenile barred rock overnight - most of thigh meat was missing, body was eviscerated. Some meat still on breast. Flock is currently 16? birds.
2 americauna
2? barred rock juveniles
1 old barred rock
5 Rhode Island Red juveniles
2 old RI Red
2 lace wing wyandotte
1 golden sexlink

Trap baited for raccoon will be set for the next few days. I'm hoping that a raccoon is the culprit. Caught raccoon first night I set trap.

2009 juvenile flock additions:
3 americauna
3 brown egg layers - golden laced wyandottes? Buttercups?

2009 Year old flock of 5 RI Red, 3 Barred Rock. Egg production in summer 2009 should be about 2 dozen every 4 days. 2010 production would bring it to 2 dozen every 3 days.

2010 additions - 3 brown egg layers. 2011 begin replacing RI Red and Barred Rock.

2 waves of meat birds - Cornish X Rock 8-10 birds 4 weeks apart. Will be thinking about other meat fowl.

Thanksgiving has me thinking about raising a couple of turkeys. Which has me thinking about space needs for my various flocks.

Right now I have 17 chickens plus 2 ducks in a side yard. Ducks should be slaughtered, but so far I haven't done so, and there is something to be said to have one as a sentinel to deter raccoons.

Larger fowl take space. Looking at hatchery catalogs ... 15 bird minimum - there's a combination package of 2 goslings, 7 ducklings and 7 turkeys available... I'd want to raise them for 10-17 weeks. Keep 2 goslings, 4 ducklings 3 turkeys, see if I can recoup some feed and cost by selling 4 turkeys and 3 ducklings. so 9 birds... +16 chickens for meat.

I'd keep a female duck for eggs, possibly two... existing ducks would be sausage/gumbo. Both geese cooked. 2 turkeys in freezer or on table for thanksgiving.

No egg collection today - no eggs as of 2:00 PM, didn't go out to check after dark.

3 brown at least 1 laid Monday.

2 brown.

Visited with my sister linda for a while, picked her up in SF, drove down coast to Moss Beach, had lunch at distillery there.

2 brown.

swam.

5 brown

Was out of town Monday through Thursday, neighbor collected at least 2 eggs during this time.

Monday 3 brown collected before travel.

Saturday 5 brown. One may be older, was under straw and could have been missed.
Swam Saturday.

Friday didn't collect eggs.
Thursday 1 brown
Wednesday zero.

2 brown.

Monday 2 brown
Sunday 1 brown

Looks like the seasonal production fall off is in effect. Stewing hens in December/January. Still have quite a few frozen spring chickens.

3 brown, 1 small
Friday 2 small brown
Thursday 3 brown, 1 small
Wednesday 2 brown

2 brown

Was out of town again for my mother's Memorial service... 9 eggs collected by neighbors, 7 eggs there Monday morning when I checked and 2 additional eggs at the end of the day.

3 brown

Thursday 3 brown, 1 small

2 brown, 1 small


Tuesday 5 brown, 3 small. Looks like all the first cohort are producing.

2 brown, 1 small... 1 small cannibalized.

Sunday 4 brown, 2 small. Swam.

3 brown, 2 small.

Old flock is molting heavily. Ameracaunas are completely non productive, brown egg layers are low production. New flock isn't coming on line as fast as I was expecting. No quichee so far.

Friday 2 brown.
Thursday 1 brown, 1 small.

1 brown, small
Tuesday 1 brown, small.

Monday 4 brown 1 small
Sunday 2 brown.

Swam Saturday and Sunday.

3 brown, 1 small.

Out of town for a week.
Friday 2 brown, 1 small.
Thursday - no eggs
Wednesday 3 brown, 2 small.

2 brown.

3 brown (1 small)

Swam routine.

2 of the young hens are laying. 2 more should start in the next week or so. The other 5 sometime in October.

