Never raise a chicken by itself, bad things will happen

 

  You know how sometimes an idea sounds good in the beginning, but then goes horribly wrong, kinda like a Frankenstein movie?

            These Americana chickens were free ranging out back when they were attacked by a neighbors dog, leaving one hen and a clutch of eggs. The hen was so traumatized that she did not return to the nest. I did not want to lose this breed of chicken, so I thought I would try to hatch out the eggs in the incubator. Unfortunately out of the 20 or so eggs only one chick hatched out.  

            Now I have always been told by my family, that a chick by itself will not survive. As my family has over a hundred years’ experience raising chickens commercially and non-commercially, I should have taken their advice. My wife seeing the chick, gave it a stay of execution. She heard were they used a feather duster as a surrogate mother, and so we gave it a try. Now while this seemed like a good idea at first, it would later prove to be a mistake.

Cookidoo with feather duster mother

             Yes, the chick was happy with it’s feather duster mother, but as we tried to introduce him to the adult chickens we began to see problems. Physically he was a chicken, but psychologically he had no clue as to what he was or how to act like a chicken.

           It began with him hiding in the feather duster when other chickens came around. I understand that if you had not seen another chicken before you might be a little frightened seeing another full grown chicken. Still, over time you would get over the initial shock I would think, but this did not happen.

Cookidoo as adult rooster

           As the chick grew older and finally able to hold his own, I decided to try putting him in with the other chickens. I locked him in the hen house with the other chickens for several days so that he would know where to roost at night. He seemed to get along okay with the other chickens, but was still staying to himself. When I finally let the chickens back out into the run I was surprised to see him roosting outside of the hen house and not with the other chickens. He was an odd duck, and the other chickens knew it. He wasn't a bad looking rooster, but he just did not act right.

        One day I was out in the chicken run feeding the chickens, and I hear around the corner what sounded like someone crushing an aluminum can. I looked around the corner and all I could see was Cookidoo just standing there as if nothing were wrong. I did note that a couple of aluminum cans had blown into the chicken run, but I did not make the connection between the aluminum cans and Cookidoo . I finally came out one day and heard an aluminum can being crushed, and immediately looked around only to see my crazy rooster trying to mate with a beer can. I was utterly amazed as I watched this unnatural event unfold. As I reached for my phone to videotape what was going on he stopped and gave me a dirty look, as if I had interrupted something very important. Although try as I might to videotape him sexually abusing aluminum cans, he always seemed to be aware of what I was trying to do and would immediately stop. 

Cookidoo  flapping wings

         I thought maybe he eat some peyote or something, but there was no real vegetation growing in the chicken run and the feed was clean. This went on for a couple of days before he realized that the hens were a lot more interesting than an empty aluminum can.  After that all the hens were runing for their lives and the Barred Rock rooster was out of breath chasing Cookidoo all over the yard in an attempt to keep him away from the hens. The hens stopped laying eggs for a week because he was always trying to get on top of the hens as they were trying to lay eggs. I was now finding broken eggs because the nest box only has room for one hen, not a hen and a rooster. I tried to put him outside the run, but he always found a way back in. To this day he still does strange things but he has slowed down and the hens are not as nervous as they used to be.

        So the next time someone tells you that you can raise a chick by itself, think about this, "Just because you can do something, does not mean you should do something."

Ravens, friend or foe?

Ravens, extremely smart adversary?

    Most people associate this bird with dead animals and egg stealing. The truth of the matter is, he is an opportunist that is just extremely smart for a bird and knows how to take advantage of his surroundings. University studies have found that he is able to identify people's faces, which means if you wrong a raven he will remember it and harass you as long as he lives. Not only that, he has the ability to teach his offspring that this person is not to be trusted. This species has been known to steal coins out of vending machines, use tools to gather food and to elicit other species of animals to help them find food. 

    Instead of considering the Raven to be an adversary, you may just want to consider him to be an ally. As I mentioned before ravens will elicit other species of animals to help them gather food. This symbiotic relationship with predators such as coyotes, hawks and eagles can be turned to your advantage. The ravens will follow these predators in hopes of stealing food from the predators. So if you hear a raven, you may well expect a predator to also be nearby. Many a time I did not see the coyote or other predator until it was too late, but I always heard or saw the ravens before such an event.

Since then I have many times thanked the raven for letting me know there were predators nearby, thus giving me the opportunity to protect my poultry, or any other livestock prone to such predators. You may not see the predators, but I assure you the raven does. 

Do you need to cut the high cost of electrical fencing to deter predators?

