[AT] Pluck chickens with a clothes dryer?

[Ben Wagner]

It is beautiful country.  Like I say, "There's nothing better than the
Shenandoah Valley!"  The Mennonites do a good job of keeping the township
visibly attractive, but they are even better at creating perfect fields.

The Hershey plant is still in Stuarts Draft, across the road from Hollister
and directly down from the railroad tracks.  I am amazed to this day how
Hershey and Hollister got to be in the middle of cornfields; I guess somehow
the land was sold and the plants bought it up.  Stuarts Draft probably
hasn't changed too much from when you came through.

Ben Wagner

On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 9:14 AM, Gene's Wowway e-mail <gwaugh at wowway.com>wrote:

> Oh, it's nostalgic to me to hear mention of Stuarts Draft; I used to call
> on
> the Hershey plant there, around 10 years ago.   Phenomenally beautiful
> country!!
>
> Gene Waugh
> Elgin, Illinois USA
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ben Wagner
> Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2011 7:21 AM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] Pluck chickens with a clothes dryer?
>
> Good correction for me there, Mark, on the original breed cross.  The
> Cornish Cross can put on the meat, but the downside is the heart attacks
> and
> lameness.  I use a chain link dog kennel as a coop, with chicken wire
> wrapped around it to make the holes smaller.  As a result,  I can drag the
> coop in different places, giving the birds a fresh forage each day.  That
> dramatically cuts down lameness, since the forage has the nutrients and the
> birds are forced to exercise for a few yards each day.  If you know the
> Cornish Cross, the forced exercise is about all they get beyond trips
> between feed, water, and shelter.
>
> I also found that using higher quality feeds gives the same result.
>  Sunrise
> Feeds, milled 45 minutes down the road from me in Stuarts Draft VA, makes a
> good broiler feed.  I doubt if its available outside of the Shenandoah
> Valley.
>
> Ben Wagner
>
> On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 12:32 AM, Mark Greer
> <markagreer at embarqmail.com>wrote:
>
> > Cornish Cross are a cross between a White Plymouth Rock hen and a Cornish
> > Rooster. They are the standard chicken that you buy at the supermarket
> and
> > can be butchered at 6-8 weeks of age. I have 24 day-old Cornish Cross
> > chicks
> > coming on Monday that the kids will be raising for 4H for our county
> Fair.
> > Two pairs go to the fair and will be sold there and the other 20 go in my
> > freezer mid September. The eat like pigs and grow extremely fast.
> Heritage
> > breeds take 12-20 weeks to reach full size and still don't have as much
> > meat
> > on them as the Cornish Cross do.
> > Mark
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Ben Wagner" <supera1948 at gmail.com>
> > To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <
> at at lists.antique-tractor.com
> > >
> > Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 1:25:28 PM
> > Subject: Re: [AT] Pluck chickens with a clothes dryer?
> >
> > Unfortunately, I've heard that many of the heritage breeds are seeing a
> > huge
> > drop in numbers.  I'd like to get the Plymouth Rock breed, since they
> have
> > a
> > great appearance with the speckled feathers.
> >
> > I think the Cornish cross was a cross between the leghorns and Rhode
> > Island
> > reds, but don't quote me there.
> >
> > Have you ever heard of the "skinning" method of plucking?  Somewhere
> along
> > the way I remember hearing about it; maybe it wasn't for chickens.  I
> > think
> > the way it works is to pull the entire skin with feathers off the bird.
> >  I'd
> > think it's only good for immediate cooking, since the meat would dry out
> > quickly, and you'd also lose the fat which makes the flavor.
> >
> > Ben Wagner
> >
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