I moved the young birds into the coop to roost on Thursday night. Will check to see if they are roosting in the coop or reverted to roosting on fence. Slaughtering a couple of older hens will make the young birds less stressed in the coop. Young birds aren't really developed enough physically to move up in existing pecking order.. removing a couple of non producing hens will shake up the order and might have the two younger hens that have started to lay move past other old non producers.

It seems pretty clear that there are 3 or 4 older hens producing brown eggs - collecting 2-3 brown eggs daily and regular production is about 1 egg/36 hours... 4 hens laying over 6 days should be 16-20 eggs. So 3-4 older birds are very erratic or not laying. I need to identify which two of the old flock need to be processed for stew soon. Will cull the entire old flock as new hens come into production and their eggs get larger. My guess is the 2 americaunas will stay through next summer, 2 - 3 productive brown egg layers will stay into rainy season, perhaps all the way until spring.

Next year I want to do one order of chicks - 3 americaunas, 2 brown egg layers and 20+ meat birds. Would like to have meat birds finishing in mid June - chicks arrive April 5? that would give 9 weeks until June 7, 11 weeks June 21. Process 4-5 per week. If my feed store wants some 3 day old brooder chicks I may do 2 orders ... 14 layers, 10 meat birds, then 10 layers, 14 meat birds. All the second cohort of layers would go to feed store at 3 days...spread the cohorts by 3 weeks. Which puts some additional meat processing June 28 - July 12.

longer term I think 20 meat birds a year. Keep laying flock at 10-16 hens, with a preference for the low end of the range. so 2010 would be meat production, perhaps brooder chicks to feed store.

1 green, 3 brown (1 small)

3 brown of which one was small. Small egg was near laying/brood box and not on top of the feed can.

Thursday 1 green, 4 brown (1 small)

Wednesday 1 green, 2 brown

Tuesday 1 brown.

3 brown, one of which is small.

3 brown, one of them was small and likely from the 4/20 cohort of hens... for now I'm saying the RI Red I saw acting broody near the first (warm) medium egg on Friday. I think the other 2 RI Reds and the BR from that cohort will be producing very soon. So 4 young hens should be producing by early October. Second cohort is 4 weeks behind, probably will have all 9 young hens producing before election day.

Swam routine.

1 green 1 brown. No small eggs - tomorrow maybe another, although hens can be erratic for their first few ovulations.

1 green, 4 brown.

One of the April RI Reds apparently has laid an egg, at least I found a small brown egg on top of the feed bucket with her sitting there, and the egg was warm, as though fresh from her body.

Thursday 2 brown

Wednesday 1 green, 2 brown, 1 brown cannabalized
swam Wednesday night.

1 brown

Monday 1 brown. Went to a networking event Monday night, didn't swim. May have new work out of the networking, which is good as working for stock in a privately held startup is starting to be untenable.

1 green, 3 brown.
Swam.

Saturday 2 brown.

3 brown

Thursday 1 green 2 brown

Wednesday 1 green, 2 brown.
Swam.

Tuesday 3 brown.

1 green, 2 brown.

1 green, 2 brown.

Swam.

3 brown.

swam routine.

1 green, 3 brown.

1 brown

Wednesday 3 brown, swam.

Went to another doctor for about pain and lack of mobility in my right thumb. I'd seen an orthopedic surgeon attached to my primary doctor's clinic on august 15, got a cortisone shot into my thumb joint. New doctor is a hand specialist, confirmed tendonitus disgnosis, gave me a second cortisone inject when I asked for it and fitted a splint for me to wear the next month. Will have a follow up visit in early October, see how I'm doing. Surgery is something I'd like to avoid, and I'll be asking about alternative treatment modalities (acupuncture, PT) if the current cortisone, ibuprofen and immobilization regimen doesn't help.

1 green, 3 brown

3 brown

1 green, 2 brown

swam normal routine.

1 green, 3 brown.
Swam new routine.

Friday 3 brown.

Thursday 1 green, 1 brown.
Out of town previous week.

1 green, 3 brown.
Swam new routine.

Monday 1 green, 2 brown
Had shot of cortizone in thumb, didn't fix problem, although I do think the diagnosis of tendinitus is probably correct.