Predators can be the biggest pain in raising poultry and electrical fencing can sometimes be your best deterrent. But like many products on the market today it can get very expensive. There are alternatives to the high-priced electric fencing components. One such alternative is a DIY insulator for stringing your electric wire on. 

So first find a empty plastic soda or water bottle with a fairly deep lid. Don't remove the lid from the bottle until you're done making your holes and a slit. I use the water bottle to hold the lid so I can safely drill and cut the lid without having to have my hands in close proximity to cutting blades. First I drill an 8th inch hole all the way through the lid so that it comes out the other side.

 I then take a saw such as a Dremel saw blade and I cut a slit from one whole to the other.

Then I drill a 16th inch hole in the top of the lid. 

This is what I will use to screw the insulator to a fence post. Preferably a screw that will set recessed away from the wire. Optionally, once I have attached the insulator to the fence post I may use a small dab of silicone or hot glue to insulate the wire from screw if I think the wire is too close to screw. 

(A small piece of plastic placed in the lid, over the screw will also work.)

 Once I have attached the DIY plastic insulator I will give it a good coating of spray paint to keep the plastic from decomposing. Almost all plastics are treated with cornstarch so they will decompose. Personally I think it's just so that they can force people to buy more product but nonetheless a coating of spray paint will prevent plastics from decomposing. 

 

At this point you're ready to string your electric fencing, just slide the wire down through the slot into the holes on either side as shown in the photograph above.

Attach your electrical fencing to the charger and you're ready to go.

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Roosters crowing?

Noisy roosters

   Roosters do not only crow when the sun rises. They have a tendency to crow at the oddest times of day and can be quite loud. 

   The old folklore "When the rooster crows at midnight"is not at all far-fetched. I have heard my roosters crow on several occasions at midnight. It is also one of the reasons why I sleep with a fan and sound generator next to my bed. 

    First let me say that if you're living in a heavily populated area you may want to opt out of having a rooster. They are not necessary for egg production. 

   Why does the rooster crow? The sun rising actually has nothing to do with their crowing. During the winter months I quite often run a light or heat lamp to increase egg production and add a little additional warmth to the roost. The roosters still continue to crow when they feel like it. The crowing is in part a territorial call or warning to other roosters, but I have also noticed that they will crow when I'm a little late feeding them. Basically the crowing is a method of communication and one of many calls or sounds that chickens make. I have also noticed that they have a tendency to crow more if they are cooped up as opposed to being free range. 

     If you need the rooster for helping to protect the flock or reproduction, then it is one of those things that you are just simply going to have to put up with. Hopefully you live on a large enough plot of land that you can locate the hen house or roost away from your residence or your neighbors residence.

    When I look at it, it's part and parcel of living on a homestead and whether it's roosters crowing or coyotes or dogs howling makes little difference. I personally would rather listen to my roosters crow then the busy streets of the city, and give gratitude for being able to live in a rural setting.

Hunting chicken eggs

Why Easter was never any fun.

   As a kid growing up here in Fallon, Nevada we always raised our own chickens. Dad would place a fake egg in the nest box so the hens would lay their eggs where he wanted them to. But this did not always work, especially with chickens that were being raised free range. One of my daily chores was to find all the rogue chicken nests and collect the eggs. Needless to say, by the time Easter rolled around I was sick of hunting for chicken eggs.
    As you can see here in the photo things haven't changed much. This is a rogue nest belonging to an Ameraucana chicken and what makes it worse is that they lay colored eggs. Now this breed is not the most egg productive but I have found them to be very resilient to cold weather and when being raised free range they are quite happy to take care of themselves for the most part, with the exception of an occasional feeding to remind them where home is. Rather than trying to force the hen to lay her eggs where I want them, I simply mark the nest, leave a dummy egg in the nest and continue to collect eggs.

What's a chicken brooder ?

A chicken brooder is what you raise baby chicks in.

