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The only surviving photo taken of Henny Penny
at the instant that she saw the sky begin to fall. |
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I bought these ducks in my first year in the
poultry business. It is my opinion that it is more fun to watch
ducks than to butcher them. But they taste good, so I've raised
them every year since. |
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Up close and personal with the same ducks. They
appear harmless, but I once owned a very defensive drake (male
duck). Whenever I turned my back to him, he'd attack my heels,
which could be quite surprising (and a little frightening) at
times. They don't have pointy beaks, but there is a good amount
of "chomp" power in those orange jaws. |
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Inquisitive or critical? These pullets will grow
up to be productive members of egg-layer society. |
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Turkeys - they love to sun bathe. Can you blame
them? If a servant was always bringing me food and water, and
a nice new place to sit every day, I think that I'd be a little
less tense, too. |
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Now you know how they came up with the insult
"you turkey". Although turkeys show little intelligence,
they really do taste great. This bird still has a few months
to live, though. |
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You've never seen anything like it. I photographed
this bird walking on the dugout in front of our house. That is,
while it was walking on the dugout. Let this be a lesson
to you that it is good practice to put your birds in the coop
before local bodies of water begin to freeze over. |
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"Ain't they beautiful!" you might say,
but if you purchase geese, please don't butcher them yourself.
If chickens are no fun to pluck, and ducks are a pain, then geese
are a "full-fledged" nightmare. Geese make poor pets
because they can become quite violent. They hiss, bite, and flap.
But try raising a few, anyway! |
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Duck(s) under glass, metal, rubber, et cetera.
The reason for so many pictures of ducks is their amazing ability
to look dignified, graceful and self-fulfilled at any given time. |
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The Mulligan Model of the chicken tractor, the
key to pasturing poultry. The Mulligan Model incorporates efficient
use of inexpensive materials to create an original and utilitarian
design. See also the black and white isometric drawing of the
Mulligan Model, complete with dimensions. |
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You may have already seen this photo on the Butchering
page. The Mulligan Plucker. You may have also come to know my
cheapskate economical methods. I built this plucker for the grand
total of $40, plus some bartered time at a drill press, some
scrap wood, 512 miles and a few gallons of elbow grease. I found
an old electric motor which was not working, partially disassembled
it (not recommended), cleaned it, attached a new power cord and
put it back together without too many pieces being left over.
The only cash expenses were fingers and a pulley. The drum on
this plucker is not really a drum - it is made of segments of
angle iron from old bed frames welded to the inside of the round
hub pieces, stolen from the remains of an ancient chuckwagon.
By the way, the 512 miles wasn't from hunting for parts - my
family moved from central to northern Alberta. |
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So I had an artistic day. I got out the "ol'
brush and pallet" and this was the result: a rooster that
can be distinguished at a 1/4 mile. There is no better way to
give your neighbours nightmares than to paint a boisterous bird
such as this one on a very-visible building. You think roosters
are malicious in real-life? Wait until you see an eight-foot-tall
one trudging towards you like the velociraptor from Jurassic
Park. After you finally wake up from the dreadful dream, you'll
need your mom to get you some warm milk and cookies. (This has
not happened to me, personally...) |