Sunday 1 brown - swam new routine

1 green, 2 brown

Friday 1 green 3 brown

Thursday 1 brown

1 green, 3 brown.

Swam new routine.

3 brown,

swam new routine. made appointment to see doctor about wrist/thumb pain, will see if there is any help possible.

1 green.

processed the final 4 meat birds today. My son did the scalding/plucking and didn't get weights.

Sunday 3 brown.

2 green 4 brown. I'm surprised at 2 greens two days in a row - both ameracaunas are producing obviously.

2 green, 1 brown.

Swam new routine.

3 brown

Wednesday 3 brown, 1 green.
Swam new routine.

3 brown, 1 green

processed 4 more meat birds. 4 to go, next Tuesday.

8 lbs 14 oz -> 5 lbs 4 oz
8 lbs 8 oz -> 5 lbs 3 oz
8 lbs 6 oz -> 5 lbs 3 oz
7 lbs 8 oz -> 4 lbs 8 oz

Monday 2 brown

1 green, 2 brown.

Caught skunk in live trap. Footprints of original egg thief were raccoon, no question. So will be re setting trap to catch raccoon.

2 brown, 1 green.

Have a live trap for the raccoon. Will release a few miles away. So no judicious application of a .22 short.

3 brown.

Swam mile. Actually I did change my routine a bit on Wednesday - I previously had been kicking along with arm strokes 1 length of every 3. I'm now kicking the entire first lap, then on the return length of every lap - that is I've upped my workout to kick over half the time.

5 brown, 1 green.

I swam usual Wednesday.

1 brown

Tuesday 3 brown.

Processed 3 meat birds
Live weight quartered weight
8 lb 8 oz 5 lb 5 oz
8 lb 5 lb 1 oz
6 lb 4 oz 4 lb 4 oz

1 brown, 1 green.

Raccoon problems. Probably will require a judicious application of a .22 short.

2 brown.

One of the meat birds is getting pecked on her thighs. This is a worrisome development as it means the birds have tasted blood and may begin cannibalizing her. She should be slaughtered soon and a close eye kept for new pecking by/on the other birds.

Sunday 1 brown egg canibalized

Saturday 3 brown.

2 brown.

One of the three older RI Reds escaped, I put her back in the segregated area. Feed consumption is way down since the slaughter on Tuesday. That 9 pound bird must have been eating a lot of feed, and he's gone as well as 5 other meat birds. I only need to refill feeders once a day... still topping off water twice a day, but water consumption has also dropped a lot, waterers still have some water in them when I top them off.

Current flock is 12 meat birds (Cornish X Rock, Cornish Roaster), 3 RI Red, 1 Barred Rock from early cohort, 2 RI Red, 3 Barred Rock from later cohort. I believe all the meat birds are from the second cohort.

I have yet to slaughter a duck or a stewing hen. It's on the agenda eventually. I'm also meditating on this year's brooding experience and thinking about next year's chicks... 20 meat birds,4 RI Red, 3 Aruacauna + free exotic is likely a single order - arrive end of March (memorial day BBQ chicken!)

5 brown

Wednesday 1 brown, swam usual mile
Tuesday 1 cannibalized brown.

Slaughtered 6 meat birds on Tuesday. live weight from 6 # 4 oz to 9# 6 oz. That was one big chicken. I have the dressed weights on the ziplock bags the meat was frozen in.

new flock is down to 12 meat birds + 9 new layers (unless one of the layers turns out to be a cockeral).

3 brown.

Swam usual mile.

3 brown

Saturday 3 brown.

3 brown.

4 brown, 1 green

Swam usual today.

Wednesday 2 brown.

5 brown

Swam usual 36 laps (35 + length underwater, + 1 length)

3 brown

Sunday 3 brown

Didn't record Saturday and Friday.

thursday 3 brown.

Aracauna that had been trapped is back to crossing the road again.

Wednesday 3 brown, 1 green

Tuesday 1 brown