A brooder is well worth the investment if you're going to be raising baby chicks on a regular basis. But if you don't have the money they can easily be made. All you need is a large plastic storage container, a couple of lightbulbs some duct tape and stick to go crossed the top. You don't need the lid just the tub itself. The tub should be at least 16" deep so chicks can't jump out. Line the bottom with newspaper, wood shavings or clean sand and suspend the double light over the tub using the stick and duct tape. [NOTE: do not use newspaper or any other slick surface with turkeys or larger poultry, as the slick surface may cause straddle leg and may cripple your poultry.  Also make sure that whatever material you use for bedding, that it is a material that can be periodically cleaned out. And never use colored newspaper as it may contain lead in the ink.]  Make sure that the lightbulb is close enough to the bottom that the chicks can put their body next to the light (40 to 60 W bulbs) but not touching or close enough to be a fire hazard. You should be able to place your hand underneath the lightbulb and comfortably leave it there. If it is too hot simply raise the lightbulbs an inch or so.  The reason I use two lightbulbs is in case one of the lightbulbs burns out. It is important that the chicks can move away from the light if they need to, as they will regulate their own body temperature by moving next to the light and then away from it. Most feed stores use a large water trough with heat lamps suspended over the top at one end. If you have more than 10 chicks at a time, a heat lamp may work better because it will cover a larger area. You should locate your brooder in a place that is free from drafts, away from children and predators such as cats. [NOTE: children should not handle baby chicks as their droppings can contain salmonella and other diseases that children can pick up if they put their hands in the mouth after handling the baby chicks. Always wash your hands after handling baby chicks so you do not transmit diseases to other animals or yourself.]

Old Sears and Roebuck refurbished chicken brooder

    Now normally I'd be using the brooder heater in the back but as I only have three or four chicks the double lightbulb will work out better. The heater is an old heater and doesn't always heat as well as I think it should and even though it is adjustable for this small a number of chicks, the lights will work better. I've added newspaper to the bottom temporarily for a couple of days so the chicks can get acclimated and to give a little added warmth. Even though chickens are not susceptible to straddle leg, I will remove the newspaper in three or four days. One of the things that I think is important to do is to introduce your baby chicks to the food and water. I do this by dipping each chicks beak in the water dish once so they know where the water is. And then I will tap my finger in the feed dish to simulate a mother hen trying to coax her chicks into eating. For the next few days I will periodically monitor the baby chicks to make sure that each and every chick is drinking and eating normally. I will also look for baby chicks that may not be acting normal or any other indicators of illness. I will also watch for fecal matter(poo) building up on their behind's, which can cause poultry to become impacted. If you should see a large build up of fecal matter, use a moist warm washcloth to gently remove the dried fecal matter. Try not to get the chicks feathers wet, as this can cause the bird to become chilled and go into shock.

    As always if you have additional questions you should go to your local extension office. These offices are located throughout the country and are affiliated with your local agricultural University. So if you have any gardening, farming or agricultural questions these offices can be of great value when you're trying to find answers to problems. You can also obtain pamphlets and brochures on a wide range of how to topics. Including canning and food preservation, recycling, and many more topics than I can mention.

    I hope that this post a is bit of help, if you have any questions please feel free to post them in the comment section. I will do my best to respond in a timely fashion. Thank you for checking out this blog and be sure to check out all our other blogs, YouTube videos and websites on other topics.

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How to handle unexpected baby chicks

Unexpected baby chicks can sometimes present unexpected problems. And depending on how you are raising your chickens depends on how you handle the problem.

1. Option one is to remove the baby chicks from the mother and raise the baby chicks in a brooder.
2. Option two is to allow the mother hen to raise the baby chicks.

[Free range chickens]

Chickens that are being raised free range and allowed to roam can be the easiest to handle. But there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. Allowing the mother hen to raise the baby chicks may mean less work for you but the chicks will be exposed to possible predators and other hazards. This also means that if a hen hatches out 10 baby chicks by the time they're half grown you may only have two or three that will have survived. A lot depends on how experienced a mother hen is with raising chicks and her skills in handling large numbers of wandering baby chicks. A new mother hen may only successfully hatch out two or three her first time, but as she gains experiences she will hatch out more and rear larger numbers. It should also be noted that it depends on the breed of chicken as to whether they are good mothers are not. Bantam's have an awesome reputation for being the best mothers. As a matter of fact we use to use bantams to hatch out and raise our other breeds of poultry.
    Regular watering and feed dishes that you use for adult poultry can actually pose a hazard to young chicks. For this reason large open watering dishes should not be used as they pose a drowning hazard, and feed dishes also can become a trap. Use watering and feed dishes designed for baby chicks or feeders and waters that they can't get stuck in.
   Feeding the mother hen and her chicks may also pose a problem as the feed that you're giving her and her baby chicks may not be good for the rest of the flock, especially if the chick food contains antibiotics. Laying hens should never be fed any kind of antibiotic while they are laying eggs. Personally I do not feel that antibiotics is a necessary ingredient in chick food unless you're raising hundreds of baby chicks at a time. As a matter of fact I avoid using any kind of feeds that have antibiotics or GMO's added to them.
    One solution to feed is to feed the entire flock a crumbles mix that doesn't have any antibiotics. Most feed stores will carry this type of poultry feed . It has the same nutritional value as many of the other feeds that your using but comes in a form that is small enough even for baby chicks to eat. This allows the mother hen to feed her chicks what everybody else is eating in addition to the food that she finds on her own.

