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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 22, 2010 19:30:14 GMT -5
We lost a guinea to a dog today. The bird was not mauled, we think it died of trauma. So we decided to eat it. We were not expecting to have a need to know this side of things quite so soon. I was really scrambling to get the right search string. I wanted a video, but I couldn't find one that was serious and explanatory. I did find a really helpful blog. The process is done in several entries and I will provide the link to the INTRODUCTION entry. butcherachicken.blogspot.com/2007/09/introduction.html |
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Post by flowerpower on Apr 23, 2010 6:26:05 GMT -5
Sorry, Jo.  Was this your own dog? |
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Post by plantsnobin on Apr 23, 2010 7:07:40 GMT -5
Sorry you lost one, but it is just one of those things with poultry. We lost a hen last week when I forgot to close them up one night. As for eating an animal that has died in an incident like this, you might not get the meat quality you expect. So don't judge how guinea tastes based on this one. Animals need to be kept very calm before butchering, stress can really effect the quality.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Apr 23, 2010 7:11:05 GMT -5
On the list of Poultry Predators, Domestic Dogs (and Cats) are at the top. People don't really believe until it's too late, that their beloved companion animals would attack their birds. WRONG! It's happened to me too with a rescue dog that killed a pair of Champion turkeys. She broke her chain and I couldn't get to the birds fast enough. Didn't take me long to understand why that dog had been so difficult to place. And you're correct Jo. The guinea probably died of shock, not injuries. |
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Post by mjc on Apr 23, 2010 7:45:22 GMT -5
My chickens got out a couple of weeks ago...and I was out, in my bathrobe, chasing down the chickens and shooing the dogs away from them...thankfully the dogs (puppies) all have the 'soft mouth' trait of their father (a good looking black Lab) and didn't maul the bird. But she sat in a corner of the coop not doing much of anything the rest of the day...she was back to her ornery self the next day, though.
The funny thing is that the puppies will get right up to the fence...even sticking their noses through...but in that case the chickens win. More than once a sharp peck to the nose has sent the puppy running away. So the puppies are learning...slowly that the birds are not to be messed with...
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 23, 2010 15:39:57 GMT -5
The dog that got the guinea is a friend's dog that we keep cause she moved into a no pets allowed place. Then she went to Afghanistan. She just got back and she's looking for a new place.
But really, we know that there are going to occurrences of such things. We do know now why this dog won't play. She has no play drive at all. Yesterday's attack proved she has pure kill drive.
In this case, it wasn't entirely her fault, we have to take some of the blame. Both dogs are German Shepherds. Ours is a pure bred, Schutzhund breed/trained dog. Our friends dog is part German Shepherd and from a rescue. Both are being trained. We just lost control of her long enough that her attention went from training to that wonderful flapping bird out in the field! And POOF, off she went.
Anyway, we figured what the heck, might as well eat the poor thing. Suddenly I realized that I had ZERO practical knowledge of what to do with the bird past cutting off the head, draining the blood, dunking in boiling water and plucking. OPPS! A VERY important missing link! I did find a good site though and we walked through all the steps with no problems.
However, when we got to the evisceration part of the process, we discovered that the bird was indeed severely injured. The intestines and live had both been punctured and the contents of the intestines had leaked into the body. Sorry Blue, I sure wish we had been right on that part.
Anyway, after getting it all done, it was 9 o'clock and time for bed so I whipped up a quick pot of ramen noodles and we hit the hay. This morning Mike and I were talking about the bird and we both had to agree that eating it would not be the best experience for new bird keepers particularly since there were issues with the fecal matter and stress. The carcass will go to the terra preta pit and we will chalk one, maybe two or three, to experience.
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Post by flowerpower on Apr 24, 2010 6:50:22 GMT -5
I opened the coop yesterday morning and found one of the wyandottes dead. I have no idea what happened to it. It was perfectly fine the night before. No marks on it. None of the birds are sick. If I find out one of those ducks is somehow responsible, I might just leave them out all night.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 24, 2010 6:55:21 GMT -5
How would a duck have killed the chicken?
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Post by cff on Apr 24, 2010 8:41:09 GMT -5
Yup I bet it was the duck - did he look guilty? I opened the coop yesterday morning and found one of the wyandottes dead. I have no idea what happened to it. It was perfectly fine the night before. No marks on it. None of the birds are sick. If I find out one of those ducks is somehow responsible, I might just leave them out all night. |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 24, 2010 9:04:41 GMT -5
;D
Duck l'orange, tea smoked duck, Peking duck, duck confit, duck tacos, duck soup, duck broth, duck tea, fried duck, stewed duck, duck stir fry, roast duck, braised duck, duck pudding, duck...
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Post by bunkie on Apr 24, 2010 12:10:27 GMT -5
believe it or not, it was probably the duck! quite awhile ago we had three banties (one a rooster) and 4 ducks, 2 girls and 2 boys. once the girls started laying, the boys started to fight. i heard one of the boy ducks squawking horrible one morning and ran out to give the rooster what for. then, i discovered it was the boy duck who had the rooster's tail in his beak and was chasing him. i couldn't believe it. i mean, the chickens have beaks that will poke eyes out, and the ducks' are just round and smooth, cept for the little nubbin thingy.
hey jo, could you have used the bird for dog food?
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 24, 2010 12:47:33 GMT -5
hey jo, could you have used the bird for dog food? No, we couldn't have fed the bird to the dog because she failed to obey a command which was to return to trainer. If we gave the bird back, even a day later, the memory of the event is still in the brain, along with the flavor of the bird and there would be an association of reward for the unwanted behavior. If we were training her to hunt, THEN we would have given her the bird right away. Still, in the TP it's no loss because it will go to soil and that's also a good thing. |
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Apr 24, 2010 16:07:53 GMT -5
I've had turkeys peck a Chantecler rooster to death.
Weird things happen in spring when mating season arrives.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 24, 2010 16:16:56 GMT -5
Weird things happen in spring when mating season arrives. Small wonder, it's pollen season. And let's face it, what is pollen but airborne testosterone? |
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Post by flowerpower on Apr 25, 2010 6:11:28 GMT -5
The duck has been trying to set eggs. It wouldn't surprise me if she grabbed the chicken by the neck. I have seen her yank feathers out of the other ducks. Maybe I'll start locking the duck in a crate at night.
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Was this your own dog? 
