Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

We cooked a black rooster that we nicknamed brooster.... hence brooster the rooster. He was a prick of a chook. He was Fed well, the chickeds where scared and we had some white bantams which had a few run in's with brooster (once you go black you never go back) . So hence we ate him. I was 4 or 5 at the time so I took some convincing to eat any of it. It was the toughest chicken I have ever eaten... serves us right.

I had a pet chicken called chicken licken. Turned out to be a rooster and was vicious. Drew blood from out legs regularly. Ended up eating the bugger (was a shock to come home and see my dads hand up the chicken pulling out its guts). It too was tough - too old.

A trend developing here. Ours also was a rooster and also was agro, and also got eaten to serve him right. Only difference was he was tender as can be!

Well, last night we ate green beans from the dirt garden - 11 (some real long), first time I've had enough to put in a normal meal

Store bought chicken, carrot, onion, capsicum soy sauce stir fried with them, and store bought spaghetti & cheese.

Not much from the garden, but given it's such a small space I've only got pots, I'm still pleased

one called ham and pineapples - He was a master of martial arts.
but didnt beat the oven!!heheh

Wow, so much delicious food! I hadn't seen cabbage prepared like that before, Sunrise Girl. We usually just shred it and make slaw. I might have to try your recipe.

In Wanneroo, Perth, is the Inghams chicken hatchery. All the eggs for meat birds are brought there to be hatched. All the babies with coloured quills are gassed apon hatching. The reason is
1. The consumer is repelled by the mark a coloured quill leaves on the skin of the finished bird ( a comercial reality I guess)
2. The other birds attack and kill any birds who are different, in the intense growing conditions the meat birds are raised in. (Open shed but quite crowded)

Anyway, without getting sidetracked about the various issues involved....we used to go to the hatchery and get trays of babies, up to a 100 at a time, and fatten them up for xmas. We would wait till the risk of frost was over, and put them under a light for a week or so, then into a pen and you wouldnt believe how big they get. You cant keep them tho as they get so big their legs give out.

Still they are there to be had for those of you near a hatchery. I found the staff didnt like gassing them anyway and were quite happy to give them to me so long as I didnt make a nuisance of myself. Of course some nice homegrown vegies in a box did help.

Louise

we have ducks here too, but they don't lay anymore (poultry retirement home )
They are a meat breed, but I couldn't seem to get enough food into them to make them grow at the appropriate rate. They were supposed to be ready for the table at 10 weeks of age, mine were still gangly teenagers!
So, they were kept for egg production. We're down to three birds now, all about 10 years old (nearly as old as Les, oops duck!)

Two of our hens are sitting at the moment, on what seems to be mountains of eggs (they started while we were away, so I didn't get the chance to limit numbers). It will be good for the kids to see if they do end up with some chicks.

Fishgirl, I used to work at a zoo and I had to gas day-old chicks as food for some of the animals. Not the most pleasant job. But it was great to see the eaters-of-day-olds growing well.

every ones happy! even the chookies........for longer than they would have been, anyway

Bollocks, the reason they didn't get eaten was because you had given them names!
(and odd ones at that!) (honestly who ever heard of a duck called lavinia, or orlando really people!, Do they sound like names of animals you would be happy eating?)

ROFL, all we need now is an online partners stous!! Maybe Les wouldlike to referee it!!

Could call it the ..Internet reality show... that would be a change.

LOL, i plyed out 5 minutes of that episode in my head. Very funny indeed.

Pickin' on me agen - I'll get a complex shortly

I know, you ARE copping it a fair bit aren't you............. don't make me give you a warning LES You'll cop it and you'll like it

LOL