[Confined chicken run]

    If on the other hand if you are raising your chickens in a small confined chicken run, I would recommend removing the baby chicks and raising them in a brooder. This is because of the close quarters or confinement would make it difficult for the baby chicks or the mother hen to get away from other harassing members of the flock. Poultry that is confined is usually stressed to begin with and the mother hen and her chicks need to be able to be on their own until they are older. Confined runs also pose a hazard of fecal matter making it unhealthy for young chicks.
    There are a couple of other things that should be noted; if the mother hen hatched out her chicks in a nest box that is off the ground she will attempt to return her chicks there at night to roost. And if the nest box is too far off the ground the baby chicks will not be able to get back into the nest for the night and without their mother to keep them warm they may not make it through the night.
   The other thing is if you happen to be totally caught off guard and do not have a chance to get to the store for chick feed, you can use crumbled up hard-boiled eggs as an emergency. Believe it or not hard-boiled eggs crumbled up is a chickens favorite food. As a matter of fact on the old homestead they would boil and grind up eggs that were about to go bad and feed it back to the poultry to save on food costs.
(Note) you should never feed a whole egg or whole egg shell to a chicken as they will make the connection between egg and food and begin to cannibalize their own eggs. Always be sure to crumble or smash eggs and egg shells so they do not recognize what they are eating.

Do you need a rooster to raise chickens?

Do you need a rooster to raise chickens?

 Although a rooster is not a necessity for chickens to lay eggs, the rooster does provide some protection for the hens especially if they are free range. I have raised chickens with and without roosters and I do find they are less prone to hawks and some other predators. Basically, the hens are less nervous and more relaxed if they know a rooster is looking out for them. The rooster will watch over his hens and warn them when danger is nearby and in some cases will try to physically protect his hens if the threat is not too overwhelming. It really depends on the personality of the rooster. I have seen some roosters cut and run with the rest of the hens, while others will stand their ground no matter what the foe may be. This is especially true of Bantam roosters who seem to have more fight in them than most. It should also be noted that Bantam hens make better mothers and if you want to hatch an egg put it under a Bantam hen.
    The rooster will also help them find food but sometimes this is more a ploy than an actual benefit to the hens. As the rooster will use a food call to get close enough to the hens in order to mate with them. This said the rooster remembers places where there is plentiful food and will lead a flock time and again to such a place in order to take advantage of it.
    If you raise your hens without a rooster invariably one of the hens will assume the role of rooster. This is nature's way of filling a gap and is part of the pecking order but I find that a real rooster does a better job than a hen pretending to be one. A hen pretending to be a rooster will also be more concerned with deciding who is boss and who gets the most food than protecting the flock. A rooster that finds food will make sure that all the hens know there is food nearby, whereas a hen pretending to be a rooster will simply try to keep the food to herself.

Golden turkeys

With the price of gold over $1600 an ounce, I thought it would be good to relate a story about gold nuggets in the turkey gizzards. This is a story that my father and uncle told me about how they found gold nuggets in the turkey gizzards. At the time my father and his oldest brother were left to manage the farm, while the rest of the family went to California to work. One day after selling some of the old breeding stock to a butcher in Reno, Nevada my father got a phone call from the butcher. The butcher wanted to know if he could get more of those turkeys and was willing to pay three times the normal price. Now breeding stock is tough and only good for making soup. My father wanted to know why his turkeys were in such demand, so he did some investigation. After a few phone calls my father learned that the butcher was finding gold nuggets in the turkey gizzards. My uncle and my father immediately butchered a couple of turkeys and sure enough they did find small gold nuggets. But where did the turkeys get the gold nuggets from? In those days turkeys were herded much like cows into open fields for feed. And in the process of feeding on alfalfa they periodically pick up bits of gravel and sand. They are especially attracted to anything shiny and will eat it just to find out what it is. Turkeys and other birds use this grit in their gizzards to chew up their food. They do not have any teeth so they swallow their food whole. Well one thing led to another and they ended up butchering the entire flock of 300 turkeys. They searched for months trying to find the gold on the old homestead, but never did find the source. The only conclusion they could come up with is that some old prospector lost his gold pouch and the turkeys founded it. When everything was said and done, they had managed to collect enough gold from the gizzards to replace the flock of turkeys, before their parents returned home from California. To this day no one knows where the turkeys got the gold from but people still go looking for the legendary Golden turkey gizzards. The moral to the story ; don't always be in a hurry to throw out those gizzards when you are butchering. Those turkeys and chickens may be worth more than you know!

