Last we looked, I was getting hit in the head with a sledgehammer.

This time around, while in California, our Tom managed to poke out of the pen, leaving "his" four hens behind.

Ms. BigDog happened to notice our dog, Molly, acting a bit peculiar. Turned out she was nibbling Mr. Tom to death (btw, we had cured Molly of eating chickens entirely) or not quite to death. But he wasn't quite the same.

Since Thanksgiving was, as it were, coming anyway, the Missus decided to take care of Tom. But how? We don't yet have a standard "killing cone" and the basic plan for livestock is to do them at a friend's farm nearby (in the past two years, we've had them done, but it hardly seems sporting with Y2K coming up).

Her first try was to hang Tom by a pulley in the barn. The pulley broke.

The second idea was to use a chicken feeder, turn it upside down on Tom. That kinda worked. But what to use to bleed the sucker after she yanked on his scrawny neck? No problem: her certified nurse-midwife scapel did the trick neatly.

The only other major problem turned out to be satisfactory plucking of the feathers with the various primitive instruments around. While she and my daughter were able to get most of the big feathers out, a lot of "nubs" remained.

She brought Mr. Tom inside (though he was, by now, a very dead Mr. Tom and mainly plucked) and, with her mother watching from the sidelines, got out yet another trust midwife tool (e.g., forceps) and got those nubs out real good .....

That turkey, weighing in at about 18 pounds, has just made our fifth meal (great cream of you-know-what soup).

.... and would-be mom's needn't worry. Everything has been carefully re-sterilized.

... as for Molly, she got a whupping she has still not forgotten and meekly steers her way around the remaining turkey hens.

Got more tickets to California for Big Dog?

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), November 18, 1999

Answers

We raised chickens a few years back and left a couple for thanksgiving. I just skinned mine and it weighed 8.5 lbs sans skin.

-- nine (nine_fingers@hotmail.com), November 18, 1999.

Hey, nine, since I'm the old mod here, can we forget which forum we're on for a sec and get an update on USPS? After all, I'm the guy who wrote the famous "USPS is toast" thread after the independent auditor chimed in last spring. Tell us again it ain't so, pls!

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), November 18, 1999.

Yes, please tell "nine"....I do recall(on the older thread) that I told about my father-in-law - when he went to the post office after 20 yrs in the Army. He had to memorize all the names of all the towns in Kansas, as his first job was as a mail-sorter. He retired about 5 years ago, and says there is NO ONE working at the PO system today that could sort the mail by hand. another topic: plucking fowl....we bought a small size plucker with electric motor and it is WORTH EVERY DIME. We cleaned 55 chickens this year and I canned all but about a dozen. The plucker is an amazing time-saver! It is electric(I know, I know..) but we have an alternate power system here at the farm.

-- jeanne (jeanne@hurry.now), November 18, 1999.

we bought a small size plucker with electric motor and it is WORTH EVERY DIME. We cleaned 55 chickens this year and I canned all but about a dozen

Heck, plucking chickens ain't half bad, I just wish they'd invent an electric de-gutter, now that would be worth owning. Or maybe a handcrank model for next year.

jw

jw

-- j werner (jwerner15@hotmail.com), November 18, 1999.

USPS??

We picked up a small manual typewriter at a garage sale for $5. I bought a lot of ribbons for it just so we could address mail for ourselves and our neighbors. It looks like 10-point PICA font.

Nine, didn't you say if mail can be processed, that this font will work? Maybe?

BigDog, we just skin our birds. Less trouble and...ick factor.

-- helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), November 19, 1999.

What an unusual thread..... USPS and turkeys, coincidence??

Skinned our meat chickens this year, since electric plucker was not available. Takes more time than an electric plucker, but worked for us, and removes much of the fat as well. A muslim co-worker purchased some of our birds, and showed us how he does it.

Tried pressure canning this year for the first time. I thought you could put the meat in the jars raw and process it, but the book said cook it first, so we did. Anyone know if you can raw pack chicken? They're in the freezer now, I'd like more canned by year's end if possible, but cooking, deboning, packing, canning,... I don't have the time for all that. I'm assuming I can thaw the meat and can it if the electricity stays off (propane oven will work).

-- Bingo (ecsloma@pronetisp.net), November 19, 1999.

Anyone have good sources for electric pluckers?

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), November 19, 1999.

Electric Pluckers:

Stromberg's

100 York St, P.O. Box 400

Pine River, MN 56474

1-800-720-1134

They run from $210 - $550

I don't have a picker. Just do the chopping, draining, then dip the birds into sudsy boiling water. All the feathers come out easily,,,,, well relatively easily. ;-)

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), November 19, 1999.

If you kill a chicken during its moulting period, it will be much harder to pick due to the new pin feathers. You will almost have to skin it to get them all. Sincerely, Walter.

-- Walter Bright (relief@coastalnet.com), November 20, 1999.