Feeding poultry

Some of the things to keep in mind while watching this video is that crumbles and lay pellets are the main feed for adult laying poultry.   Also an additional supplement that you may want to add to their diet is Oyster shell. Oyster shell is added to the diet if your hens are laying eggs with shells that are too thin. In contrast; If the egg shells are too thick you may want to cut back on how much calcium or oyster shell is in their diet.

It should also be noted; chicken scratch or cracked grains should not be used as their sole diet. It does not provide enough protein for them to lay eggs and may result in vitamin deficiencies.

Feeding table scraps to your poultry

Some ideas on feeding table scraps to your poultry.
Last year's hay price only averaged $70 a ton. This year's hay prices have exceeded $300 per ton and as a result feed costs have skyrocketed. With rising feed costs, I am on a constant lookout for alternative food sources for my livestock. I am planting my own alfalfa and other grasses that poultry graze on, as well as corn and other grain crops.
Table scraps that once went to the compost pile now go to the chickens.Crushed eggshells, stale bread, and trimmings from fruits and vegetables are a good supplement. Note; feeding eggshells to your poultry can take the place of oyster shell, but your poultry should not recognize it as an egg. If they recognize it as an egg they will begin to cannibalize their own eggs. The main thing you should never feed to your livestock is spoiled food. Bread with mold or other fungi could be fatal to the poultry. A good rule of thumb is; if it's good enough for you to eat, it's good enough for them, otherwise compost it.
My father related to me; During the Great Depression they would catch carp and other fish to feed to the chickens and turkeys. This was to supplement protein in their diet, but it had one drawback in that blood spots would show up in the eggs. As a result they would only do this for poultry being raised for meat production.

(revision 1-9- 2014)
There are a couple of foods that have come to my attention that should not be fed to chickens or livestock. Chocolate and onions which are poisonous to dogs are also toxic to other livestock. Potato sprouts are poisonous to people and animals and peels that may contain sprouts should not be fed to livestock. Anything that has to do with the nightshade family should be avoided altogether. Also keep in mind that things like asparagus, radishes, and other pungent plants although they may not be poisonous may taint the flavor of eggs being produced. Weeds such as cockle burrs and  loco weed should also not be fed to livestock as they are poisonous. Generally most poultry will not eat poisonous foods if other food sources are available. If this were not the case you would see a lot of dead wild birds. If your poultry is given the proper habitat and the proper foods the health of your birds should not be an issue.

Cooking a 35 pound turkey

The following videos will explain how to cook a 35 to 40 pound turkey.
This is using a traditional method of covering in foil. A faster cooking time may be obtained by using a cooking bag. The length of time for cooking a turkey is not as important as temperature.(Note: When taking the cooking temperature with a meat thermometer it is best not to penetrate all the way to the bone. The bone will read a higher temperature and thus give you a false reading.) A thigh temperature of 180° to 185° and a breast temperature of at least 165° is best in a 350° to 375° preheated oven. (NOTE: the stuffing or aromatics should never be eaten, as internal temperatures do not reach high enough to kill bacteria.)
This is a four-part video.
Cooking a turkey part one
http://youtu.be/VfEipdRD5RQ
cooking a turkey part two
http://youtu.be/EqThXBloZ78
cooking a turkey part three
http://youtu.be/dddSxHykQBI
cooking a turkey part four
http://youtu.be/Tf3ojAe6gzQ

Homesteading Nevada desert: butchering a turkey

Caution! The following videos and instructions are graphic descriptions of how to butcher a Turkey and not recommended for children.

How to butcher a turkey, using the brain stick method .
(1) 12 to 14 hours before butchering cut off food and water to the animal that is to be butchered.[This will make it easier to remove internal organs and less of a mess]
(2) items you will need
(A) a high secure place to hang a 50 pound bird from.
(B) a strong rope with noose or wood tee.
(C) a pair of pliers, for pulling tough feathers.
(D) a thin blade knife or ice pick[four brain sticking]
(E) a butcher knife or hunting knife[for cutting apart and dismembering]
(F) pruning shears or meet shears [for cutting joints and neck bone]
(G) 5 to 10 pound weight with sharpened heavy wire hook[for putting through bottom lip in order to keep the neck taunt and straight]
(H) a bucket to dispose of waste parts in.
(I) a clean bowl to place giblets.[Heart, liver, gizzard, Nick]
(j) a propane torch or rolled newspaper [to burn away pin feathers]
(3) early morning or cool weather is the best time.
(4) hang bird from rope making sure to hang high enough so as to keep weight off the ground and keep the turkeys neck stretched taunt.
(5) once bird is hanging stretch out the neck and hook heavyweight(5 to 10 pounds) through bottom lip. Or as my father suggested put the hook through the roof of the mouth out one of the nostrils.
(6) Take the sticking knife or ice pick and put it inside the mouth of a turkey facing up toward the eye. Make a quick upward thrust through the roof of the mouth pass the eyes. The turkey brain should be directly behind the eyes and if done correctly is a quick and painless method of killing the bird and loosening the feathers. The bird tail feathers should rise and the body should momentarily stiffen if done correctly.
(7) Quickly after brain sticking cut the turkeys juggler. And let the bird bleed well for a couple minutes. During this time the bird may have some involuntary responses such as flapping and you should wait until the bird is done flapping before beginning plucking feathers.
(8) As you begin plucking, you should notice that the feathers are fairly easy to pull. The tail feathers and wings feathers will be the most difficult. It may require the use of pliers in order to pull the feathers. The wingtips can simply be cut off as there is no meat in this part of the bird.
(9) At some point you will want to hang the bird by one legged. This is so you can pluck the feathers around the anus and began gutting the bird.
(10) Using a small sharp knife, make an incision around the anus, being careful not to cut too deep. You will also make an incision down toward the breast in order to open up the body cavity. With your hand carefully reach in and pull part of the intestine out so as not to lose the end of the anus.
Do not try to remove all of the intestines and organs at this time.
(11) At the base of the neck make an incision in the skin and cut around the neck, being careful not to cut the trachea or the esophagus. Peel the skin down toward the head. Pull the trachea and esophagus away from the neck and cut by the head. Make an incision at the crotch of the neck to open up the body cavity. Use your fingers to separate and open the body cavity at the neck.
(12) Now comes the hard part. Back at the anus carefully reach in and separate tissue with your fingers and work your hand down toward the neck. Carefully pulling out the intestine and other body organs.[Be extremely careful around the liver which has a green bile sac attached to it. Do not break this bile sac near any meat as it will taint anything that it touches. If you get it on the meet you might as well throw it away. If you get it on your hands be sure and use soap and water and wash it off before proceeding with the butchering.]
(13) if you are successful in removing the internal organs there are three organs you may want to save for eating. They are the heart, the liver, and the gizzard.
[Liver] cut away whatever organs may be attached being careful not to break the green bile sac. Once detached, carefully cut around the green bile sac, being sure to cut well away from it. You may end up wasting some of the liver trying to avoid the bile sac, but better safe than sorry.
{Heart] simply detach and save for cooking.
[Gizzard] Detach from the trachea and other body parts. It will be large muscle in the shape of a disk with holes on either side. Using a sharp knife carefully split the gizzard open. (kind of like shucking a claim) Try not to cut the inner sac that is filled with rocks and pebbles. Once you have split the muscle open peel the sack out from inside the muscle. Try to make sure that this lime green lining is removed. Use a fingernail or dull knife to scrape the lining out, as anything cooked with this lining will be made to taste very bitter.
(14) At this point remove any excess fat or organs that have yet to be removed such as the trachea and esophagus. Rinse out the inner body cavity with water making sure that everything is clean.
(15) Cut the head off from the neck using pruning shears or a very sharp knife. And then cut the neck off the body and save for making gravy or soup.
(16) In the final steps you will cut off the feet at the knee joint above the scaly part of the leg,using a sharp knife or pruning shears. Cut the tendons in between the joints, do not try to cut bone.
(17) At this point you're finished and the bird is ready for cooking.

Caution! The following videos are graphic instruction on how to butcher a Turkey and not recommended for children.

For additional information you can go to these YouTube videos that follow.
Butchering a turkey part one
http://youtu.be/2iJtHMDaPvs
butchering a turkey part two
http://youtu.be/QlWpX4fBeKI
butchering a turkey part three
http://youtu.be/XP0ol2rEEA8
butchering a tricky part four
http://youtu.be/BHNhiS6O6RE
butchering a turkey part five
http://youtu.be/seMOO0D-26E